First Chapter: Recruitment

Synopsis
This is set to take place shortly after Aizen's defection from Soul Society, Soul Society has decreed to form a small expedition to infiltrate Hueco Mundo and gather information, as well as killing as many of the Espada as they possibly can before the Winter War. If the expedition can find some way to delay Aizen, all the better for everyone involved.

Chapter Objective: To recruit all the different characters listed below. There is no set posting order, although the chapter will move according to how Raian acts and where he chooses to go, any interjection about if Raian randomly encounters one of the cast on the way is always welcome.
 * Raian Getsueikirite
 * Shigenaga Arma
 * Kenshin Suzuki
 * Rozeluxe Meitzen
 * Seiji Satonaka
 * Asuka Heart --- will later be abducted due to her unique abilities, provided that Aizen takes an interest.
 * Hiroya Ginkarei -- Crisis solution incase the former doesn't work out as expected.

The Assignment
Raian Getsueikirite found himself in a bowing position in front of, the Head-Captain of the Gotei 13. Only four days had passed since the traitor,, had left Soul Society for Hueco Mundo, with the Menos.

"Getsueikirite Raian!" came the booming voice of the ancient captain. "At the request of your captain, I have decided to put you on a very important task regarding the traitor, Aizen Sōsuke!"

"I am honored, Head-Captain. How may I be of service?" Raian asked, head still bowed in respect.

"We need to disable Aizen's war effort. In order to do so, you must take a group of worthy individuals to Hueco Mundo, scout out and destroy as many of Aizen Sōsuke's forces as possible before the War in the winter." Yamamoto replied.

"But sir, I am merely an unseated officer. How can I possibly assist?" Raian objected.

"Do not stifle your own abilities. Your reiatsu is well near normal levels for that of an average Captain. We need someone with that kind of reiatsu on this mission without having to spare our captains." Yamamoto relied.

"Very well, sir!" Raian replied, "I will complete this task to the best of my abilities."

"Very good. You are dismissed." Yamamoto said, with a thud of his large cane on the ground, and Raian left his presence and prepared to leave the very Seireitei itself.

... Shigenaga leaned back comfortably in his chair as he skimmed trough the letter that the courier, panting and tired as he was had been conciderate enough to deliver at his front door. Appearantly, a certain old geezer with a fancy beard had found it appropriate to tire him with some expedition into Hueco Mundo; lead by one Raian Getsueikirite. Shigenaga knew the name well, the heir to a family of lesser nobles and allegedly quite the talented individual ---despite his low rank, although it could be supposed that it was his family pulling some strings.

Shigenaga wasn't normally one to read trough the files of upstanding "citizens" of Soul Society, but in the case of nobility he made an exception; you could never know when knowledge such as that might come in handy. Especially were financial contracts or buisnesses were concerned. Of course, the fact that many nobles were defenseless and impotent and thus deliciously suspectible to extortion was always an avenue to concider.

He wasn't too fond of going to Hueco Mundo, the trip was long and the road littered with deathtraps of all sorts, ranging from unsophisticated ambushes to the more inventive assassinations; carried out in the dead of the night, or broad daylight as it were. In that, it really wasn't too different from Soul Society, or wait, the latter was worse in every aspect of the word. But, then again, there was always such a thing as convenient propaganda was it not? He found himself indecisive, no doubt would his presence increase the chances of success by a singificant margin but there was several risks involved and all in all little to gain by venture there, aside from a few extra scars to show off at the local brothel, naturally.

In his indecisiveness he had subconciously drawn his Zanpakuto, and without thinking it over any further he whispered gently to it, almost affectionately in fact "Chill, Jizaiten" - a wave of icing air and gusts breathed out across the room; covering the furniture and lighting up the room with a chilly blue - a few lifeless 'thumps' resonated from outside the door, as his guards feinted due to acute cold shock. Ignoring the silent plea of his fallen escort Shigenaga smoke softly to his Zanpakuto "So then, my most cherished buisnesspartner; what do you propose we do?" The spirit housed within the blade was silent before it answered the question "Well, I suggest we help in this little expedition, our, conciderable talents would surely be put to good use. But more importantly, we would likely be capable of extracting a few favors in the future and get back in good graces with our clan. Furthermore, this Raian fellow, he's a noble, just like you. Getting properly accuainted with him would undoubtfully have its benefits, yes?" The words of Jizaiten, was as always accompanied by a sensation of chilling energy, as if his insides froze merely by listening to his voice; despite the feeling though it was not an unpleasant sensation, far from it. It was both reassuring and directive, and the chill itself felt, benevolent somehow; like the gentle but cold embrace of snow.

Making his way out of the mansion; Shigenaga proceeded to trace Raian to his current location, it was not a hard task; Raian's energy was so bright and big that it most resembled a blazing wildfire amidst billions of burning candlelights.

Raian felt a high reiatsu approaching him from his left, and halted his movement just outside the gates of the Seireitei. Whatever it was, it had an odd feeling to him, so he decided to wait and see who was coming.

A cold breeze of air brushed across the district as a tall man shimmered into existance in front of Raian, accompanied by an immediate burst of frigid air which brought upon a fine sheet of rime beneath the two Shinigami; as the man approached the cold grew more and more intense before it abruptly faded away; as the man willfully supressed his Reiatsu's effects; he extended a hand towards Raian in a rather polite and professional manner, as if he had been a buisnessman about to introduce his latest product --- he smiled, but there was little warmth in it, and while it wasn't forced by any means, it was cold and unfeeling. Much akin to the snowflakes that now danced about them from the previous exertion of the mans power.

Wearing clothes of high quality and other finery; several rings undoubtably worth a small fortune should it be appraised by an expert rested upon three of his fingers, the man then proceeded with his buisness; his voice sounding only a tad warmer than his cutting smile. "You're Raian; right? I've been instructed to help you on your little expedition; given my respectable knowledge of Hueco Mundo; but talking about buisness is boring, let me just introduce myself. I'm Shigenaga Arma, buisnessman, Shinigami and of course, a nobleman - quite like yourself --- I'll also attempt to help you with finding more allies as while I'm a man of great talents; I'm not foolish enough to believe that I could shield you from the entirety of Hueco Mundo on my own" he paused as he appraised Raian from head to toe, all the while waiting for the other mans response.

Raian shook the man's hand and studied him closely. Shigenaga Arma. He memorized the name. He'd need to remember that for future meetings. "Greetings Arma-sama, I am indeed Raian Getsueikirite, a member of the Tenth Division. If you know of my search, than that must mean you're aware of my objectives. Any help you could offer me in gathering a larger platoon would be much appreciated." he replied.

Elsewhere.....

Sitting in his home on the Kasumiōji Estate, Rozeluxe Meitzen felt the sudden increase in spiritual energy that came radiating inward like a nuclear furnace and the frigid touch of death reaching up the nape of his back. "What in the world?" Turning in bed next to his fiance, he watched her sleep momentarily taking in the sight of low and silent breathing, the drool from her mouth slowly edging off of her pillow, Rozeluxe smiled to himself before grabbing his two swords and making his way toward his newborn daughter's room. "Rest peacefully." Walking through the halls of the estate, he knew it was daytime, but it was a day that seemed to drag on as if it were forever. Escaping the confines of the hall and into the wide open embrace of the living area, he walked toward the doors with a displeased look on his face, before flinging the doors to the estate wide open, causing a sea of light to seemingly flood throughout his home "These pressures, its as if they are attempting to crumble the world with their very being. Heh. It looks as though this guy has another adventure in stored for him." Turning to look back at where his family was located, he smiled again. "Do wait up. I shouldn't be too long." And with that, Rozeluxe made his way toward the location of those giving off the sharp energies.

Mission Initiated
Shigenaga nodded his head in approval at Raian; clearly he found the way the man had addressed him to be highly appropriate indeed! "There's no need for you to refer to me as Arma-sama, we're pretty much equal in rank and I'd appreciate if you simply called me Shige instead; we're going to fight back to back against drooling monsters; you don't get much more informal than that" 'Shige' smiled at Raian, this time though; it wasn't a smile of the I-don't-nessecarily-like-you-but-we-may-do-buisness-anyway variation, but a sincere one, like one given to friends.

"Well then, we've got two choices, the first one is to head over to that little town; Whats-its-name? You know the place where they can see ghosts and all that crap --- I've heard that there's quite a number of spiritually aware people there, if there are, I'm sure as hell that they'd want to join us, if only to get away from the boring situation that happens to be their normal life. Alternatively we may head over to the Rukongai, the people there are so desperate that they'd do short of anything for the sake of coin, they'd be perfect as cannon fodder if you care about that stuff; if you do decide to head to the Rukongai I'll have to wait outside or alternatively disguise myself --- they don't particularily like me you see; in fact, if they saw me, they'd likely strip me down to my trunks, bind me, put an apple in my mouth and roast me over a cooking fire like some other pig."

Pausing in thought, Shigenaga spoke again "Actually, Lets just get going and head to.. to, that town instead. It'd be a shame if you lost your greatest asset to a pack of cannibalistic primates. Besides, they're too weak to even serve as cannon fodder -- their only real use is to pay the taxes of noblemen like us, wouldn't you agree Raian?"

Shigenaga abruptly looked behind them as he felt a sudden surge of spiritual energy; brushing past Raian to inspect this odd newcomer, Shigenaga waited patiently until Roze passed the corner of a building that blocked the view into the nobility district. Whatever it was that Shige had expected to see though; it sure as hell wasn't this guy -- the first thing that caught the Arma Clansmans attention was the hair; it most resembled a miscolored toilet brush crudely styled up in the vague shape of an icecream; of the chocolate and vanilla variant. Shigenaga then recognized the man in question; he was Rozeluxe Meitzen and was currently married to the Matriarch of the Kasumiōji House; Suri Kasumiōji. They were quite high-ranking nobles, if he got on this guys good side; it might be quite beneficial to the Arma Clan to get friendly with this guy.

Nodding to himself, Shigenaga approached Roze with his biggest and most sincere smile ever; "Good day there, I'm Shigenaga Arma; I trust that you've come here to take part in the expedition mayhaps?"

"Expedition? Uh...yea sure..that's it." Rozeluxe smiled sheepishly as he took the man's hand, not wanting to arouse an suspicion. "Shigenaga Arma, was it? Oh! I see...I have heard about your clan from er...many books I've read. Hmm. Though tell me, how is it that you're here? I thought you're clan secluded itself from a majority of Soul Society related things and usually kept to themselves?"

Shigenaga's smile vanished and his face turned pale with repressed fury, obviously, Roze just struck a sore spot. He took a deep breath though and attempted to keep up his polite and formal tune while he spoke next, it didn't quite succeed "Any matter between me and my clan is rather frankly, none of your buisness, my reasons for joining this expedition are my own entirely and I suggest for future reference that we all keep our snotty noses to ourselves; also you might want to work on your lying; you're as transparent as a piece of glass; the incessant pausing in your comments betray you. Nevermind though, we'll bring you along anyway - provided that you're better at fighting than you're at lying" the last few sentences had a cutting edge to them, and it was quite obvious to him that he had failed to keep formal, much less polite; at this point though, he didn't care.

Turning his back rudely to Roze, Shigenaga proceeded to stride back over to Raian, as he loudly announced to the little assembly of Shinigami "At any rate, lets just head to Karakura already; there's bound to be a ton of desperate good-for-nothings there that should work splendidly as meat-shields" anger still laced Shigenaga's voice thickly, and it was only briefly supressed when he opened his mouth next "I have a spell that'll take us to Karakura Town in pretty much an instant; but we may always use the Senkaimon if you find such spells too flashy for your tastes"

"Oi. Mister Stick-in-the-mud. Want some honesty from me? Heh. I suppose that you'll live to regret it." Raze smiled with a sort of smile that signaled he enjoyed being on the receving end of someone's hatred. "You say that I'm transparent? Just from your reaction to my words a moment ago, one can tell you aren't on the best of terms with the rest of your clan as if you were then you would have responded with dignty and not the anger. As for lying, whose nose is snotty? Certainly wouldn't be mine, your haughty response to few words would certainly betray your true nature." Shrugging his shoulders nonchantly, Raze winked. "Then again....I could be completely wrong and making this up as I go along. Hahahaha"

Shigenaga simply arched an eyebrow, having come back to terms with the situation, he spoke coolly "Allow me to congragulate you then, on an assessment well done -- of course the fact still stands that you're obviously quite proud of this, which is amusing given how your assessment was on the same intellectual level as that of an average fifth grade schooler. I then go on to assume that this is more than your intellectual capacity would normally allow, no? Mhm, congratulations indeed" Shigenaga then licked his lips thoughtfully, if he was tasting the words that Roze sent his way. When he spoke again, it was for once not cold and callous, but rather somewhat inquisitive; albeit it was easy to detect the hidden layer of sarcasm "My nature, hmm. Could you define the entirety of my essence with just a glance at one of my angry moments? That's very impressive --- in the unlikelihood that it is indeed true, but, I wonder, have you read the chapters that derail my nature or have you simply skidded idly trough the pages? And have you merely read the text on a single page or can you see the hidden context and hints as well as my personal history to weigh your profound claims up against? Or perhaps you've only seen the front cover and taken a quick glance at the summary?"

Smiling, Raze tilted his head and looked confused for a moment. "Hm? Fifth grade knowledge? Wow....someone's giving me too much credit. Its pretty much written all over your face, you know. But in any case, to be completely honset. I'm not actually that interested in you or your clan. Both topics seem dreary and irrevelant to me, but..." Raze's eyes glistened at his amusement in the situaton. "Your essence? Hmm, frankly I don't care. Hmm...maybe that's not it. Its more of a I don't really want to bother myself with trying to figure anything out. You tell me everything I need to know with the words you choose and your mannerisms. Its suffice to say that you read your own story to me." Yawning, he pulled an apple from his cloak. "Well, if we're done here. I suppose I'll be getting back to my home. I have no real reason to go with you at this point."

