Blood-Stained Flower Fields

Revelations
"That N..." Kayla sat in the dark of their abandoned hideout, biting her fingernail, regrowing it, and biting it again in a cycle. This certainly wasn't healthy. Her blue eyes were overrun with confusion. "He's a Shinigami!" She screeched. "How can we trust him? Why am I even entertaining these thoughts!?"

"Look, just go ahead with it, alright? Not like we have any other choices." While reluctant to actually say such words, Dohko was actually right- they didn't have many other leads on Harumi.

Kayla's frown was permanently set in her face; she absolutely did not like this. But what was worse, she hated that Dohko was correct. "I get it!" She hissed, her braids extending into a blade that sliced clean through the wall in her frustration, making a large gash. "It just...conflicts with everything I know!"

"Then suck it up," Dohko's tone became far more serious- gone was the goofy halfwit from before. "Just don't think about it. I mean, people are people. You have some good ones, and you have some bad ones. So focus on that, and try and get along with him. It's not that hard, is it?"

"You tell me, Dohko," Kayla replied, venom in her voice. "Why don't you try living half a century in perpetual poverty, under the thumb of these arrogant, self-serving 'balancers'." She felt the heat of anger flash through her body just remembering it. "Live the life of a petty thief, stealing for your meals and watching your newly made friend die, left and right, and then you try to tell me if you can get along with your former oppressors!"

"Look, just put it aside. If you were to ruin this, then we'd lose any traces of a lead. Thus, Harumi'd be in big trouble, if not dead, and your friend Ahatake would be sad. You don't want that, do you?" Dohko had a good argument in this.

"Don't act like you know what Ahatake wa-!" Kayla snapped, only to be cut off impromptu by Mosemkinbane.

"Enough, both of you!" The pixie-sized bird snapped, fluttering around the arguing duo madly. "Kayla, I'm not quite sure what you have against Shinigami, and to be quite frank, I don't care."

Both the sharpness and insensitivity of this statement caused Kayla to hiss, her eyes flashing dangerously. Was she thinking about frying this bird?

"Dohko is correct," Mokin carried on, obviously having noticed Kayla's reaction but she didn't care. After all, the original body was with Ahatake, and if Kayla was to kill her off now, it'd be akin to shorting out their GPS. "Whatever personal problems you have with the Shinigami can be settled later, after we've retrieved Kayla. I'm already certain the trail of corpses you've left in the night will lead someone to us." Fluttering down towards Kayla, she furiously pecked at the girl's head.

"What will you do if you've compromised our mission?" The bird-like entity was hissing by this point, obviously a bit of frustration was letting loose. "If our enemies find us, and our position is sent out to the higher-ups?"

"I'll kill them all, of course," Kayla replied morosely.

"Kayla!"

"Alright, alright, I'll concede," The red-headed girl replied bitterly. "But only this once, will I agree to work with these loathesome Shinigami. Just. This. Once."

"Good." Dohko straightened his tie, as he began to walk off. "...Wait, where are we gonna go? I swear, it feels like two months and it's only been a few days. Kayla, pink bird thing, remind me at once."

"That man, N, wasn't it, said Harumi's crime was attempted assassination of the Captain Commander of the Gotei 13," Mokin mused, recalling the earlier events that had transpired so recently. "A crime of that magnitude is a capital offence; the individual would be imprisoned directly in the Senzaikyū while awaiting execution."

"Senzaikyū?" Kayla inquired, bewildered by the term.

"The Senzaikyū is the large white tower in the center of Seireitei," Mokin explained. "The walls of the Shishinrō within the prison are crafted out of sekkiseki, a stone that repels reiryoku. While they are imprisoned within the tower, they have a thin window that overlooks their impending means of execution — the Sōkyoku, the capital punishment for capital offenders." At the mention of this name, Mokin looked, if possible, nervous.

"We need to save Harumi before she is killed by the blade of that weapon."

"I don't know whatcha talking about, with this ghost samurai crap, but isn't there a way we can break that reiryoku repelling stone?" Dohko asked.

"Our goal isn't to break the sekkiseki," Mokin replied sternly, slightly put off by Dohko's term "ghost samurai", no matter how accurate it was. "The sekkiseki that lines the walls of the Shishinrō are not meant to act as a defence against intruders; our arrival will not be impeded by it. We only need to ensure we do not stay too long within the walls, lest our reiryoku be weakened as well."

"So it's like a form of radiation," Kayla noted.

"Exactly." Mokin confirmed. "Besides, even if any of us were to touch it, it might damage us more than we could damage it — we are made of reishi at the moment."

"Wasn't there this one guy who could break sekisekki or something with his bare hands and not get hurt. Why don't we just ask him. But then he'd either solve all our problems or not give a shit." Dohko was right about that. "And he also beat a guy who could throw galaxies but still. What do we do now, aside from avoid the stones?"

"Dohko, that was in a manga," Kayla sighed, irritated by the pale-haired boy's ludicrous suggestion of an entity like that. "Don't mix up stories meant to be over the top entertainment with our actual lives."

"That's all we need to do," Mokin replied sharply. "Now come, we've rested enough. We need to make our way to the Senzaikyū."

"I'll tell you everything, Captain, from the beginning."

Dyan and Hajime dashed over the rooftops of the Seireitei, their mantles concealing their bodies and reiatsu from the senses and eyes of the Shinigami below. Dyan wore an expression of disbelief. It had been several hours since Harumi had told them both her story, but he couldn't wrap his brain around the details.

"How can something like this be happening here, in Soul Society?" He muttered, gritting his teeth. "I thought there was something suspicious about the way Harumi was imprisoned, but it's worse than I feared."

Hajime scratched his head, "I bet it's right under our noses. There's much more to this than I believe there is on the surface. But the unfortunate thing is, I can't figure out WHAT it is. I bet it's something obvious, but there's some ruse being played here..."

"At the same time, I don't want to jump to conclusions," Dyan asserted, a deep set frown on his face. "This situation has become a lot more complex than I originally expected..."

Both he and Hajime knew they couldn't simply go to the Captain Commander with their suspicions, just in case Harumi's story checked out. And if it didn't check out, both Captains would be in immense trouble for opening a maximum security prison without permission.

"Hajime, we may need to pay him a visit," The blue-eyed Shinigami's voice expressed hesitation as this suggestion. Whoever this man was, it was obvious Dyan wasn't too fond of him.

"You mean that man from the Twelfth Division?" Hajime asked, surprised Dyan would suggest they go to him of all people. "No doubt he'll have a solution to this. Hell, he might even know what the hell is going on."

"He usually knows more than he should," Dyan affirmed. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't already know what was going on..."

"I swear to god this place has more twists and turns than that indian guy's movies!" Dohko yelled out in frustration. "Are we there yet, pink flying thing!?"

"My name is Mosemkinbane, dimwit!" Mokin chirped angrily. "How would you like if I called you 'silver-haired dolt'?!" It was obvious Mokin wasn't fond of being called a 'thing'.

"I call 'em as I see 'em!" Dohko argued back- he didn't like arguing with people who called him out- especially if the argue-ee was a small pink flying thing. "I'm not stupid, either, dammit! Don't say things you have no clue about!"

"Silent, fledgling!" Mokin snapped, and it soon became clear to the others why she ordered a hush to fall upon them. Standing in the distance them, back turned, was a female Shinigami with long orange hair.

"Duck behind the building!" Mokin hissed quietly, and the other two followed her instructions. Kayla peered quietly around the corner, and noticed the girl had yet to move from the spot, or even change positions.

"She's still standing there..." Kayla murmured quietly. "If I strike now, I can blow a hole right in her chest."

Dohko sighed in a hushed voice, "Can you do anything without killing somebody?" Ironic for him, really; considering his past. "I mean she doesn't look harmful. And she's easy on the eyes, too!"

"Then what do you suggest, lover-boy?" Kayla snapped acidly. "If she's in our way, just kill her and be done with it, it makes for much less hassle."

"And makes our job about ten-times harder when the Shinigami discover a bleeding corpse in the middle of the Seireitei," Mokin admonished Kayla sharply. "If we can get around her, let's do it quietly and quickly. She seems to be waiting on something."

"You can come out, all three of you," A quiet, yet carrying voice of a young woman, melodic in it's nature, much like a lute, caused all three to jump. "You aren't dealing with a human, you know — hiding behind a building but letting your reiatsu flare like you are isn't an effect method to hide."