Shigenaga let out a guffaw at this; brown eyes regarding Roze as if he was inferior in every way possible; and he made no effort to hide or even mask it decently "I had thought that you originally possessed a semblance of actual knowledge, but it would seem that I've been proven wrong, You're nothing but a windbag; you talk about topics in which you have no real knowledge or experience at all and attempt to flaunt it in your favor, unlike you though, I won't claim to know your motivation for doing so. But I suggest you lay aside your petty arguments and work on something worthwhile; and if these things can be found in your home; then certainly, go ahead and run away with the tail between your legs; I won't hold it against you. Farewell" With this, Shigenaga waved half-heartedly at Roze as he turned on his heel and moved back over to Raian.

Entering the argument, Seiji Satonaka preformed a series of acrobatic flips, silently, and flawlessly landing beside the orange haired male. Seeing such a display of cowardness, or atleast what Seiji believed to be cowardly, he sneered. "Runnin' away are we?" he asked disgustedly, giving Shigenga a chilling glare, as if he wanted to swipe the man's head off right there. Slowly, turning his attention to Raian, "...I was just in the neighborhood. Well actually..." A closer look revealed the scars that ran across Seiji's right arm, and a small gash at his left shoulder. With another light breeze of cool air a single drop of blood run down the man's arm and to the ground. "Heh, well maybe you can guess where I've been. But I know where you're headed... I heard what old cappy told you. I want in, no if's, and's, or but's about it!" he demanded, looking at the one who belonged to the tenth division, however Seiji's interest was still intrigued by the orange haired man.

Shigenaga wasn't pleased with these recent events, not to say that he used to be pleased; far from it --but if anything, these recent "party members" had begun to grate on his delicate nerves; however, like a true gentleman he didn't let the dissatisfaction show on his face. Shigenaga turned towards Seiji while he regarded him from top to bottom; it took longer than he intended, the guy was taller than him by roughly an inch. Shigenaga hadn't heard of this guy, which meant that he was no nobleman, and that he thus wasn't worth getting to know; likely just some Rukongai trash which somehow got some unusual spiritual properties; nonetheless, he knew exactly how to communicate with such simpletons.

Extending his hand towards Seiji ---very reluctantly too, mind you Kami KNEW where those grimy fingers had been just a moment ago! Shigenaga proceeded to talk to him with an exegerattedly clear and composed voice "Good day, I am Shigenaga Arma; but a primate such as yourself is permitted to address me simply as "Master", "Arma-sama" or "Handsome" in the likely scenario that you would prefer a less syllable intensive workout! Right, we be going to big bad land of evil and scary creatures and may need your help with dealing with them, stomp single time with foot for "yes" stomp twice for "no" - you understand me, yes?!

Hearing Shigenaga's voice Seiji turned around immediately. His face was disdainful, as he looked up and down Shigenaga. From head to toe, he observed his posture and gruff exterior, his colorful clothing, fairly large frame and even his narrow chestnut eyes. And then, that word brushed passed Seiji's ears; Arma. That single word permitted itself into Seiji's mind, and remained there; lingering inside his head until it rang and rang like a bell. A number of replies passed through his head, "I was talking to him you orange haired bastard. Interrupt me again and I'll tear off your arm and feed it too you" and ''"Primate, oh, I'll show you a primate. You haven't seen an evil creature until you've seen me, ya lil..." ''Briefly, his mind drifted off from. His immediate concern more on the word, Arma. A long living word in his families history, and to have one right before him meant so much, yet Seiji, despite his low intellect to which Shigenaga was right upon to assume, knew that there was a better time and place for everything. Hueco Mundo would be that better time and place to question Shigenaga on the Satonaka-Arma Clan rivalry that had existed for so long.

Putting on a wide smile and child-like eyes he grabbed Shigenaga's hand roughly. "I'll call ya "Handsome", because when I'm done with you you'll never be called that again." His facial facade was followed up by a slight, slow nod. "But I do understand," he said, which was followed by him quickly stomping his foot inbetween the Arma clansmans legs - a common motion seen in wrestlers, but also, answering Shigenaga previous question. "Trust me, you haven't seen "scary creatures" until you've seen me, Handsome" he said mockingly still maintaining his "smile", and all the while he continued his tight grip on Handsome's hand. Seiji could easily see the distaste Shigenga had for him, but knew that he had the same amount back. Each hair on Seiji's body was jagged and his blood boiling from anticipation; both from meeting an Arma clansman, and having the chance to battle the infamous Espada, and if he was lucky, the traitors, Sōsuke Aizen, Kaname Tōsen, and Gin Ichimaru. "You may call me, Seiji of Zaraki."

Shigenaga was thoroughly amused, it was a nice change to see someone threatening him and not the other way around; it left him feeling more alive, so to speak; so in light of this, Shigenaga laughed, his voice bellowed as it rose and fell in a form of taciturn rhytm; it was not a happy laugh though - Shigenaga's booming voice was devoid of any mirth and sincere amusement - but despite this, it wasn't unpleasant either; as it also lacked the mocking and sarcastic subtext that was normally present when the Arma Clansman spoke; it felt sincere, in an odd way.

Shigenaga then spoke, and as if by reflex the thick layer of sarcasm and disdain that had previously coated his voice temporarily vanished, only to be replaced with a more sincere and polite tune - most certainly betraying a form of grudging respect "That's the spirit, I can appreciate a man who's self-secure enough to deliver a decent threat -- that being said, you're not that scary; I see scarier things than you every morning, when I look in the mirror, especially when I've just woken up" Shigenaga scratched his chin in amusement as he continued his casual talk "Handsome, eh? I had hoped you'd pick that one - but I don't think you could destroy my face; if I were that weak then I'd never have entered this little expedition now would I? At most, you could give me a few scars; which will only accentuate my features"

"Ha!" Seiji spat with a devish like grin he stared at the Shigenaga before him. Taking somewhat of a liking to him - though he would never admit it - he gave him a little half-smile, followed by his body loosening up to the new ease he felt. "Well this was one hell of a meetin'!" he joked, before responding to Shigenaga. "I guess your right, you wouldn't have entered this expedition if it weren't for your power.." he said aloud, "..and attitude" he thought. "Besides harming you before we wooped some Espada ass wouldn't really help much now would it." he rebuked. Turning to face the remainder of the group, he observed each individual and slowly grasped each one's spiritual pressure, and with a full smile by the end he couldn't help but crack a smile toward his new team. "Seems like we got a decent few here. I say, the Espada better start runnin'!" he said in order to boost morale, although the manner he said it, everyone could tell that somehow he was truly sincere in what he said. "Lets head to Karakura Town!"

Shigenaga nodded solemnly before he brushed past Seiji and reached out to the empty air with his right hand, touching it briefly; the very fabric of space seemed to ripple outwards in a circular pattern from the point of contact, changing in color and turning into a palish white oval of swirling energy; abruptly though, the surface of the portal became clear and reflected a picture of a Hotel in Karakura like a reverse mirror; a preview of the destination no doubt. Soon after having finished casting this spell, Shigenaga's breath became rugged and heavy, obviously, the feat he had just accomplished had taken its toll on him.

"Right, simply step trough this portal and wait at the Hotel, we should all plan our expedition there and rest up, an... accomplice of mine should be there, you may get any Gigai you'd need from him" Shigenaga paused for a moment before turning towards Raze, disguising his disgust beneath a veil of cold composure he spoke softly "So, If by any chance you decide to change your mind about this the portal is over there, and if you need a reason. Think about the vast degree of experience you may get from such an adventure, Its also bound to be alot of fun" Turning away from Raze again, Shigenaga addressed the people present "The Hotel lies in one of the most consecrated grounds of Spiritual Energy of the city, we should be capable of finding quite a few interesting individuals there --- last, but definately not least, I'll pay for all of you and sponsor suites for as long as we stay at the Hotel; should you be inclined or unable to pay your own expenses, which, judging by your clothing, barbaric mannerisms and whatnot is highly likely."

On the outskirts of Karakura Town, in a small garage behind a small but cozy house, a young man suddenly cursed explosively. Pushing himself out from below the old and battered car he had been working on, he got to his feet and wiping his greasy hand on his sleeves, popped it into his mouth to suck on the bleeding appendage. Slowly walking out of the garage he gazed into the distance, towards the heart of Karakura Town where he had just sensed the sudden appearance of a number of powerful spiritual presences. Brow creased into a frown, he turned towards the garage and drawing a small pill from his pockets shouted into the house, "Mia, I'm heading out for a bit, might be long." He didn't know why he added the last bit but something told him he was not going to be back for some time. As he popped the pill into his mouth, his spiritual self was separated from his physical one. Turning back he looked himself in the eye and jumped into the air. "Look after her till I return." Shouting so he vanished into the distance, rushing towards the presences he had felt.

Exiting the portal, Seiji's voice thundered as he gladfully welcomed the warm embrace of Karakura Town. Normally, he had a great distase for the Human World and all of there inhabitants, but this time he could put up with it. This time was different, as the anticipation in Seiji's blood had been ripe as long as he knew he would fight the Espada. Ignoring Rozeluxe's second thought on joining them, he focused on Shigenaga, "..hotel, eh? What a pansy. And you don't gotta be rich to be able to be a badass" furthering his tough exterior, his comment was furthered by a chuckle at his own remark. "Yeah, I'm a badass" he thought. Illustrating his power, Seiji released a small portion of his spiritual pressure once stepping into the Human World. It was his type of hello to any beings that reside here. Walking off toward the concentrated areas of Karakura Town, Seiji adorned a grin and slanted eyes as he noted a incoming spiritual power. Though, he appeared to dismiss it, he stayed on edge just in case the spiritual being be a threat..or a burden to him during this expedition.

Shigenaga snorted in distaste for a moment before he turned towards Seiji, his look of displeasure replaced with a more pleasant, almost friendly look "Of course, Seiji, should you choose not to burden my wallet with your.. spartan tastes that is fine by me, although I do wonder if you'd be willing to spend the night with me; I could certainly use the company" There was a certain gleam in Shigenaga's eyes while he spoke, which made the fact that he was interested in him very obvious, most men had quite likely gazed at many a beauitful woman in much the same manner as the way he regarded Seiji: the oddest thing though, was not the question itself but how it was asked. Shigenaga's face was completely devoid of any embarassment or coyness usually involved with such a question, he didn't even appear even the slightest bit bothered by the fact that others could hear him.

Without awaiting an answer (although the sideways glance that Shigenaga sent Seiji certainly demanded that he'd answer soon); Shigenaga spoke to the ones assembled "Right, as I said before, we should rest up here and scout for possible new members to our little expedition. We'll stay here for three days for this purpose, in order to make sure we've got everyone we need" Shigenaga folded his arms across his chest as he awaited their response.

"I don't mind" Seiji said, his tough front covering his warm insides, "a friend..Shigenaga-sama", he thought cheerfully. Glancing the other way for a brief moment, he turned around swiftly before happily agreeing with Shigenaga. Noting him as the unofficial leader of this newly assembled team, he curve the end of his lip upward; forming a smile. "Well, if we have no objections, then I'm fine staying in this heap for awhile, until we can get the party really started". Meanwhile, Seiji thought of Shigenaga's endearing impression on him, and his new companion sure has left a long-lasting remninder in his mind: he was confident, clearly he wasn't or couldn't be embarrased. Enjoys battle, and at first can some off distateful and rude, which is unusually, a welcoming factor for this Zaraki Clansman.

Motivated by his own self-interest of battle, Seiji couldn't help but retain his smile and regarding all present, as respectable warriors in there own right, he spoke in a calm, civil voice laced in sarcastic charm, "well if you pansies are done with the chit-chat, I actually have a life. I'll see you all in three days time, until then..I'll be chillen somewhere" Before departing, he looked at Shigenaga (feeling a rapport between the two) he turned and flew off into the night sky of Karakura Town. Surely, he wanted to stay with Shigenaga and the rest of the group, but for some reason, he continued. His destination unknown, although surely, it would be an area in which he can prepare for the battle at hand.

 Shigenaga frowned in disbelief, and set off after Seiji, luckily for him though - the latters rather slow speed of movement made it easy to catch up to him; quickly reaching out for Seiji's shoulder he attempted to pull him close so that they were facing one another; before speaking to Seiji softly, his voice lowered to the degree that only they could hear the words spoken "This is supposed to be a tactical meeting, along with an evaluation of the talents of those present; which means that you won't be skulking away anywhere --- it is none of my buisness whether you choose to sleep in a four star hotel or a trashbin, but you will be present in the meetings and you will NOT scurry away somewhere, I assume that you care as little of our companions as I do, but do keep in mind that our survival may, whether we like it or not be dependant on them to a degr-.

His message was cut short as he felt a particularily powerful and more disturbing, unfamiliar Reiatsu flare in the distance; without thinking, he'd attempt to grasp Seiji's wrist rather forcefully and drag him with him to the source of the Reiatsu, seeing an oppurtunity to getting another member to their little expedition; and if the situation turned ugly, he'd be safe due to any eventual backup from Seiji.