Kayla immediately turned, and saw the figure of the girl standing only feet from them now, having found their hiding place easily. To say she was beautiful would be an understatement; shining pale skin, sparkling grey eyes, and sleek orange hair that hung to her waist, as well as a shihakushō worn in a way that revealed her large breasts, Kayla assumed she must be the eye-candy of the Gotei 13.

Oddly enough, Kayla saw a black and white-collar-like clasp around her neck, and across her breasts — conveniently concealing her nipples which should have been visible to some degree — was a large black X. Similar markings could be seen on the girl's hands. Kayla's eyes narrowed; these markings were suspicious in and of themselves, as no other Shinigami seemed to have them, but they could be simple tattoos.

"Sh-She found us!" Mokin hissed, cursing her own incompetence. She'd been in such a hurry to hide, she'd forgotten to have them all mask their spiritual pressures.

"What the hell is a spiritual pressure?" Dohko asked, "All I know is how to use a sword dammit, nobody tells me this shit." He continued, "Anyway, let's try and peacefully negotiate. I think it'd be better. I mean dang those bazoongas would be classified as a second blade release on their own."

Tankahi, who was used to such comments due to her particular way, ignored Dohko's snide comment. "Yes, a peaceful negotiation is what I would like as well. My superior would like me to bring you to our squad's personal prison, and interrogate you there."

Kayla's eye twitched violently. "I object to those terms."

"I'm gonna say no to the prison thing, lady." Dohko stepped back slightly. "If we can have a nice civil chat that'd be grand, thanks."

The girl let out a sigh, sweet as music. "I really do want to settle this without harming any of you. If you could simply—"

"Don't lie, Shinigami!" Kayla snapped, her snarl directly contrasting the Shinigami's own soft voice. "You come to us without even introducing yourself, sword at your hip, and expect us to come along with you just because your Captain said so?"

The Shinigami looked slightly surprised, a pink flush filling her face. Had she really made a faux pas in not introducing herself to future prisoners? Chuckling and smiling weakly, she replied, "I guess you have a point. My name is Tankahi Yokumoriki, the 3rd Seat of the Eighth Division...and your new detainer."

"What." Dohko couldn't really respond to that. "Do you really think that you can beat me? I'm a master of my clan's secret arts!" Surprisingly, they did not include overly powerful eye reijutsu.

"What are we going to do?" Kayla grit her teeth. "We can't all stay and fight Tits McGee over here, Harumi is waiting on us."

"So they are after the prisoner on death row...!" Tankahi thought to herself. "If you're truly here to stage a rescue operation, then I can't let a single one of you slip by me!" She extended her index and middle finger towards all three of them. "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini!! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat!"

Mokin recognized the stance and the incantation immediately. "Everyone, get back! This is a Bakudō spell; it's Kidō, Shinigami spellcasting!"

"Bakudō #9, Hōrin!" From Tankahi's fingers, an orange-hued sphere of energy with spiraling yellow patterns formed, and she whipped her hand back, elongating it into an ominous tendril. the girl then shot her hand forward, releasing the tendril towards the trio in an attempt to bind them and halt their movements.

"The hell is that?" Dohko raised his eyebrow in facination, as he withdrew a single blade- this sliced through the tendril in a clean stroke. "...Some sort of shinigami magic?" He turned to Kayla and the pink flying thing, yelling, "Get the hell outta here. I'll deal with her!"

"Wait, I want a piece of—!" Kayla began to protest, before Mokin pulled her by the collar, snapping her out of her senseless complaint.

"Our goal isn't to fight Shinigami!" The bird hissed. "Harumi is waiting for us!"

"Tch..." Kayla was primed to complain again, but she swallowed it this time and took off past Tankahi with Mokin in the lead.

"N-No!" Tankashi spun on the spot, extending a hand towards the group. "Bakudō #14, Jinheki!" A large pillar of light, shooting upward and extended several meters from left to right, impeded the path of Kayla and Mokin. "You won't get away from me!

"The hell is that?" Dohko suddenly swung towards Tankahi, releasing a blade of wind towards her with his sealed blade. "This should put some WIND in your sails!"

"What!?" Offended by both the ridiculous pun and cursing her own stupidity for forgetting Dohko, Tankahi quickly concluded that saving her own neck was of higher priority than detaining two Ryōka. Begrudgingly, she tore away her attention from Kayla and Mokin. "Bakudō #8, Seki!" Forming a sphere of energy in front of her hands, she thrust it out towards the oncoming blade, creating a repulsive force that deflected Dohko's strike and allowed her to slip back.

Kala and Mokin took this time to destroy the barrier through one of Kayla's arm blasters, and made a quick escape, leaving Tankahi alone to fight Dohko.

"You're certainly tenacious," Tankahi noted, brushing hair out of her eyes as she stared daggers at Dohko. "You fight like a Shinigami, but you dress like a human...I suppose odd things are to be expected of Ryōka."

"And you're even odder, dressin' like a 20's prostitute. Seriously, for shame, cover yeself up!" Dohko straightened up, spinning his blades around as he entered a battle stance. From behind him, a majestic burst of winds sped up, tugging at the surroundings.

"Keep your eyes focused on my movements and not my chest!" Tankahi shot back; admittedly, this would be difficult for any straight male opponent, as her breasts were doing their fair share of 'movement' to begin with. "Even with your odd aerokinesis, I won't falter!" She extended a palm forward, pointing directly at Dohko.

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hadō #31, Shakkahō!"

From the girl's palm, a bright pink sphere of energy was formed, contrasting neatly with her pale skin, before being expelled from her palm in the same sphere form, compact and deadly, firing straight towards Dohko.

"Where the hell is she pulling all those crazy spells from?" Dohko evaded Tankahi's blast with a rolling motion- barely leaping out of the way as it exploded behind him. "You there!" He pointed at Tankahi with his blade, "How the hell are you doing that!?"

Tankahi sighed; she felt compelled to pity this boy. Hadn't he paid attention to anything that the flying bird had said? "I suppose there's no harm in telling him...I don't intend to kill him." She thought to herself. "It's called Kidō. We Shinigami use it for offensive, defensive, and supplementary maneuvers." Keeping her explanation relatively short so as not to provide an opening, she dashed forward at blinding speed using Shunpō.

"Like this. Hadō #4, Byakurai." She extended a thin finger, pointed directly at Dohko's shoulder as she released an explosive blast of white lightning.

"Again, with the spells!" Dohko sighed. "Where do these people learn all this crap, anyway? Talk about unfair." Wind converged upon his blade, projected outwards as a barrier of gales that swirled around his body, "catching" the Byakurai spell and flinging it back at Tankahi.

"A deflection?!" The girl, keeping her eyes locked on Dohko, the girl curved her torso to the right, allowing the pale lightning to whizz by her, creating a brilliant explosion in the distance.

"A user of air prefers to keep their distance...therefore, I'll get in close and diminish his use of that ability!" Tankahi though to herself, dashing forward as she drew her Zanpakutō from its sheath. Closing in, she swiftly delivered multiple sharp and precise jabs of her tantō forward at Dohko.

Dohko gathered wind around his feet, as he leapt back. "Time for a sudden charge..." The winds intensified, as Dohko suddenly shot forth like a speeding bullet, aiming both of his blades forward while deftly evading Tankahi's strikes.

Reacting quickly, Tankahi extended her Zanpakutō, using the flatside of the tantō as if she intended to block Dohko with only her blade.

"Bakudō #39, Enkōsen!" Forming in front of her blade was a spinning disk of dull energy, which Dohko's blades collided with, and the boy found himself firmly stopped. With her shield petering out, Tankahi took this moment of chance, extending a free hand towards Dohko.

"Hadō #32, Ōkasen." In front of her palm formed a yellow sphere of crackling energy, which itself extended into a large yellow blast.

"Tensa, Shoryusen!" Dohko gathered wind upon one of his blades, as he swung upwards with a leaping blow, releasing a crescent moon of galing energy that sliced straight through Tankahi's Kido blast.

"Ugh!" The force of the blast collided with Tankahi, who was unable to react quickly enough in time to dodge in, sending her hurtling into one of the nearby stone buildings, crashing into it and reducing it to rubble.

"He's strong..." The girl thought to herself amidst the rock, not yet budging an inch, playing opossum. "I need to get him into a corner..."