"Ha, it'll be my pleasure if you come an' train with me Mr. Handsome." Seiji spoke, noticing that Shigenaga took his respone the wrong way and all the while, he gave Shigenaga an equally heartfelt gaze. Although, his voice was loud, and confident. He followed the Arma clansman before him wholeheartedly, his body ebbing for a battle was clear from its twitching. "I ain't sleepin' in no pansie hotel though." he rebuked jokingly, yet by his tone his sincerity was evident. Noticing the flaring in reiatsu not to far away - in fact, it felt as if it was coming closer - he broke free from Shigenaga's hold. "Oh no, this guy is all mine to fight" he said excitingly. He sped up, yet calmed his pace near Shigenaga, he sailed gingerly with the wind toward the coming spiritual pressure.

As he was speeding towards the Reiatsu sources he had felt, trying to get a better reading of how many they were and just how strong, Kenshin suddenly felt two separate out from the group and head in his direction. Coming to a stop, he stood floating in the air, waiting for the duo to arrive. Though he did not draw his blade, he was ready to battle at the blink of an eye. Soon he noticed two individuals approaching his location, both tall, one more so than the other, and the shorter one with a crop of bright orange hair. As they came with range Kenshin released a surge of lightning through the air which flashed as a bright wall in front of the duo for a second before vanishing. Though barely powerful enough to harm a rat, it served its purpose as it stopped the two at a distance from him. "Who are you people? And what the hell are you doing in my town?" Kenshin didn't bother with being polite, if they meant him harm they would attack him irrespective of how he behaved. And if they didn't then, well then he didn't really feel like wasting time with pleasantries.

Kenshin
Shigenaga chuckled at the sight that met him, he had expected something bigger and more menacing-looking but instead he was faced with something much more bemusing, a young boy, barely reached the age of 15-17, judging by his looks stood before him and attempted to intimidate himself and his reckless companion with fancy lightshows-- When Shigenaga spoke, his voice dripped with sarcasm and ill-intent "Oh, this is peculiar, we found a pretty little housecat when we came for a lion, how utterly dissapointing" clicking with his tongue in amusement, Shigenaga turned his back rudely to Kenshin and directed his gaze onto Seiji, speaking in a firm voice "I don't think this little guy is what we'd look after in a companion, judging by his appearance he's not even trough with puberty and is thus prone to hormonous outbursts and other indelicacies"

Shigenaga then went on to appraise Kenshin from head to toe, paying special heed to the attire he was wearing, when he spoke, his voice was laced with a thick layer of harm and sarcasm, his words practically dripping with some imaginary poison "Do tell me, is your mother aware that you walk around dressed like a rent-boy on sale? I'm certain that if she's any mother worth keeping, that she'd be ashamed if she saw you moving around in that" grinning wickedly, Shigenaga continued "Besides, for such a showy and flashy outfit its not like you reveal anything worth showing, some skinny, girly teenager with a tasteless physique such as your own shouldn't let it show, but rather stick to the dark alleys and snickelways - peddling himself around for cheap coin"

"Damn thats cold. Ha! I love this guys style!" Seiji thought sincerly, before responding to Shigenaga words, and slowly confirming what his new compainion spoke of. "Bah! He's right, this guy doesn't look powerful at all." Assuming the child before him was indeed part Human, Seiji sighed heavily; his dislike for humans displaying itself. "I'll never understand your peoples clothing. No flavor at all." he finished, his emotionally harming words coinciding with the Arma Clansmans; both of them having no taste at all for the childs appearance. Or better yet, being let down by his apperance, either way, they weren't happy. Revealing an intimidating demeanor, followed by a sinister grin, he then eyed the warrior before him apathetically, and procedded to chuckle. "Good things fighting ability isn't judged by looks" he spat, "go back to your playground before you get hurt." His muscles tensed and flexed up, as he turned around, finishing his words.'' "If it was him with that spiritual pressure, then maybe his clothes aren't the only flashy thing he has." ''

Kenshin didn't really think much of Shigenaga's words, he was completely calm as he used the time while the older shinigami spoke to study the two beings in front of him as well. But then something happened that changed that calm within his mind. The moment Shigenaga mentioned his mother, in that condescending voice of his, even though the words were meant to hurt him, his mother was one subject he could not and would not be allowed to be touched upon by anyone. In a single instance of anger, a spike of emotions shattered the facade of calm that was his mind and brought out a part of him that was much more sinister and maniacal as compared to what he had been an instant earlier. Within the time it took to blink an eye, a crimson mask had appeared upon Kenshin's face and anyone able to sense his spiritual pressure would have become aware of the sinister nature it had suddenly taken on.

His voice coming with an echo, he burst out laughing, his Zanpakutō suddenly appeared in his hand and with a manic shout he rushed forward towards Shigename, "You should think before you speak Carrot Top!" While still in motion he raised his free hand towards Seiji and fired off a Cero towards the green haired man and putting on a sudden burst of speed that came with the hollowfication, he suddenly appeared right in front of Shigenama and began assaulting him with his blade, raining in blows in a haphazard and completely unpredictable manner. With his mask on not only did his blows have more weight to them but his speed had also increased.

Sensing the hostile presence of Kenshin's Hollowfication, Shigenaga soundlessly drew his Zanpakutō and with an elegant manuever that betrayed his mastery he readied his stance and proceeded to deflect the initial barrage of blows from his foe with surprising efficiency, despite the highly irregular way that Kenshin attacked him; this was primarily due to the fact that Shigenaga, being quite old and a very experienced combatant, was to some degree capable of seeing the remnant of a battlestyle amidst the chaotic flurry of attacks unleashed upon him. Their swords dancing in the air between them as Kenshin attempted to press his advantage while the Nobleman blocked his onslaught.

While Shigenaga noted the strength of his opponent, he still exchanged blows with him largely unencumbered, his own strength being largely sufficient for the task, although it became clear after a brief struggle that his opponents strength exceeded his own, but only by a moderate margin. Once he realized this, Shigenaga's eyebrows furrowed in surprise although he still kept his cool, quickly ducking away from a blow meant to lop his head off and using a quick-spoken spell to repel another meant to sever his left arm. Shigenaga abruptly shifted his defense into a mighty offense. Laying his strength into every blow, and making use of a myriad of clever feints and focusing intense, powerful movements and sword manuevers Shigenaga would attempt to put his opponent on the defensive, every one of his attacks performed with an excessive amount of brute strength and with the weight of his Spiritual Pressure behind it -- this also had the added effect of causing the temperature to drop drastically and make Shigenaga emanate a biting cold which might possibly act as a distraction.

When he felt as though they had both fallen into the rhytm of battle, he'd attempt to grab onto Kenshin's blade mid-strike (the myriads of defensive wards he had placed on himself would prevent any serious injury), hold it tightly and quickly place his free arm to his chest, as abruptly his outreached palm would shine with marvelous intensity in the whole spectrum of red, before a churning ball of white-hot blast of energy was procured from it in the form of the common spell known as Shakkahō ; this particular blast though was much more powerful than the norm, and it would be very dangerous to be hit at point-blank range like this.

With a quick burst of power, Seiji swung his katana forth, dispersing the incoming cero that had entered his vicinity. As if it was nothing, he immediately changed his attention to the opponent slashing away blindly with peculiar, unorthodox strikes that seemingly retained the same amount of power. With a blank gaze, he wathced onward to the flurry of attacks that Shigenaga and Kenshi sent each others way, his impassive glare a facade as his innards were slowly turning, twisting and biting away at each other -- as the Satonaka thirsted for a decent battle. His spiritual pressure steadily rose, and continuing his observation he foreseen the blast that his comrade fired beforehand, "interesting" he thought, plainly referring to the extra oopmh that the demon magic spell had. However, his eyebrows slightly rose as the anger of Kenshi could be plainly seen, yet he was entirely oblivious to the Hollow influence on the man, nor his true capabilities.

Somewhat left in misery that he wasn't chosen to fight, Seiji beared new respect for Shigenaga, and so, he would not interfere, no matter how the tide of the battle turned. With an quick oblique movement, Seiji faded from view yet his being was still near, watching until he found an oppurtune chance to join in, most likely after someone's defeat. Opressing the heavy home that he stood upon, his husky build impacted the roof with an unintentional thud, still left sad, and enraged that he was left out. "If this guy really is powerful, then we should consider having him come with us" he implied, in a grumbling murmer.

Kenshin, the sane and clear headed Kenshin, looked on from within the confines of his mind as he, or rather the more maniacal form of him, the one which took over whenever he lost control, fought against the orange-haired man. He saw it all from an angle that was within his own body but yet was somehow not within him, but saw it all he did, watching as his crazier counterpart went on the offensive and was then pushed onto the defensive. Slowly it started to dawn upon him that this was wrong, he should be the one in control, not that crazy maniac. The moment he realized that he suddenly became aware of where he was, it resembled his inner world, but this was a much more twisted and sinister version of it. Without thinking he did what he often did when facing a conundrum such as this and summoned Hōkatsu into his hands, releasing the Zanpakutō with a single command, Speak.

With Hōkatsu's powers he was able to confirm what he had been thinking till then, this was his inner world, but the way it existed when he was suffering from one of his manic episodes. At that very moment he saw the orange-haired man grab his arm and he let out a great scream, Nooo! Exerting his will he pushed his control over his inner world, reverting it to the way he knew it to be. As he pulled back control his scream was echoed by his body as well, the hollow mask starting to slowly crack as he let the power slip away. Suddenly back in control he sensed more that saw the spiritual power of the demon magic used by Shigename. At the very last moment he used Sakugen to negate some of the spell's power, but his hastily executed defense was not enough to cancel out all of the attack and a significant portion of the attack crashed into him.

As the smoke from the small explosion cleared away Kenshin was seen to be standing with his hollow mask gone as well as the maniacal expression that had been on his face. His appearance was not the only thing to have changed as the sinister feel from his spiritual pressure was suddenly gone also. Having used his left hand to channel Sakugen, it had born the brunt of the attack and his sleeve on the hand had been burned away and the arm itself was burned and bruised up to the elbow. Similar bruises and burns were present on his chest and face, though not as severe. His breathing a little strained, but his posture still erect, he spoke in a calm and stoic voice, "I'll ask once more, who the hell are you people and what are you doing here?"

Shigenaga deliberately took his time answering Kenshin's question and first turned his gaze to Seiji instead, his features softening somewhat, and when he spoke, his voice was casual, almost friendly, in fact "Sorry about that Seiji, I realize I kinda took your fun, tell you what, if this little upstart does anything stupid, feel free to just have a go at him. I don't mind standing on the sidelines as long as I get to see you kick some ass!"

Turning his view back to Kenshin he proceeded to answer his question at last "We're a small group of Shinigami sent to assess the situation in Hueco Mundo and to cripple the forces of Aizen Sōsuke as much as possible before the Winter War, we're currently stationed here in Karakura to gather recruits -- me and my pal decided to check out if you were anything worth getting" Shigenaga paused then and there, and gave Kenshin a wicked grin "But, concidering how you, even with your Hollow Mask on and with the element of surprise on your side was incapable of harming me, while I on the other hand managed to injure you quite seriously and would have killed you outright if it weren't for your narrow escape - Well, it is as we thought ain't it Seiji? Angsty teenagers have no place in a serious battle!"

Slowly, Seiji responded, his skills in battle and even while watching had heightened from the various batttle he fought in. In each one, he fought with all his skill and possible might, and from it, has attained a keen sixth sense, if you will when assessing battles. "He may not be the most powerful like we had hoped, nor the most intelligent from what has been seen, but his potential is evident." He said, blankly and clearly, his erect calmly posture reinforced his sentence with extra seriousness; rarely was the Satonaka Clansman serious. Sending Shigenaga a smile from the corner of his lip, he nodded, "I would enjoy assessing his abilities from here on, besides you would probably kill'em given the chance" he joked, although it seemed truthfully from his standpoint.

Taking little concern against the little dominance Kenshin had over his transformation, and his relative small level of intelligence for not taking the suprise attack, lack of a defense and poorly planned preliminary attack, although most of it, true, was a result from the induced hollowfication running wild. Cheerfully, he hoped the Hollow side of Kenshin would burst forth and challenge himself to a "wicked" battle that he would enjoy, however this was no time to belittle his opponent nor waste time. Being chosen for such a important task brought a sense of urgency into Seiji's mind, forcing the young man to take precautions against the threat he would soon face. As a result, if Kenshin truly be a skilled warrior than it best be shown now, less he face getting defeaten in his home of Karakura. Seemingly not giving Kenshin the benefit of the doubt, he plainly dismissed his opponent with high levels of confidence, "well, make your move, unless you much rather get cut down by my first strike!" he threatened, with a thundering voice. All the while, he comfortable jotted toward Kenshin bearing a edgy, gruff grin that didn't look at, but through Kenshin.

Meanwhile, he gave Shigenaga a cocky glance, followed by a wink, clear mannerisms of a confident warrior, he calmly did so as if winning came as second nature to him.

Kenshin had said not a word while the two older men spoke, listening quietly as they spoke of their assessment of his battle skills. He hadn't really come to fight, only to defend his sister from any potential threats, but now that he heard what their true purpose was he couldn't help but consider tagging along with them. After all it wasn't everyday that you got to go to Heuco Mundo. Studying the abilities of beings there would take him one step closer to permanently banishing his inner-hollow, but he was not stupid enough to go rushing off to Heuco Mundo just to try and solve a problem when it might end up getting him killed. But tagging along with these guys would provide him an extra layer of security that might just be enough to ensure that he did make it back alive. Though his face remained fixed in that same stoic expression, he smiled inwardly as he realized that these old fools might just give him what he wanted. Now all that he needed to do was to convince them to take him along. If that meant fighting the moss-head then so be it.

At this point he did smile as he realized that the two of them probably thought of his previous attack as his true strength. They probably even thought that his manic episodes were actually nothing more than his inner-hollow taking over. Well if that was what they thought then they were in for a surprise. His training with Rosuto had long since removed any control his inner-hollow had had over him. Facing off against Seiji, Kenshin slowed his breathing and holding his blade up in front of him spoke in almost a whisper, "Kataru Hōkatsu." Studying Seiji for a moment, taking note of the fact that his blade was tucked into his sash on the left indicated that he was right-handed, or preferred his right hand. Suddenly making his move, he leaped forward toward Seiji, heading in straight for a full-frontal assault. But at the last instance, just as his blade was swinging down towards Seiji he flash-stepped away to change his direction of approach to end up Seiji's left, coming in from what was possibly his weak side and slashed with his blade. He then quickly jumped away and again used flash steps to circle around Seiji for a second before coming to stop at the distance of a dozen or so feet behind him. His left had was already covered in crackling blue lightning and the moment he came to a stop he extended his hand towards Seiji and the lightning extended out as a crackling blue energy spear that he swung to pass right through Seiji's torso. The spear could easily cut through Seiji and even if he managed to clock it the charge would be easily strong enough to shock and numb and parts that came in contact with it.

In a blur, Seiji swung his bulky arm leading a prempting a defensive blow which swiped away the incoming current of electricity that sped at him so viviciously. With a blank, emotionless face he gaze onward without a hint of pleasure or excitement. Unamused, he solemnly delfected the electricity by releasing a strong output of spiritual pressure along the katanas cold blade, easily sending the blast in another direction without making physical contact. Tucking his blade back into its secure pouch, he continued his icy gaze which shot forth toward Kenshin, clearly unimpressed. "If you truly wish to harm me than hit me with more power. I don't completely understand why you diverted your attack, that frontal strike could have been much more effective" he admitted, a testament to his iaido mastery which was the only thing keeping him utter electrocution from the previous attack.

Making his own attack, Seiji ran his callous palm along in the sky which somehow skidded in the air, commanding a ripple of yellow spirit energy toward Kenshin. Like a wave, it sped and increased in power as it ran its initial course: Kenshin Suzuki. The innards of Seiji wanted to increase the intrigue in this battle, however if he took to much pleasure in this battle it could possibly have a different outcome, and so, he remained cold and impassive, hoping to urge a powerful increase in Kenshin's power, later forcing moss head to truly fight back with his might. Meanwhile, while his wave like attack went its course, Seiji darted toward Kenshin with somewhat startling speed for a man of his build. {C} Shige had positioned himself somewhat on the sidelines and watched in boredom as the battle began, he found Kenshin's movements impressive for a boy of his age and he realized quickly that the boy was a natural genius, much like he himself had once been regarded; a pang of jealousy hit him then, but it vanished quickly as he cooly contemplated what he'd have to do should Kenshin fail this little test. If a genius like this was left unchecked for long, it might cause some annoyances for Soul Society -- which meant they'd better be off killing him the instant he failed. Shigenaga made a mental note of that and let his body tense, enabling him to be upon Kenshin the instant he'd fail, and a hand upon his Nodachi, to be capable of swiftly separating Kenshin's head from his body; Shigenaga then proceeded to masterfully hide his killing intent behind a veneer of haughty nonchalance before he opened his mouth to speak.

---

And when Shigenaga spoke, and despite the distance between them, his voice reached their ears unperturbed, carried by invisible strands of magic "So, stranger - if you, in the generous span of ten minutes manages to inflict three injuries of moderate severity on my companion here, we'll take you with us to Hueco Mundo. If you've failed for whatever reason, you'll be left behind -- I take it that these are fair terms, no?" grinning wickedly before shaking his head in disbelief at something, before the spoke against to share his sentiment "Of course, there's no chance you could even injure him the slightest, whatever powers you think you may have kid, we had both experienced countless battles before you were even born; to us, you're nothing but an infant with a blade, there's simply no way for you to close that enormous gap, besides, between me and Seiji, I'm certain that he's the greater fighter"

"Hey, wait up!" A shrill voice resounded throughout the air. The sound of feet scurrying across the barren ground was heard, as a lithe figure quickly caught up to the party, desparately dashing up to them. He bore the appearance of a young, very feminine male with a petite and slender frame, much like a woman's, and soft light brown eyes. He had rosy hair which reached down to his waist, and iwas tied up in a simple braid, and had two bangs going down to his chin. His beauty wasn't like a man's; rather, a female supermodel's. Though, that wasn't as distracting as a certain other's figure. The small figure stopped in his tracks, breathing heavily. Just how far did he run? It could be one of nature's mysteries. "Haa...haa..." The cold wind slammed against his small frame, causing him to shiver slightly. "You people...are heading to Hueco Mundo, correct?" He asked with an ever-present kindness. "...Then, if so, I'd want to join you." He closed his eyes, as he told the truth and nothing but the truth. "...I'm curious as to where this will lead us."

---

Kenshin did not reply to Shigenage's announcement, instead sheathing his blade, better to let his actions do the talking. He quickly donned his mask and removed the bandages wrapped around his arms. Suddenly two large Fūma Shuriken were grasped in his hands and he was just about to send them flying towards Seiji when the appearance of the young girl, no boy seemed to distract him for the briefest of instances. As a result both shuriken went flying past Seiji, missing him by almost half a foot on either side. Kenshin's response to the miss wasn't apparent through his mask but he immediately drew his blade once more and moved in towards Seiji, his speed now much greater than it had been during his previous attack. Rushing straight in he brought his sword down in a heavy strike, the full strength of his hollowfication behind the strike. Hooping to lock Seiji's blade with his own in between their bodies, he suddenly let loose with a burst of lightning that quickly showed two thin metal wires attacked to his wrists, the lightning dancing down the wires. From behind Seiji the two shuriken, attached to the other ends of the wires came flying back towards his now exposed back, one from each side, their edges now coated with lightning. In his hollow form the potency of the lightning should be enough for the lightning coated edges of the shuriken to cut into Seiji and hopefully provide him with injury number one and two.

---

Shigenaga frowned at the newcomer, mistaking him for a female up until he opened his mouth to speak, at which point his frown deepened even more. He proceeded to put up a transparent facade of friendly inquisitiveness; while his voice adressed the newcomer, dripping with a fair deal of loathing and resentment "So then, who is this little Daffodil? Have you come here to show off, by any chance? Strut around and bristle your insufferably colorful feathers like the stuck-up mongrel you are? What an unslightly abomination - not a man, neither a woman, but what do I know, perhaps Soul Society decided to be so gratious as to send us a sufficient meat-shield; I'm certain they couldn't get rid of you quickly enough" crossing the distance over to Zakura, he proceeded to inspect the smaller male, at over six feet, Shigenaga towered over Zakura in an imposing and intimidating manner before leaning down and with haughy arrogance announce "Sorry, lass, we ain't got to room for worthless sissies"

Zakura didn't seem intimidated in the slightest. In fact, he welcomed such words. The more antagonistic someone was to him, the more of a drive it would be for him to befriend them. This sparked a desire within the lithe figure's heart; he was going to attempt to strike up a friendship with the Arma Clan member. "Oho. You don't know who I am, do you? I am Zakura Terui. And I am the one who will make friends with everyone! No matter where they are; Soul Society, Hell, Hueco Mundo, or the World of the Living!" A beaming grin formed upon the young man's delicate face, he continued in a confident tone, "...I have no ties to this Soul Society. I'm here of my own free will." A blank expression formed on his face, dumbfoundedly asking, "...Buuuuuut, the problem is...I have no idea what we're doing. We're heading to Hueco Mundo, for what...?" It appeared as if stars shimmered in his eyes- one of those standard anime effects, no doubt. He turned to Shigenaga, asking with a overtly welcoming tone, "...Could you fill me in, pal?" It was unsure if Zakura was confident in his abilities to win the Arma Clansman over or just idiotically suicidal.

---

"To fight dumbass" a voice quaked, as the entire vicinity shook with raw spiritual mass. A cloud of yellow energy quickly enfulged the masses present, shrouding the area with an immense amount of power. The voice beckoned and echoed with great angry, and the ground shook wildly from the intensified presence of the powerful spiritual being. Entering Seiji's "zone" a burst of wild energy blew away all near him, including the Shuriken, and Kenshin headed toward him. Emerging from a shroud of smoke that was formed after the sudden explosion of reiatsu, Seiji's gruff exterior viewed Kenshin and Zakura with a stern, iron like exterior. Showing his cold, dark side, he smiled grimly "Were going to Hueco Mundo to fight dumbass" he retorted, repeating his crude statement once again, he glanced at Shige from the corner of his eye.

No visible, new wound layed on Seiji's body, as the exhalation of spiritual power from every limb Seiji had kept him secure from damage and although taxing, he showed no apparent emotion from it. "However, so far only me and Handsome are going to Hueco Mundo" he explained, only proving himself to be mildly harmed and still fully capable of battle. "In fact, maybe you'll have a better chance if that guy joined you" he said boldly, speaking to Kenshin and referring to Zakura. Although, most likely obscured from view, Kenshin's valiant effort wasn't entirely fruitless, as Seiji now beared newfound respect for him for his almost successful attack.

Kenshin looked from Seiji to the young boy and back to Seiji again. He was not surprised that his attack had not had much effect on him, he had guessed as much when Seiji had released that blast of spiritual energy to push him back. But to think that he would need to team up with this newcomer to fight Seiji, Kenshin wasn't ready to accept that his condition was that bad just yet. He still had a couple of aces up his sleeve. "Heh. Thanks, but no thanks. I am not one to accept help when I need it but teaming up with a complete stranger while trying to fight another complete stranger is not something I'm willing to do. For all I know he could be more of a liability than an asset. I'll be your opponent, only me." Pausing for a second he looked down towards the newcomer and for just second felt something from him, maybe he wasn't a pushover, but now wasn't the time to test that feeling. Turning back to Seiji he held his Zanpakutō in front of him and in that same echoed voice of a hollow shouted, "Bankai!.... Fuhen Hōkatsu".

With a new-found clarity that surpassed even the sensation that came from releasing his shikai, Kenshin looked straight at Seiji. With a shout he started releasing a large amount of spiritual energy and gathered it all around his Zanpakutō. Within a matter of seconds he was done, the spiritual energy vanished as it was absorbed by his Zanpakutō. Now smiling slightly behind his mask he raised his blade above his head and spoke two words, "Shūryō Taihen". Bringing his blade down in a vertical swing, he released a exceedingly powerful violet blast of energy that raced towards Seiji at a great speed. But he wasn't done, as he would quickly follow after the energy wave and follow any attempt at evasion by Seiji to launch another attack at him, this time a demon spell. Having picked up from his encounter with Shigenaga he would fire off a, one nowhere near as strong as the one Shigenage had used but still more powerful than a standard one.

"Hollow powers, Bankai. This kid just might be more powerful than I ever expected" as Seiji pondered and observed the power being displayed before him, his eyes went slant and he broke a small smirk from the corner of his lip "hah!" he bellowed, and in a single instant he pounded onto his chest with his fist. Like a true monster he slammed his fist against his chest, and upon impact a booming-effect noise emanated from Seiji's person. As the contious set of attacks entered Seiji's vicinity he acted completely out of norm, although this is normal for Seiji: Without any prelimary movement or action at all, he stood as the attack connected. As the array of bluish arcs followed by the demon spell made its impact, at that very second Seiji's entire being was enveloped by a yellow pillar that emerged from his being, reaching from his body, down to the ground of Karakura and piercing the heavens. It stood erect, and strong as the towering katana tip that it was, it made it clear that Seiji had only just begun. Quakening laughter that sent shills of terror down the spine of his enemies was casted from the towering figure, and following the laughter a shady figure donning new found blood dressed across the majority of his left arm.

Retaining laughter, the figure had lost its former stoic, impassive nature; showing his true colors he finally came to the realization of Kenshin's power, although immature and abit foolish, he had immense potential, but what he is capable of, had yet to be determined. Watching with wide, gazing eyes that shot daggers forth he glared at Kenshin and his remarkable increase of power, yet still beared a flood of emanating confidence. Swaying his arm to the left as if it was nothing, blood flew down the length of his arm and dripped off his fingertips. Having entered his true battling mindset, his shirt was torn to shreds by the previous attack, both his and his opponents and the noticeable crack could be seen down the length of a black, portruding object from the base of Seiji's torso. Other then that, his menacing, unusually wide smile was evident of his nature; he was enjoying this. Before another second could be wasted, Shigenaga and the Zakura could only sit by and watch as the true Seiji had begun to participate in the battle. "I'll go with my swordsmanship first" he thought, in the secibd the pillar had vanished, and all of Seiji spirit energy or atleast what appeared to be all of it was condescened back into his body. With great, new vitality Seiji darted at Kenshin with most likely the most astonishing speed that has been seen thus far, all though a far cry from what the 4th Seat was truly capable of. In a flash, he was already within striking distance from Kenshin, and swinging his blade horizontally with his right hand a huge amount of spirit energy released itself from the tip as the attack occured. Although his attack was a simple basic movement among skilled swordsman, his speed and strength made it deadly, and atop that, his next attack, if Kenshin managed to effectively evade or endure the strike wouldn't be the least bit pleasant to the Hollowfied Shinigami. It had also just snapped in Seiji's subconcious, that they had taken this battle abit too far by fighting in plain sight and in a widely populated area no less.