Dohko, zipping around with wind at his feet, managed to leap into the air, raising his blades into the air as if stabbing the sky itself, before bringing down an enormous hurricane, hurtling in Tankahi's direction.

Violently expelling spiritual pressure, Tankahi forced the rubble off her, and it shot in various directions as she emerged from the wreckage, a surging wind around her. The force of her own spiritual energy seemed to alter the flow of the blast of wind that Dohko fired, leaving her relatively unharmed.

"I should have figured these Ryōka wouldn't be so easy to deal with." The girl's eyes were locked firmly onto Dohko's form before leaping into the air herself, gathering reishi to create an invisible platform to stand on: a basic Shinigami skill.

"You're persistent, for an invader," She quipped, gripping her tantō. "I can't say I'm surprised; I didn't expect someone who managed to make it into the Seireitei to be weak."

Dohko leapt into the air, shooting his spirit energy down to his feet to cushion his movements- performing a double jump of sorts to reach Tankahi in the air. Spinning around, he gathered two surges of wind upon his blades, launching them as twin "fangs" of energy towards her.

Tankahi saw through this maneuver easily, however, and shot downwards like a bullet, evading the blades as they slipped by her on both sides, curving her body at an angle to avoid them, descending on the now weaponless boy. As she closed in, her descent further sped up by gravity, she flashed her weapon, slashing downward at Dohko's shoulder.

"Gh!" Dohko took the full brunt of the enemy's attack, being launched downwards by the force of Tankahi's blow. When in motion, Dohko stabbed his blade into the ground, allowing himself to grind to a screeching halt. "...She isn't just a pretty face."

Flicking the blood off her tantō, Tankahi stopped in midair, pointing a finger down at Dohko. "Hadō #4, Byakurai." Once again, the familiar blast of bright white lightning ejected from her fingertips with a crack like thunder.

Dohko was hit by the spell; for some reason, his movements right now seemed awfully sluggish for somebody who prided themselves in terms of speed. Being blasted away by Tankahi, Dohko created an air current underneath his feet, stopping himself in his tracks as he declared, "Blow 'em away, Arehien!" In an instant, a current of winds surged around his blades, allowing them to take the form of twin katanas with reinforced parralel blades.

"A Shikai!?" Tankahi's eyes widened as she took in the sight of Dohko's shocking revelation. "A Ryōka with a Shikai...I should have expected a surprise like this..." She kept a firm grip on her tantō, the visage of a white-haired man appearing in her head. "Captain...I won't hold back now..."

Her spiritual energy began to flare up, at first bright gold, before converting to a light green. "I reject! Tonrikka!" The tantō quickly broke down, transforming from a short sword into a thin, silver javelin; energy flowing off of each end in a fashion similar to flames, making it look more arrow-shaped.

"To be honest, I don't like to use my Shikai," Tankahi confessed, gripping the weapon firmly in her pale hands. "But I can see I can't hold back against you, Ryōka."

"I didn't even know I had a Shikai." Dohko laughed, "Ahh, calm down, I'm joking. Now..." Dohko declared, "Hien Tenpuzan!" This released a crescent moon of wind towards Tankahi at high speeds. "Let's go!"

Tanhaki gripped her lance, batting the spiritually enhanced wind away as she made a dash towards Dohko, accelerating with Shunpō. "With as much Kidō as I've employed, I only have two uses of Tonrikka's power..." Tankahi thought to herself, chagrined. "I've got to make them count!"

Closing in on Dohko, Takahi weaved in an out, as if to throw off the boy's judgement, appearing in front of him, a determined expression locked onto her face. She thrust the javelin forward, aiming to pierce the boy's stomach.

Dohko barely managed to prevent himself from being impaled through the heart, flipping back, but Tonrikka managed to strike his shoulder, drawing blood for once. "Reppu!" Swinging one of his blades downwards, Dohko released a swirling miniature cyclone at Tankahi, chasing her down.

"Is there no end to his abilities!?" Tankahi thought, pushing off from the air in an effort to avoid the pursuing cyclone. "I can't lose...not now! I can't lose now!"

100 years ago...'