Shigenaga stared dumbfounded on the androgyneous newcomer that seemed to sparkle  with anticipation infront of him and directing his puppy eyes at the Arma Clansman in a blatant attempt to coerce him to do as he wanted -- the little sparkle-man was good ! For once, he didn't manage to conjure up any sort of snarky retort and the situation just grew progressively more silly from there. At last though, Shigenaga managed to break off from that hated stare and simply walked off rudely, without answering any of Zakura's questions.

Instead he proceeded to watch the battle from afar. Shigenaga was shocked by the fact that Kenshin had achieved Bankai at such a young age, when was it that the greatest accomplishment a Shinigami could attain was reduced to being simple childs play and something every second person was seemingly capable of? It was like some sort of ridicolous plotline for an equally ridicolous manga. Shigenaga was fairly certain that Kenshin, despite having achieved Bankai trough some inconceivable means very likely didn't know much in the way of using it.

Frowning at what unfurled before his eyes, the Arma clansman continued to watch silently, his arm crossed across his chest.

Kenshin barely had time to register the fact that he had actually drawn blood, had barely any time to feel any sense of pleasure at his partial success when Seiji rushed in at such speeds that Kenshin could barely register his movements. He knew then, without really knowing how he knew it, that if he let this attack hit him he was done for. Almost instinctively, he used the one thing he knew would have the best chance of saving him at a time like this. Using Seishin Tate, he would be protected within the technique's protective barrier from the spiritual energy released by Seiji as part of the attack. Though he was just able to erect the barrier in time to intercept the attack, and was protected from a major part of the damage that Seiji's spiritual pressure would have dished out, there was still the raw physical power of the attack to be dealt with. While his blade, held just within the barrier, along with the barrier itself was able to stop the attack, his hands still felt jarred and he, and the barrier along with him, were pushed back a dozen or so meters before finally coming to a stop. At that moment he would have liked nothing more than to take a small breather but he knew he had to push forward now. Gathering all of Seiji's spiritual energy that had been absorbed by his Seishin Tate and adding some of his own as well, Kenshin condensed it all into a small sphere in front of him. Placing his hands behind the sphere, with the face of his palms pointing towards Seiji, he released the spiritual energy as a concentrated beam of spiritual energy straight at Seiji.

Using his blade for defense, he dashed toward Kenshin with his blade lifted in a vertical position, countering the beam of energy that sped at him. Doing this, prevented him from taking harm and in no time at all, Seiji had already closed the distance between him and his opponent. Very prudent and diligent, he did so and easily manuevered in for another attack. Just then, Seiji swung his blade to the left which commanded the entirety of the attack to divert in a different direction. Following the swift movement, a cheesy smile suffused onto hsi face as he glared at Kenshin, "if your gonna hit me, hit me with all your strength child!" he roared "and if you don't, then you'll just die." He said blankly, without a hitch or expression in his face at all. Once close enough, Seiji thrusted his open palm forth, with intent on grabbing Kenshin's bare throat and slinging him downward, and meanwhile, he kept his katana at the helm in his right hand, the tip of the blade ready at his side to slice Kenshin apart with a sweeping attack to the mid-section.

As Seiji came rushing in, hand stretched towards his own neck, Kenshin gave over completely to his instinct and jumped straight upwards. Before he was even half a dozen feet of the ground he fired off a full strength Cero from his free hand, straight down towards the ground. Not only did the backlash from the attack push him upwards and greatly increase the speed of his ascent, the blast produced from the Cero would be of some use also. Seiji, moving towards the location Kenshin had just vacated, would hopefully run right into the Cero and get a full blast from its explosion. But Kenshin didn't leave it at that, firing off another Cero straight at Seiji's current location just to make sure. Kenshin was starting to run low on juice and if this attack didn't hurt Seiji then he was in trouble as he would be hard pressed to continue this fight for too long.

Both cero attacks descended down upon Seiji with excellent timing and skillfully precision. With Kenshin's unexpected evasion, Seiji was left annoyed by Kenshin's cowardness, yet couldn't help but positively remark his prowess for a young boy. With a smirk on his face, and his hand still outstretched the first cero strike connected with its target, running its course dutifully. As the explosion occured, the second cero nearly reached its mark. Laughter could be heard from the wispy plume of black smoke following the ear-splitting boom from the Hollow blast. "Oh, man I thought you had me there. I'm sorta sad you don't want to fight me hand-to-hand. but I guess you are only a kid. You wouldn't last a second that way." As the smoke was sweeped away by an output of yellow energy emanating from Seiji, the fourth seat barbarian could be seen grasping a orb of raging spiritual power. He caught the cero attack!

Carelessly, he departed the attack; tossing it behind him and within seconds it exploded. Bearing a new burn on his elbow and back, he ignored them imprudently, and began to change tactics; placing his blade back in its scabbard he gazed at Kenshin, "enough of this, I suppose. I'm not enjoying this. You have two minutes to place two wounds on me, otherwise, I will kill you" he said plainly, a little doubting of how easily he could kill Kenshin, but ultimately he was honest in his words, and confidence was his undertone. With that, Seiji shunpo'd toward the Visored, until he was within five feet of the warrior. ''"This'll keep him at a close range. I'm guessing his Zanpakutō is a Kidō type, and weighs heavily on defense since he has only used one offensive attack on me so far. Also, he must be fast enough to evade attacks, which he has shown somewhat. And he has some skill in offense, enough to harm me atleast. In order to face the Espada, you must be in top-notch order, have no remorse, and kill whenever you swing you blade at someone. In the end, its survival of the fittest, and if this kid is coming with us to Hueco Mundo, he will be fit. Ha, I would hate for Handsome to go see this guys mom and tell her that her son was killed because he got ahead of himself." But despite the battle that Seiji was in, something was amiss. ''

Shigenaga was fairly annoyed by the situation at this point - Kenshin seemed like he was doing fine, why was Seiji holding back so much! Drawing a deep breath, Shigenaga proceeded to speak to Seiji; his voice resounding amidst the 'battlefield' with great clarity "Seiji, please kill him, don't hold anything back -- We won't get anywhere if you go easy on him, should you actually succeed in killing him - Soul Society would be rid of a possible future nuisance, if you don't and he suceeds in landing two more wounds on you, he's in, and would quite possibly be good for at least something', overall its a win-win situation, we benefit either way. So pal, just cut loose and have fun!"

Seiji's brow twitched in an annoyed comical way as he turned his body to speak to Shigenaga, his body still directly in front of Kenshin and only partially turned; leaving himself open for attack and discussing in the midst of a battle. "Hey, Mr. Handsome, shut the hell up. I know what I'm doing! Think 'bout Shige, if I kill'em now then I won't have any one to beat on when we go to Hueco Mundo plus if he survives the Espada he'll make a great punching bag. Either way, for me I get to battle enemies that Captains wouldn't dare confront alone, thats a win for me. Besides, this little brats already a nuisance doubt he'll have a chance against the big dogs" ending his rant, he shifted his gaze back to Kenshin. "Well, idiot. You should o' attacked while I was turned. Lost your chance didn't cha'." Sighing, he placed his right hand firmly on the hilt of his blade after reaching across his waist, his gaze directly at Kenshin's shoulder blade, ready to move when the slightest movement occurs in his arm.

Kenshin was starting to get annoyed, he had wounded this fool twice and now he was threatening to kill him if he didn't repeat the feat once more in two minutes? He didn't normally care much about people, one way or another, but this guy he was starting to develop a major grudge against. He wanted a fight then that's what he would get. He had been observing Seiji's movements and searching for any patterns that he might be following. He still too much of a novice with Hōkatsu's powers to be able to fully analyse human behavior but he had been able to take up some pointers. Releasing electricity from his right hand he coated his blade in it, greatly increasing its cutting power. At the same time he was using his electrokinesis inside his body, firing up his neurons to boost his reflexes and overall speed. Suddenly he used Shunpo to appear in front of Seiji and began his assault. One after another he launched a barrage of attacks at speeds that were an improvement on anything he had shown till then. Though his slashes seemed random at first they were all thought out. A slash aimed at his head followed by a quick flick towards his foot to stretch and bypass his defense, a horizontal slash aimed at his head that turned downwards at the last moment to aim for his shoulder, and on and on. He had an idea of Seiji's speed now and was turning his attacks around at the last moment possible so that he would not be able to effectively defend against every attack.

Pivoting his left foot back, Seiji drew his blade with godly timing and cleverly striked his attackers blade to divert the attack, all the while not initaiting an attack of his own. Swift, defensive motions were made causing loud clangs of metal to sound, the two swords resonating as they emitted a low hum every time they collided. Noticing the speed increase, Seiji took noticeable precautions, yet nothing truly shocked him. Deflecting the first strike with an Iaido swing, he continued this process to prevent any attack there on to successfully strike him full brunt. However, as the process went on, Seiji was unexpectedly turned by the attack to his shoulder, and, caught off guard, his final iaido swing unleashed a powerful gale of energy that sweeped Kenshin's blade, reeling it backwards. "Hmm, you cut my chin." He said, noticing fresh blood seep from his chin to his foot. "That strike to my foot was very predicatable, but well thought out. Very nice usage of your power I'll admit, but now, its my turn as 30 seconds are up." He explained, as luminous darkness stretched across the vicinity, enclosing Kenshin in what appeared to oblivion and the weight of gravity began to increase, becoming heavier then any burden the young Visored could possibly bear. Suddenly, a second gale was lauched, this time released in the blink of an eye, it was already near Kenshin, and, as for Seiji he was already gripping his blade with the actual sword in the scabbard, the consistent motion of iaido coming as second nature. In less then 4 seconds, over ten powerful gales of condescened spirit energy infused with the tremendous wind force created from the high speed movement rushed at Kenshin from nearly every frontward conceivable angle.

Kenshin felt his body start to weigh down, gravity itself increasing around him. Tilting his head he looked at Seiji with a wide grin on his face that, covered as Kenshin's face was with his hollow mask, was hidden from the shinigami. He knew what was happening, this had happened before, even though he had defeated his inner hollow it would sometimes surface at times and though it could not take over it did taint his thoughts with its own. He knew it was his inner hollow that was feeling this ecstasy from this fight, a feeling of ecstasy that had been slowly increasing ever since he put on his mask. Kenshin was getting beaten around too much to be able to effectively keep him suppressed. But right now he didn't care, the ecstasy had helped quell some of the fear that had been threatening to permeate his mind. Now he could do what was necessary without his fear holding him back.

As the first gale came in Kenshin was ready, knew what to do. He had seen Seiji and Shigenage use their spiritual pressure, releasing it as a concentrated blast to defend against incoming attacks. He had seen it on a number of occasions in the short period of time since he ran into this duo and being in Bankai made it that much easier to grasp. As the first gale came in he released his spiritual energy all around him, creating a shroud out of his spiritual energy that surrounded him completely. The blast of spiritual energy not only helped reduce the effect of the increased gravity that was holding him down but was also meant to help protect him from the attacks to some degree. At the same time he used Seishin Tate to create a barrier that merged with the shroud of spiritual energy that surrounded him. Doing this for the first time during battle meant that he wasn't completely ready when the first gale came crashing in, and could nothing more than repel enough of the attack to not get killed. But getting hit not only gave him more time to set up his defense it also allowed him to analyse the attack and be more prepared for the next ones. One by one the gales came crashing in, impacting with his spiritual energy one after another. He tried to dodge as much as he could, just being able to do enough to prevent getting hit by more that one gale at a time. One after another each of the gales had their spiritual energy sucked in by his Seishin Tate, only the force of the air behind the attacks pushing him back a little each time. Each of the attacks hurt, but their bite had been subdued by his barrier. As the last gale crashed in he put on a sudden burst of speed and flash stepped to appear right behind Seiji and gathering all of the spiritual energy that had been absorbed from the gales concentrated it around his blade along with any residual spiritual energy left gathered in the blade from his previous attack to launch a point blank Shūryō Taihen straight at the green haired shinigami's back.

"Great work Kenshin. Seems like you aren't just a pitiful child." Seiji said, cocking a wiry smug grin that only he could pull off. His body didn't move, and his posture remained the same; his hand gripping his blade whilst the katana itself was still in the scabbard. His body tense and stoic, yet his movements fluid, very easily Seiji could have atleast hoisted himself and evade the majority of the blast, but that hadn't happened. Nothing did. Everything went silent as Kenshin raised his arm and swung his blade, launching the Shūryō Taihen. The many annoying visitors all went blank as the battle above them came to a screeching halt. The cows from doves of peace were no longer heard, there sweet lilting song became blank. The silence was welcomed by the ominous black cloud that drifted around the fighting duo, clouding the aftermath of the attack. A pinpoint possibly fatal strike to anyone else, Seiji walked out of the smoke with his head held high and still maintaining the same posture. "Sorry, Handsome. 'Guess he got me dis' time." He said, awkwadly he showed no visible pain, or no, not awkward at all, that was just how the Zaraki Clansman was. Pain was irrelevant.

As Seiji walked from the blast, a slash that stretched from his backright shoulder down to the backside of his waist was evident, as the sweet air kissed the crimson blood that fled down his body. "That wasn't bad for a child. I just hope that he won't die as soon as we get to Hueco Mundo. I wouldn't stand to be cut by a maggot an' den' having that maggot die to some pitiful hollow. That would just be saddening." Cocking his head back, the same smug smirk was still suffussed on his face. God itself couldn't help this man as battle is what he thrived for, and all of the Lords attempts would be in vain as he attempted to remove this "battle hard to the death" trait of his. "Your comin' on with us kid. Have fun." With that, Seiji quickly descended from the battle zone to the ground below, taking a standing right beside Shige. "Oh, man. I can't believe you have to deal with this bunch. Hey, how many of these chumps are coming with us?" he asked, shifting his head to Shige. His words filled with anxiety he felt the burden of empowerment rest upon his shoulders as he gazed upon each individual present; all beings to either kneel before Seiji, or stand beside him as the tread upon the blood driven sand of Las Noches.

Shiroko
A young woman was laying down in her room, having been away for only a deity could say exactly. That was, until her cell phone rang. There wasn't a call in the normal sense, rather it was a notification that there was a massive amount of spirtual energy nearby. Her father had installed a special sensor that could detect even the smallest spirtual concentrate in the air and alert her to it. After all, she was a member of the Private Spirit Detective Agency, and such a device made her job more simplistic. After deactivating the alarm, she grabbed a deck of Tarot cards and headed out to where the action was. Using another system in her phone that could track it, she was able to get to the commotion in a matter of minutes. The battle had just about ended when she arrived. As the carnage wore down, her eyes noticed one man standing there, arms crossed. She walked over to him and took on a serious tone. "Excuse me. What are you and these people doing?"

Zakura's eyes lit up. While he would swear off trying to befriend the Arma Clansman for a while, he swore to himself that he would eventually, if not gain a new ally, then at least gain a sliver of respect. This is something he would achieve no matter the odds this trip. Of course, he saw befriending others as an equal oppertunity; he was destined in his own mind to befriend everyone and unite them to create a new world and usher in peace. Of course, this was more difficult than it sounded. Zakura twirled his finger around in his hair, before asking the young woman with a sincere smile, "...And you are?"

The young woman looked at her questioner. "I'm Shiroko Sorei. Now then, I do think you owe me an explanation. What's the meaning of all this carnage?"

For once, Shigenaga bothered to answer the newcomer personally; turning slowly to face her he sized her from head to toe, cooly evaluating her with his gaze, like if she had been a horse he thought about buying, he soon began to encircle her before he finally stopped and raised his eyes to meet hers, before speaking.

As expected, his voice was cool and icily composed when he turned to speak to everyone present, except for the discussed article in question "It would seem that Soul Society has been so gratious as to send the means of which you may relieve yourself should you become.. lonely" he then turned to regard Shiroko again, his eyes just barely meeting hers for a moment before he turned around to continue his announcement "Of course, I'm certain that most of us are rather displeased at the lack of a finer specimen, but lets not be too harsh, eh? There are limits on what kind of trash you can scavenge out of the Rukongai on such short notice, congratulations are indeed in order!"

With that, he simply left her behind together with Zukia; and resumed watching the battle between Seiji and Kenshin -- hoping that Seiji would pummel his opposition thoroughly so as to prevent the latter from entering their expedition - he didn't want to have to babysit some hormonous teen after all, he'd only get in the way.

For once, Zakura found that someone's manners weren't much chop. He sighed, wondering if he'd ever be able to win Shigenaga over- the Arma Clansman reminded him of another. Possibly not, considering that he had introduced himself with flat-out insults. But hey, one could aways try, right? The sun was shining, and it felt as if Zakura would melt into a puddle of goo. For some reason, he couldn't stand sunlight; whenever he was exposed to the sun, it felt as if he was constantly being smashed over the head with a sledgehammer. He wouldn't go after the Arma Clansman because he was sure as heck that he'd get another tongue lashing, though he did call out, "Hmph. I'll show you all that I'm fit for this job! I swear on it! After all, people become stronger through adventures, and if you're going on an adventure, you better make it a big one. If not...If you don't think I'm powerful enough, I'll set strength as my goal. Then I'll become stronger! Always as much as neccessary, got that!?" Unfortunately, Zakura's hammy rant had the unfortunate side-effect of making him out to look like he belonged in a loony bin.

Shiro glanced over at the total nut beside her. ''Great. One guy's a wacko, the other's a perv. Oh Kami, how did I end up in this mess? ''she pondered, actually enjoying the fight in front of her. She could wait to have all her questions answered until the battle that kept the others so tranced ended and then she could ask the survivors the questions and hear the answers from the perpetrators.

The Shinsengumi Representative!
It seemed that in a nearby cafe, which also served as a Bar, a Naraku Shukuzen, representative of the organization known as the Shinsengumi sat, twirling with his glass of red wine in hand. Looking up towards the sky, from inside the bar, he noticed a....collective of spiritual beings, seemingly heading towards an unknown destination, or rather, simply wondering throughout the town. Naraku merely exasperated, not in relief, but in annoyance, drinking up the last drops of the red wine, he placed the glass on the table. Standing up, he was wearing a simple black-sleeved, yellow hoodie, the sleeves rolled up to his elbow. This was accompanied with paw-marked blue jeans and black, pointed shoes. Finally, he wore his trademark fur hat, obscuring most of his dark hair, and merely revealing his tanned skin, lean build and brown eyes. With an, almost solemn expression on his face, he went outside of the cafe.

Here, he began to spread his arms out wide, his tribal tattoos on his fingers revealing the word "Death" imprinted on them, he shouted up into the air, exclaiming." Why, oh why do I have to do this damned task! Couldn't someone else have done this, oh mighty lord!?" Naraku began to shout into the air, with others giving him an awkward look as they passed. Regardless, Naraku began to silence himself, noticing that the shinigami and...other beings were approaching him, he sensed a very familiar presence. A presence of that damned red-head who attempted to eviscorate his hat, into "noodles".

Immediately, his facial expression was emotionless, nothing could be seen, except for the hint of wrath in his eyes. Through Kido, he materialized his zanpakuto's sealed state, drawing the exquisite katana out of it's green sheath, with the drawn tsuba having intricate holes, replicating the shape of sakura petals, his intentions weren't "pretty" at all, regardless of his zanpakuto's beauty. Immediately, he moved, with absolute silence, he hid himself among the various buildings. He found the man! Shigenaga was right in front of his eyes, his back exposed, immediately his body and sword found themselves converging upon Shigenaga's left shoulder, attempting to cleave through it completely!

"...Tch!" Zakura, without any hesitation, leapt in front of the attack, only barely stopping Shigenaga from getting disarmed by a hair's length, grabbing the blade's edge with his bare hands. Zakura's eyes flickered, as he spat at the person, "...Oi! What do you want, attacking someone who hasn't done anything to you like that!?" His words were as sharp as a blade, and he refused to back down from this event. Blood began to leak from his hands, as he was almost pushed two steps back. Zakura gave Shigenaga an aside glance, asking without any fear in his voice, "Well, how about now? Am I worthy of your respect now, Arma Clansman?" Zakura's grip upon Naraku's blade began to slip, as his zanpakuto was about to slice the amnesiac youth's arm off cleanly, though Zakura wouldn't back down. "...If you were about to say that you could prevent all of this by yourself, I honestly doubt you could've reacted that fast. And you..." Zakura's eyes focused upon Naraku. "It'd be best if you sheathed your weapon now, or else you're in for a world of hurt."

Naraku did realize he was up against many strong opponents, and probably couldn't fight them all at the same time. In fact, trying to do that would result in his own death! But then..he looked closely at the individuals he was present against. They were similar to the depictions that the Shinsengumi told him about. He was irritated, his...worst enemy was going to become his comrade! But, he couldn't do anything about it. He merely sheathed his sword, hoping not to cause any greater damage to any of his "comrades". He merely shrugged off the....person's comment, with," hmph, you're a little pansy that has no idea what's happening. How about you just walk away from here, and let me do the talking. But....first of all. What ARE you? In terms of actual gender of course." He insulted the person blatantly, before looking at Shigenaga with hatred in his eyes.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Shigenaga turned around just in time to see a familiar sight, and surprisingly, rather welcome sight "Oi, its you again. I hope I'd see you again, I rather enjoyed your intensity, which, judging by how you just tried to cripple me hasn't waned in the slightest!" he then let his eyes take in the welcoming frame of Naraku, this expedition would be most interesting after all, he reigned himself in quickly though. He had Seiji, he didn't need another companion, especially not one who was very likely to gut him in his sleep, that of course didn't mean he couldn't be just a teensy-weensy bit interested, right?

Putting his cold composure back on, Shige spoke to Naraku in a familiar fashion "So, I take it you've come here to take revenge for me kicking your ass in our last skirmish? I find that amusing, as I also recall how your boyfriend had to come and pick you up like some lost little damsel in distress, really pathethic - what are you, an unruly teenage girl?" clicking his tongue, he continued on with the tongue lashings "Or, perhaps you broke up with your knight and just couldn't forget about me, eh?"

" Heh. Aren't you the most awesome predictor of fates? No, I am not here for any of those silly reasons you have mentioned. And, to clarify, I am still with my boyfriend, thank you very much." Naraku coldly retorted, not bothering to completely retaliate in anger, he merely looked towards the other members of the team, before stating." I am Naraku Shukuzen, of the Shinsengumi. I am here, obviously on their dumb orders to help you guys out, cause you supposedly need it? But, remember, I'm probably prone to not trusting any of you, especially the redhead who I tried to kill earlier...." Naraku paused for a bit, what was he saying!? He was acting like a complete baffoon! So, he retraced, and merely said." Well, I hope nobody here kills me, and I won't try to stab anyone else again, promise. So, do we get going, or what?" Naraku stopped, about to walk ahead, before asking." Oh, won't you guys introduce yourselves?"

Shiro smiled warmly as she walked up to the group, trying to be polite. "I'm Shiroko Sorei, PSDA member and probably the only one who has no idea what's going on here. Why are we all assembled here, and that battle earlier, what was that all about?" She asked.

---

A brief moment passed.

Descending to the ground, a green-haired individual lorded over Shiroko like a towering tree. His hands marred by blood and his face bearing new flesh wounds; he looked nothing short of a demon. Yet, he still maintained his serious demeanor. Shirtless, his muscles loosened as he stood next to the women, signalling that he momentarily let his guard down. A true rarity, that most likely would never occur again. "Pitiful" Seiji said, taking note of Shiroko's slender, nimble frame and her rather high, unmasculine voice. "Your a human. Why in bloody hell should I answer to you woman!"

Following his rant, the warrior turned, tapping his foot in frustrated impatience. "The rest of you peons get over here. I'm tired o' this shit. Now! Get over here for role-call. I ain't wasting no more time in this excuse for a world." Immediately, his eyes flickered from those around him. His black eyes devoid of pain and compassion, he examined the spiritual pressure of all those around him: these are the people venturing to Hueco Mundo with us. This, is the group that is suppossed to defeat the mighty Espada. Heh, looks like Handsome and me might do more work then I thought!'

Seiji spun around on the ball of his foot, immediately addressing the women behind him with a loud, demanding tone. "Looks like you got a decent amount of spiritual power. At least, compared to the damn excuse that the rest of these people are. That said, we are here to recruit powerful warriors in order to persevere the lives of all within Soul Society and those who inhabit the World of the Living. You aren't imposing, but considering what we got, we can't turn ya' down."

After speaking with Shiroko, he closed his eyes to examine the spiritual beings in the proximity. Nothnig really alarmed him except for Shigenaga's, just as he had assumed. He then looked over the warrior who was ascended in the sky --a promising young hybrid, who would hopefully keep afloat whilst in the danger zone, as Seiji enjoyed the growing experience and found some pleasure in his company. He ignored the rest, figuring that anything weaker then a human wasn't worth his time.

With a drawn out sigh, his glance shifted to Shignaga, his arm reeled forward and motioned for the arma clansman to descend beside him. His green mane spilled down his back and Seiji wreathed a gruesome grimace, one that he could only successfully produce. If these were the selected few that would tread upon the blood-streaked sands of Hueco Mundo, determined to put an end to the rebel forces of Sōsuke Aizen, then Seiji would assure that they all came back as heroes for slaughtering the enemy forces.

Seiji spat to his left, and grumbled something aloud yet inconsistent.

Zakura smiled, oblivious to the situation of Seiji's annoyance. "Hehe. Well, you can count me in." Maybe, at least now he could show off his abilities. Though still...He pressed his pointer and middle fingers to his lips in contemplation. "...Where do we start?" He placed his right hand to the back of his head, scratching it awkwardly. "...I'm stumped on that one."

Shigenaga grunted in annoyance, what buisness did the guy have ordering him around like that? "Seiji, I'm not your dog; unlike our mediocre company of half-breeds and miserable beggars, I'm a man of proper bearing -- I'd thus appreciate it if you didn't tell me what to do, but asked me instead" Not dignifying the others present with even a stray look or a glance. Shigenaga made his way towards Seiji and decended quickly to his side.

"Anyhow, I'm here now, so what do you want of me Seiji?" The Arma clansman folded his hands accross his chest as he spoke, abit overbearingly to his companion; whom towered almost a full head above him; why did he need to be so darn tall anyway?

Shiro reached into her pocket to trip her Fullbring, Destiny Card. Just so much as a simple touch could be enough to trigger it, giving her a slight, or nill, advantage. Although the glowing light was hidden by her black clothes, preventing her activation from being noticed, she knew it was active because she felt the deck move, as though it were alive, when all it did was shuffle itself. Keeping an eye on Seiji, she realized that he gave off two spiritual pressures, Shinigami, and something far worse. Even a Hollow didn't harbor this much darkness in their energy. Something was really, really wrong. Whatever it was, just thinking on it sent chills down her spine. Sure, she was a member of the PSDA, but never once had she felt the malice that was with the man.

To some credit, he had a perfect chance to end her life then and there, but pretty much forced her into a rag-tag group. But the painful questions still nagged at her mind like a starving man eating a feast. But rather than worry about what manner of being that man was, she heard Zakrua's question, which snapped her out of the fearful state she was in. "Your guesses at this point, good as mine." she said, walking over to him, and removing her hand from her pocket. Zakura, at least right then, proposed no threat to her.