Tankahi, appearing very different than she did in the present day; her collar was a solid black and white, no longer divided, and the markings on her breasts were very different; as opposed to the X that was ingrained in Dohko's vision, one large black marking connected itself across her chest, as well as two black markings on both breasts. Additionally, her hair was shorter, and worn slightly tied in the back.

The tenth seat of her division, she was running down to her Captain's office, slamming through the door and panting as she tried to catch her breath.

"Captain...you...called?" The girl heaved, her chest bouncing with every breath she took, and sweat dripping from her face.

"Tankahi, you're here," A man clad in the garb of a Shinigami Captain, and possessing very long and brilliant silver hair, looked up from his desk at the exhausted girl. "Do you know why I've called you here today?"

"No...sir..." The girl replied, her breathing steadying as she took further steps into the office. To be honest, she did know; he wanted to talk about the previous mission to the World of the Living. She'd been dreading this.

"You remember your last mission, don't you?" The man's eyes narrowed; blue and golden, unique among the Shinigami of the Gotei 13. Despite the sharpness of his tone, it was obvious he had a kind face and hadn't called Tankahi in to reprimand her too harshly.

"Y-Yes...sir," She trailed off, unable to look her Captain in the eye.

"I just received the reports," The man held up a loose packet of papers, brandishing them in Tankahi's direction. "According to what's written here, you hesitated against a Hollow again. This is the fifth time in a month, Tankahi. Kuchina can't keep rushing to defend you on official missions every time you slip up."

"S-Sir, if I may..." The girl stammered, her face flushing in embarrassment. "I'm not any good at this kind of thing...when I graduated the Academy, I specifically asked for a placement in the Fourth Division..." Her eyes welled up with tears, if only slightly. She knew she was well in over her head, being placed in a combat division. "I'm not meant for this kind of thing..."

Seishima let out a resigned sigh, and stood up from his seat, walking directly over to Tankahi. "Tankhai," He said firmly. "Exactly what is the most fundamental duty a Shinigami has when not performing the rites of passing for human souls in the material world or the cleansing of Hollows?"

This question, totally out of left field, made Tankahi glance up at her Captain in confusion, grey eyes meeting gold and blue. "Uh...sipping tea and enjoying life?" She replied.

The silver-haired man chuckled in amusement at this statement, before giving her his answer. "Keeping the peace within the Soul Society, of course."

This response seemed to bring a light of fire to Tankahi's eyes. "You mean by sticking up your chest and waving your swords around like bullies?!" She protested, sticking out her chin at her Captain, waving her finger pointedly at him; just this simple action caused her own puffed out chest to bounce.

"Tankahi," Seishima's brow furrowed in frustration at the girl's answer, however, when he replied, his tone was soft; akin to an adult correction a mistaken child. "There is a difference between keeping the peace and abusing power to instill fear. The Shinigami are supposed to keep order within the Soul Society. If they don't show their might, then all there is left is fear and that would give way into chaos."

The orange-haired girl averted her eyes from Seishiam again, fidgeting her fingers nervously. "I-I'm not the kind of person to act tough, Captain..."

"You're a Shinigami, aren't you?" Seishima replied without batting an eye; he refused to allow his own subordinate to stand before him and think so little of herself. "You embody death and wear the Zanpakutou, symbolizing power. Had you not been qualified, would you not have been stuck at the Academy and not been sent to my Division?"

Tankahi's eyes widened round like saucers in realization of her Captain's statement. "C-C-C-Captain Seishima..!?"

"Do not let fear run your life." He instructed coolLy, placing a thin, pale hand on Tankahi's shoulder. "Fear is a tool used to keep the peace. Reign in your fear and make it a weapon to keep those who'd use it wrongly against those you seek to protect. You are power. Don't be afraid to show it. And if you find you lack the strength, become stronger until truly embody the status of Shinigami. There is nothing less that I ask of you, Tankahi."

The warmth of determination surged through her body at her Captain's words of encouragement. A broad smile crossing her face, the girl saluted her Captain firmly. "Yes, Captain!"

Present Day

"Those words my Captain gave to me...I won't let him down here...!" Tankahi firmly gripped the javelin in her hand, turning to face the cyclone that pursued her. As it neared her, she focused her spiritual energy into her own weapon, rotating it in the opposite direction of the cyclone's own rotation. Thrusting her weapon into the heart of the spinning wind, the two rotations cancelled each other out, revealing a stony faced Tankahi.