Naraku was baffled really. How could so many people talk so much? And without any restraint? Ah well, it was finally his turn to speak, and he spoke." Well ANYWAYS, are you guys like...done with your private conversations? And could you pleeease tell me what's going on?" For some reason he felt like there was an incoming disaster about to approach. All these spiritual beings popping up and grouping together. Wouldn't there be a spy situated somewhere? Well, whatever. He knew how powerful some of these individuals were, so I guess he wasn't that worried. But they were up against...them, I mean, how powerful could they possibly be?

Kenshin descended to the ground a little after Seiji, taking his time in gathering his shuriken and sealing the one that was still usable back in his wrist seals. Walking over to where everyone had gathered, he looked on silently as Seiji went about talking in almost the same manner that had lead to the fight between them. Instead of speaking he concentrated on trying to get a read on their individual strengths of everyone other than Seiji and Shigenaga, those two he already knew were stronger than him, by quite a bit. But what concerned him was how strong these others were if they were to be the ones he was about to head into Heuco Mundo with. That line of thought surprised him, he hadn't thought about accompanying them, but his instinctive response to the question had made the decision for him. As he was about to speak up a voice appeared in his head, mad with laughter, ''Oh yes, lets go to Heuco Mundo. Lots of little toys for me to play with.'' The appearance of the voice caused him to miss a step and crash into Naraku's back. Taking a step back, taking an instinctive look behind him as if searching for the source of that voice, he turned back towards Naraku. "Forgive me, I...I slipped." This was not the first time he had heard that voice, he had heard that laugh in his head a few times before, but this was the first time it openly spoke to him. What the hell was happening to him?

Trying to keep his face calm, to prevent the shock from showing on his face he held out his hand in greeting. "Let me introduce myself, I'm Kenshin Suzuki. Pleased to meet you."

Seiji scoffed in attempt to get attention of those present, his eyes capturing those of Kenshin and Naraku in particular. He smiled at Shigenaga before he spoke, giving the orange-haired man a quick nod. He examined Naruku, who essentially questioned every aspect of their arrival; clearly he was clueless. His foot still batting the ground in annoyance, he jumped out to everyones appearance and commenced, loud and authoritative "We gathering in the Human World for a single purpose. Shigenaga and me were told to kick it here for awhile and gather new recruits for the mission. Apparently, you are the newcomers. Congrats, we're going to Hueco Mundo!"

He paused, glaring out the others too possibly understand their emotions on the subject. "For those of you who don't know Hueco Mundo is inhabited by Hollow; in fact, some of the most powerful Hollow and three of the most powerful Shinigami that Soul Society has ever known. For those of you cowards, I suggest you flee now..." He paused so that the words exiting his mouth would linger about, sink in so that all may hear and heed. "For those who give two shits about their life and wanna have some fun, I suggest you come with us. Mr. Handsome over here will provide the portal to enter Hueco Mundo. However, in the meanntime, we will remain in the World of the Living for some rest.

Naraku thought for a few moments...he knew he had a mission. But now he knew what the mission was. He shivered slightly at the thought of going up against those like the Arrancar, Espada and even...Aizen. But, he did not back out. After all, it was a mission, and he had to fulfill it, otherwise the boss would get angry at him again. So, he merely told Seiji and Shigenaga." Well, I might not be the strongest here. But I am definitely not a weakling, nor a coward, so, I'm up for this." Naraku said with an abnormally cheerful tone, as he took his hand out, to "seal the deal" with a handshake of course. He looked around at those who surrounded him. They might not appear strong, but they are definitely more than what they appear to be. He was glad that he was working with these people and nobody else.

Shiro cringed when she heard where they were going. Hueco Mundo, the World of Night. Worse, this terifying Shinigami just said they were going to face Hollows the like not many have seen before, or at least lived to tell the tale. Sure she was afraid, but that wasn't about to stop her from going. After all, from what she had infered from those words, she might be able to help. Her powers were very potent against Hollows, but they themselves had a risk. Besides that, he DID say the word mission.

To Shiro, the word meant two things. First was that it was a few free days off school and secondly, because they were going straight to the hive, so to speak, this ragtag group of spiritual beings could get in a few pre-emptive hits in on those monsters and save a few lives.

Zakura sighed, "Alright, let's go then-" URK! Without even realizing what hit him, the Crimson Sovereign felt a fierce tug on his right earlobe; causing him to wince in pain. "G-Gah...! W-What...?" Gazing to the side, the young man noticed a familiar figure; a slim, yet muscular and toned young man of average height with dull red hair, which was kept in spiky strands jutting outwards in every direction, and a smaller, frontal tuft of hair partially hanging on his forehead. He had slanted dark blue eyes, and above the right one a thin scar was visible, diagonally going up his forehead. His left ear was adorned by an earring, with a prominent metal pendant reminiscent of a double-edged blade attached to it. On his left shoulder, he had an oddly shaped tattoo.

"Wai-wait...Touma!?" Before Zakura could react, Touma opened up a portal with a simple hand gesture, before throwing him in nonchalantly.

Takoyaki Loving Shinigami
In a small town where there were many people walked or drove in their cars and animals were wandering in the town's garbage searching for food. A man with red eyes and scars walked amongst the crowds of people on the side walk trying to not get any eye contact with anyone while holding his box of delicious takoyaki that was still hot and tying his wrapped in bandages nodachi onto his back. After he finally walked to a place with lesser people, that being the playground. Kyo sat on a bench and breathed in relief of not having any eye contact which would have ended in misfortune for him but not just because he might have fainted from the depressing feeling of being stared at, but most importantly because his precious takoyaki would have been dropped.

While eating one of his takoyaki balls, Kyo looked upwards into the sky and felt a familiar feeling that he felt while still being in the Soul Society, that being sensing spiritual energy of Shinigamis and not Hollows "Hmm, can it be im finally going to meet another Shinigami after so long? Or is this takoyaki just bad?" He mumbled to himself with a toothpick that he used for eating a takoyaki ball in his mouth. Kyo stood up and closed the box that contained his remainning 7 out 10 takoyakis so that he may finish them later after he makes sure that his takoyaki isn't bad and making him have a false sense of spiritual energy.

The Storm
Under a starless sky, beyond the vast sweep innumerable shifting dunes, a structure of incomprehensible proportions arches upward without dignity or shame. Its blank face has only the pale presence of the moon to keep it company in its lonesome pride. The immaculate abomination represents the defiance of a single man. Sosuke Aizen, ex-captain of the fifth division, the betrayer of soul society, has constructed Los Noches as his domain.

A silence heralds his dominion. The deserts of Hueco Mundo are parched of blood. The thousands of hollows that once fought in these lands have vanished- their existences swallowed up in the shadow of the Egg.

Inside those imposing walls, within that impenetrable veil of silence, a storm rages. Arcs of energy spark and cascade ceaselessly against the obstinate ceiling and a torrent mercilessly rains down below. Thousands of hollows fight each other on the battlefields beneath, reveling mirthfully in their enraged lust. Every scream, every wound, and every writhing meal is a prayer and exultation to their newfound god.

The battle field is where their weak go to die. And die they do. In droves, in masses, new hollows from the deserts outside are funneled into Las Noches, like lambs to the slaughter. The crucible of the battles kills the weak among them just as it empowers the strong.

It is a perfect machine. A ceaseless conflict, a trial without conclusion. Nothing is wasted. Even as the gory fragments of the fallen evaporate, their escape is barred by the ceiling of the structure. There, the energy collects, coalesces, and condenses into a liquid form. As it rains down, it feeds and empowers the survivors, restarting the cycle of pain and bloodlust anew.

Aizen peers up into the thunderous cascade of light. In truth, he would have favored a blue, clear sky. A sky that truly epitomizes the limitless potential of his cause. But such trivial desires have no place in his plan. To defeat soul society, Aizen needs an army. An army of powerful hollows, the like of which has never been seen.

A smile that appears to be more of a sneer graces his handsome face as his observant eyes sweep down to the chaos below him. It crosses his mind that the struggling figures below appear to be ants. Content in his superiority over the lesser beings, Aizen nonetheless nurses a slight anxiety... no, more of a passive curiousity. Gods don't feel fear, after all.

"Ulquiorra."

---

The soft patter of footsteps echoed in the grand hall that served as Aizen's throne room, as the lone but silent figure appeared before its esteemed master. Bowing curtly he answered, "Yes, Aizen-sama." His raspy voice cold and emotionless as the void itself. Dark emerald eyes absorbed all they could see, from the form of his master to the chaos and death below.

Although he needn't ask, it was prudent to do so, a "courtesy" as Aizen had called it. In his time as King of Hueco Mundo he had attemped to instill a deep level of sophistication within the Espada such as bowing one's head when greeting one's leader, or engaging in pleasantries, though he inwardly believed they were pointless banter. To Aizen however, they were anything but, and demanded that they be exercised, at least in his presence. Still his loyalty was without question, and so he would commit himself to do as instructed completely, no more, no less, exactly as it has always been.

"What are your instructions Aizen-sama?"

"No doubt the shinigami are rallying their forces as we speak. You, along with Grimmjow and Tier, will venture to the world of the living. Grimmjow is instructed to steal the attention of the shinigami- by any means necessary. Neither is allowed to kill shinigami of significance... your role is to observe the defenders. Tier is to oversee our excitable sexta espada-. She is only to exercise her power if he gets out of line. Learn the abilities of these defenders of soul society-their secrets. When you've gathered sufficient data, return with the others to Hueco Mundo and report to me."

A few yards away, perched at a high point where he could oversea the chaos down below sat the Sexta hunched together, his whole being quivering in delight at what transpired below him; every muscle tensed and looking as if he wanted nothing more than to join the chaos himself; claw marks were clearly visible around where he sat and it was obvious that he could barely contain his glee, if at all. As much as Grimmjow hated to be kept as a housecat for a Shinigami, he had to admit that sometimes, Aizen behaved in ways not that unlike a Hollow, it made the humiliation of serving under him just slightly liveable.

Ulquiorra was another case entirely though, that fuckin' traitor had his tongue so far up the Shinigami's asses that it was a wonder indeed that the fucker didn't choke! He let it be though, regretfully. Ulquiorra had long since secured himself a place as Aizen's favorite pet and nobody dared messing with that little shit, except for maybe Nnoitra, who was batshit crazy anyway so nobody seemed to take any special notice of it. Forgetting all about the battles below for the time being and concentrating instead on making himself more comfortable, the Sexta slouched down on his perch and lazily stretched himself in an almost cat-like manner before resting his chin on his hand, yawning in exaperation and boredom. Eyes the color of a starless night continuing surveying the area below with half-assed interest.

Grimmjow turned half-way around to regard the Cuatra and Aizen, whom seemed to be chatting idly some five yards away from where he sat; with his stuck-up emonesis currently with his tongue stuck in Aizen's rectum and with Aizen mumbling something incoherrent with an, "I know it all" kind of smile, it gave Grimmjow a chance to have some fun without Ulquiorra busting in and ruining it; to be certain though, he had to make sure that that bastard Kaname was nowhere to be seen, with his dark skin tone and purple hair the fucktard almost seem to blend naturally in with the castle itself, it was downright creepy!

Just to make sure, the sexta took a sniff of his sorroundings; there was ALOT of different scents in the air alright, but none of them seemed to match that of Kaname Tosen; who smelled of faint cologne, prejudice, zeal and.. tea; the bastard had his own way to lick Aizen's ass, and that was by serving him cups of hot tea. Which had obviously given Aizen the idea that everyone of the Espada should drink tea when they discussed strategies and had meetings - that fuckin' shit was boring enough as it was, but now the bastard tried to poison him on the side? Unbelievable!

The smell of battle made up Grimmjow's mind though, he could feel his heart razing and his blood pumping at the smell of blood, gore and violence! His lips splitting apart to revel in his trademark psychotic grin he reached out with his arm; a sphere of indigo energy building up infront of his palm.. oh yeah, he was going to stirr some serious shit up, and make the castle good and lively alright!

Tōsen's senses had immediately picked up this roaring killing intent. Only one...being in this entire castle could possibly feel so demonic, and this was the Sexta Espada. Tōsen had despised the "wild cat" as he called him with a passion, as his instincts and nature were far too much conflicting against Tōsen's own, and even matched 's to a degree. He didn't know what Aizen saw in some of these monsters, but nevertheless recognized their usefulness.

Yet he knew that Grimmjow would once again try to cause some trouble. With an irritated expression upon his face, he merely monologued to himself." What is this idiot up to again? Honestly, the chaos he erupts every minute is bothersome. Nevertheless, I must go and prevent this action from taking place. After all, the power increase Aizen-sama has granted these Espada, though beneficial, is a pain when dealing with someone such as this fiend..."

And off Tōsen moved, swiftly yet with utter silence his feet treaded upon the floors of the castle, Las Noches. He remembered their first meeting with and the previous Las Noches. As memories were brought up, he thought to himself." I must say. This castle is far more splendid than the pathetic ruins the "King" thought was a castle. If this is what Hollow such as him think of themselves, then I must commend them, on their deplorability of course."

As he passed through the large halls of Las Noches, he finally reached within a few yards of Grimmjow. He didn't need eyes to read the demonic grin plastered upon the wild cats face, his fangs and claws bared, ready to wreak chaos."So, it is exactly as I expected. He is about to do something....I must move!"

His movements sped up instantly, he began to use Shunpo to traverse the small distance between himself and Grimmjow. His hands were placed on the hilt of Suzumushi and he drew her whilst speeding towards him. In mere moments he appeared right behind the Sexta Espada, his blade drawn and ready to spill blood....if necessary." Grimmjow, restrain yourself, otherwise consequences will be more than unsightly." A tone of command and anger erupted from the words out of his mouth. And though his eyes could not be seen, it was evident, Tōsen was not amused in the slightest.

Fuck it! Was every single fuckin' creature in this darn fortress out to be a spoilsport? Sure as ugly fuck seemed like it! "By Tier's black tits, Tousen - stay the fuck out of this, go and choke on your pussy tea!" he shouted at the black man: Grimmjow wondered if somebody would notice if a terribly tragic accident, just happened to befall our beloved Kaname Tousen; like.. accidentally falling off the perch where they sat, or ending up impaled on his own sword thanks to his clumsiness or perhaps a certain wild Hollow just happened to walk by and break like Every. Fucking. Bone in his entire body?

He abandoned his attembt to to stirr shit up though, and stood up before he angrily brushed past Tosen, once directly at his side, he'd attempt to use his body mass to slam angrily into Tousen's side and hopefully send the bastard flying some good few yards; while playing it all out like an accident, of course. Before then to make his way to his intended target for his second most amusing game, bugging the hell out of Ulquiorra Cifer.

Tōsen's reflexes, though he regrettably knew that they were not as advanced as Grimmjow's for sure, were able to swiftly evade his assault through a swift leap in the air. All the while, Tōsen's expression merely worsened. This beast attempted to attack him? " Underestimating me is he? Well, I must not succumb to anger. Otherwise I'll be no better than the fiend I am confronting. And I know I am far superior to him."

Tōsen nearly snapped, but kept in composure, and told him one more time." Grimmjow. I told you once before, and I am telling you one more time. If I have to treat you like a child, then I shall. Restrain yourself as per Aizen-sama's explicit order! You know what happens when you release your untamed powers do you not?" He kept his sword drawn. If need be, he would likely to resort to his own abilities to tame him. Something he was not particularly fond of doing.

---

From within Las Noches, Aaroniero Arruruerie watched the world below. From behind his cylindrical mask, Aaroniero eyed each and every being that crossed their line of sight. Two of his fellow Espada, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra as well as Sōsuke Aizen and his dog Kanme Tōsen. They weren't the ones who drew their attention... it was the countless Hollows who madly moved below that drew Aaroniero's attention... "So much power... we have been watching from this window for ages... we would like to feed."

Aaroniero spoke as if somebody was listening, his voice cutting off as if he was expecting an answer when no answer would ever come. Minutes passed by and Aaroniero was silent; his body fixated towards the window, a desire running across him to go out and join the fray. After what seemed like ages passed by, Aaroniero turned from his one gateway to the outside world where he could feast and devour to his hearts content and begun his slow walk into the shadowy abyss that was the depths of Las Noches. As he walked, his white mask had begun to shift, slowly cracking and ripping as a peach-colored face took shape on Aaroniero's shoulders. A handsome young man with dark purple hair and a happy disposition; it was.

---

"Grimmjow." A smooth but deathly chill voice resounded. But it was his scent, or lack thereof that alerted the Sexta Espada to the presence of Ulquiorra. It was sudden, and overwhelming, flooding his senses with its emptiness.

Surprise, confusion, distaste. All these and more flickered in the cerulean orbs of the Sexta to Ulquiorra's ever watchful eye. He noted the slight discomfort, before it was replaced by a primal facade of bravado. Muscles tense, ready for fast-twitch motion, fangs bared, eyes narrowed, and the tell-tale sign of a curse about to erupt from the Sexta.

Hmph.

How predictable. Rather than let the Sexta demonstrate the extent of his uncivilized nature, he interrupted the beast. "Aizen-sama has ordered that we depart to the Human World immediately. The Tres Espada will accompany us. Your orders are to gain their attention---by any means necessary. However you are forbidden from killing any of the Shinigami."

It was obvious to Grimmjow that Ulquiorra knew that he had heard Aizen's orders, but was convinced that he was either an idiot who needed to be treated like a child, or that he truly believed he was lacking intellectually. Given that he spoke the words slowly enough, and with just enough conceit as typical of the Cuatra, he already had his answer.

"When I return with the Tres Espada, we will depart. If you cannot wait that long then I will cage you into a Caja Negación and release you when we are ready. Is that understood." It was not spoken as a question, rather as a statement of pure authority.

---

Ulquiorra's scent invaded Grimmjow's mind like a seething poison, he felt his head become woozy, his knees buckle slightly - and during this brief confusion, Ulquiorra struck the pre-emptive strike! Damn it, he had dropped his guard for but a moment and the fucking snake had chosen that exact moment to work his poison; one of those days, he'd really have to get that fucker killed, he knew well that he might not be capable of accomplishing the feat on his own, but he'd surely think of a way.

Though, Grimmjow felt a pang of pride, despite what Ulquiorra seemed to think; the guys stone-like and unfeeling armor was actually full of chips and imperfections; and he was about to chip a few extra chunks loose of that structure, even while he was choked by Ulquiorra's scent - he could make out the faint traces of annoyance and disdain; that meant that he had won, Ulquiorra was bugged off, mission accomplished you fucker!

Grimmjow quickly managed to gather his composure and wits together though; these small skirmishes with the cuatra were fairly common among them, and they were one of the few sources of amusement the Sexta had - Aizen was a twinkle toed freak who insisted on keeping him on a short leash. So fucking what if he had destroyed a small part of Las Noches in an argument with Szayel. The pink candyman had fucking begged to get his arm broken, he had said things. The main issue with the crazy lassie-man was that he used so many over-complicated phrases that went over his head! So Grimmjow had pretty much found that the best solution was to just smash the fucking twinkle-toed sissy's ugly mug in for good measure, just incase he said something degrading. He was king, he would not stand for any disrespect - the fucker should learn his fucking place!

So what if his rise of spiritual pressure had blown off a good chunk of Las Noches' eastern corridor? This was Hueco Mundo damnit! People died, got abused, violated, eaten and tortured daily - welcome to reality you stuck-up sucker-son-of-a-bitch!

He would not let Ulquiorra win this one though, as the Cuatra turned to leave, Grimmjow shouted after him "By your fucking pale buttocks Ulquiorra! You can stuff that caja-whatever thingy as far up your rear as it goes! Which should be a good half a-yard cause of that fucking stick that occupies your shithole twenty-four hours a day!" Take that, you damn prick.

Ulquiorra's stopped mid stride, pausing only briefly in response to the Sexta's rebuttal. Slowly, he turned his head, until a single emerald eye peered soullessly at Grimmjow. When he spoke, his voice held the same cold and emptiness it always had, but his words cut like a blade.

"I know your proud of yourself for using what little brains you have to come up with that remark." His eyes narrow with contempt. "But your pathetic attempt to insult me, is disappointing. You have only reaffirmed my previous analysis---an uncivilized primative lacks the capacity for anything remotely denoting intelligence."

He turned his head back, as he continued his stride. "You are a beast that is released and reigned in at Aizen-sama's whim. Do not forget your place Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez." He says smoothly before disappearing in a booming blur.

---

Szayel Aporro Granz sat there on his personal balcon. Extending from his room, it was pure white, with several paintings, a tapestry dangling from the balcony itself. The chair he sat in was of victorian design, a pure ivory color to match the rest of Las Nochest in most cases. Writing down various notes and thoughts in his journal, dubbed: #17.

The sun lit skies danced with gentle blowing clouds, and Szayel was ignoring any other activies besides his own within this fortress of Arrancar. Pink hair flowing lightly, bangs brushing against his temples. He sighed lightly, licking the end of the pen to wetten it, jotting down more thoughts. Garbed in his haori; dabbed in blotches and splecks of various shades of red. His glasses having some of the same pattern. Fresh out of the surgical room...

The journal entry read: "The project was yet again; a brilliant success. By giving the adrenal glands of an Arrancar an enhanced gene derived from Hollow's instantous healing... I found a way to allow my patients to reproduce internal organs with utmost ease." Tapping his chin in thought, a light smirk on it, nearly giggling at his delight... "However, the effect also seemed to grow additional organs without end... the result: the patient did not survive the experiment. Such a breakthrough!"

Closing his journal, finished with his entry, he placed it on the small end table near him. Shoulders raising, hazel eyes calmly collected, he called out, "Igai Shouri!" the Fraccion hurried in soon after. She semed timid and quiet, obviously bothered by her master's yelling. "Yes, Szayal-Sama?" Keeping his gaze outward, he smiled. "Please dispose of the body... and go fetch me another please, we have a busy future ahead of us... and we have many more experiments to test run..."

Igai Shouri nodded, remaining emotionless and voiceless, she went back inside to get her detestable duties over with...

---

Watching her fellow espada from around a nearby corner in the shadows, Tier Harribel, the Tres Espada, sighed in disbelief. "What a bunch of incompetent muscle heads. Instead of fighting with each other they should be concerned if the enemy will have a sufficient force behind them as well." Leaning against a wall, she crossed her arms and turned her head to look at a more lighted area where her three fraccion were listening to her every word as she mumbled "Grimmjow....".

"Harribel-sama! You could just as easily take them out one by one if you wanted to. Why do not simply eliminate that bunch of fools? With you power and us supporting you, I'm sure that we could establish you as the power holder in the coming days." A woman with short blue hair muttered.

"Apacci. That is not what I wish for at all. To consider killing your comerades for the sake of greed and power is a road I will not take. Those who take that route will lead a life of nothing but constant strife and an everlasting battle to constantly feel as though they continue to exist. A light should never try to completely illuminate the darkness, much like the darkness should never try to overtake the light. In a sense, every member of the Espada is needed part of a greater cause, with each member adding a unique feature that no one else could compensate for."

Apacci was stunned and could only manage out "I--I..."

"..am a fool. That is what you wanted to say." Sung-Sun laughed as she covered her face with her long sleeves. "What kind of nasty savage do you think Harribel-sama is?"

"That's not what I was saying at all! You stupid reptile!" Apacci was visibly embarrassed but tried to maintain a calm presence about her. "I just think she would be better suited to accomplish a united front instead of the others."

Still laughing, Sung-Sun arched an eyebrow, "Oh? So now you're saying that you think she couldn't handle fighting all of them on her own? Are you doubting her skill?"

"Wh-what!? No! Stop twisting my words before I wring your neck!" A now completely red in the face Apacci lunged toward Sung-Sun, before Mila Rose placed a palm on her head stopping Apacci in her tracks.

"Calm down, both of you. This is no way to act in front of Harribel-sama." Mila's voice was full of admiration as she looked at her master change directions. "Her eyes....they were filled with a slight happiness just then."

Now looking in the opposite direction, Tier spoke to her fraccion. "All of you, get ready. Someone is approaching."

---

He had left the Sexta after parting with those final words, a brief flicker of emotion crossing his features. Contempt. Disdain. He contemplated at the times the extreme but humanistic nature his fellow Espada displayed. It was disconcerting at times to draw such an analogy, afterall, humans were weak, pathetic creatures who struggled to live through an illusion of their own creation.

As quickly as the thought entered his mind, it left. He would not waste his time pondering on the lunacies of his brethren, no matter how illogical they may be. They were Hollows, and while they lacked etiquette they were at the least true to their nature.

That he could see.

Materalizing before the Tres Espada and her Fraccion briefly taking a moment to assess them; Anxious, uncertain, yet a mixture of admiration and fright. Good, they were in tune with their instinct, understood the palpable fear of an Espada's presence.

Next he examined the Tres Espada---cool, confident, yet wary all at once. Posture suggests relaxation, but there was an undercurrent of caution, anticipation. Eyes, of a hungry beast, her gaze like that of a predator, uncertain of whether to consume what had appeared before it. Reiatsu shifting beneath the surface, ready to crush and overwhelm them all, he could sense her inner turmoil, the unescapable craving that plagued all Hollows, hidden by a mask of control. Yet her gait indicated a protective instinct towards her Fraccion. The Espada of Sacrifice, unwilling to relinquish her hold on past glories.

Incomprehensible.

With his analysis complete, which took no more than a mere glance at the scene before him he greeted the Espada, ignoring her entourage, "Aizen-sama has ordered us into the Human World. Grimmjow will be distracting the Shinigami. Your orders are to observe and restrain him if necessary, concurrent with that, he is forbidden from killing any of the Shinigami. We are to depart immediately." He said monotonously, voice devoid of any emotion, like a machine relaying information.

---

Readying to lunge at the Espada, Apacci had a bloodust in her eyes as she looked at the enemy's throat. How could he disrespect Harribel by talking to her in such a manner? But before she could even act, Apacci froze in her place from a simple glance from her master.

"Very well." Tier's answer was short and concise as she lifted her body off the wall she was leaning on and then flipped her hair. "Watch Grimmjow? I suspect he should be more than capable of maintaining a decorum about himself when trying to complete this mission." Pausing for a moment, she waved a hand, directing her fraccion to briefly depart. "If he refuses to cooperate, I take it we are to withdraw from the fighting? If so, what is to stop him from destroying everything from the moment we arrive ih he knows this as well?"

"You."

The answer was said with a surprising level of finality. "Aizen has deigned that you hold his leash. See to it that you do not fail, Tres Espada." There was no resignation in his otherwise dead tone, though there was an undercurrent of...inevitability. Whatever plan the Sexta had in mind, Ulquiorra was going to leave it to Tier to deal with it...as well as the consequences. Without waiting for a reply the Cuatra Espada pivoted on his foot and left, no doubt waiting at the site of their deployment.