"My name is Tankahi Yokumoriki! As a Shinigami of the Gotei 13, I will defeat you, Ryōka!" The busty woman tore through the distance separating her and Dohko, condensing an immense amount of spiritual energy onto Tonrikka, imbuing it with the qualities of immense sharpness. "Kozanraiyari!" She cried as she closed in, swinging the lance downward on Dohko, intending to defeat him here and now.

"It won't end here!" Dohko deftly evaded Tankahi's strike, though the lance did leave a rather nasty gash on his primary shoulder- his sword arm. Despite this, Dohko's spiritual energy charged upon his blade- which he was grasping with his fractured arm, shooting forward in the shape of a cross-shaped beam of energy.

"Kurosanten!" In the interest of self-preservation, Tankahi extended the lance firmly in front of her body, and manipulated the glowing spiritual energy of her javelin until it expanded in front of her, solidifying into a triangle-shaped, lime green shield. As the beam collided with it, the barrier seemed to absorb, and then nullify it, leaving Tankahi completely unharmed before the barrier shattered.

Tankahi's breathing began to get heavy, sweat dripping dowm her face and chest as her javelin reverted to its previous tantō shape — her sword had sealed itself. "My reiryoku...it's reaching the brink already..."

Dohko stabbed one of his blades into the ground, using it as leverage as he rested upon its hilt. The damage to his right shoulder was too much, and he couldn't see himself using his right blade with as much finesse as he would normally. "...I can't feel my spiritual energy."

"We're both spent..." Tankahi panted, heaving. While she was considerably less wounded, her reiryoku was spent in its entirety, and she was exhausted. "I can't see either of us having more than one chance to end this..."

Dohko grasped his main blade with both of his hands, sheathing the left blade. Wind spiralled up the blade, until a miniature hurricane amassed upon the weapon, Dohko also focused wind underneath his feet. "Now!" Dohko shot off like a rocket, blade aimed forward, moving in a straight line towards Tankahi.

"I'm running on fumes...I need to pull off one last Kidō...!" Tankahi extended her Zanpakutō, using the flatside of the tantō as if she intended to block Dohko with only her blade.

"Bakudō #39, Enkōsen!" The spiraling shield began to form in front of her, and she nearly breathed a sigh of relief...before it petered out, fading due to her minimal reiryoku. "No-!" She gasped, unable to say much more before Dohko's sword sliced through her's, piercing her dead on in the chest. She felt blood rise from her mouth and coughed up the viscous liquid, which dripped to the ground.

Dohko stood triumphantly, eventually falling to his knees while using his blade as leverage. "...Did, I do it?"

Tankahi fell to her knees, holding her chest, her sword clattering to the ground, as blood began to pool out. She'd actually lost...to an invader no less. What would her Captain say about this? Were there any kind words to excuse such a shallow performance? The blood still dripping from her face, she cast a mournful look Dohko.

"Go..." She gurgled, still coughing up blood. "I won't detain you any further...not now that you've won..." The words came out surprisingly bitter for such a gentle-voiced girl, and the pain in her eyes was unrelated to the pain she felt in her body.

"Right-o." Dohko began to walk off...only to turn to the girl, reaching downwards and summoning azure flames from his hands which swamped over Tankahi. "Before I go, just relax for a moment. This should fix you up."

"You'll...heal me?" Tankahi looked at Dohko, perplexed. "Why heal me...I tried to capture you...and there's no guarantee I won't do the same thing the moment you close this wound..." The girl wondered why these words were coming out of her mouth; this was too good to be true, the enemy healing her wounds. If she waited on the Fourth Division, she would be dead before they arrived.

But somehow, she wanted to hear this boy's answer.

"I'm faster than you. That's all there is to it. Besides, I can't stand by and let a woman get hurt due to circumstances. Think of this as not kindness, but a chance for you to think about your actions." Dohko's flames vanished, as he got up and started to run off.

As the flames faded, Tankahi was left sitting alone, watching Dohko flee. With her wounds restored, she was capable of making chase, but she held back. That boy, for all his bravado, was a kind soul. This in itself made her ponder the nature of these Ryōka.

What was happening in Soul Society?

END