Fanon Canon: Rampant Rangers

The Hunter Strikes Again
Déjà vu.

Karakura Town's atmosphere was beginning to darken once again, as it had done several days prior. Sure there were cars and trucks moving up and down the streets at regular intervals, but they seemed hasty in their routes, and only occasionally did a person or two walk down the city sidewalks, and they seemed just as hasty as the vehicles. Darkness was beginning to cover the horizon, a darkness that was sinister, sick... and very foreboding. One individual calmly walked down one of the sidewalks from the local Middle School towards a nearby neighborhood. She appeared to be in her young teens, and wore a white and blue school uniform, with a book bag hanging by a long strap over her shoulder.

She looked around at her quickly desolating surroundings with wonder. "Geez, why is everyone so hell bent on going home this early?" she muttered to herself quietly as she continued her trek home. As big of a place as Karakura Town was, it was highly unusual, scary even, for it to seem so deserted like this. "Well hey there sis!" a voice snapped her back into reality, originating from someone several feet in front of her. When she looked up, she saw that the voice came from her older sister, Naoto. "Oh, hey." she responded, with a slightly underwhelmed or even dreadful tone. Her sister was almost the complete opposite of herself, being very upbeat and active, whereas Hinawa was more reserved and quiet, only really speaking to those in her direct circle of friends, which wasn't at all very large. She just couldn't stand being around people like Naoto, even if she was her sister.

"Kinda odd is it not?" Naoto asked with a tilt of her head. She was standing right outside a small but tidy looking house, hers presumably, and was also next to a small white car as well. "Everyone's just really desperate to get home, and it's only six o'clock right now. You're the first person I've seen come up the sidewalk in like, twenty minutes or so." she continued. Hinawa's attention perked slightly at the mention of this. "Really? I noticed that there weren't many other people around town but, I figured it was because of weather or somethin'." Naoto shook her head in response. "Nah, the forecast says that the night's supposed to be pretty clear. Eh, maybe the others just aren't feeling like staying out tonight or something. I dunno." She then walked over to the passenger's side of the vehicle, opening the door and beckoning for Hinawa to get there quickly. "C'mon. We gotta get a few things from the store and I want you to drive."

Hinawa's blood slightly boiled at the request. Her sister knew that she hated driving; it felt lazy and rushed, she like walking as opposed to driving so that she could take in her environments and atmosphere. Driving was just annoying to her, and she hated when her sister coaxed her into driving in her place. "C'mon sis, really?" she sighed, getting to the car but not getting inside of it just yet. "This isn't one of your driving lessons y'know, can't we just walk? I looked this morning and we aren't out of that much stuff, just a couple of armloads of stuff..." she said, rolling her eyes. Naoto huffed in response. "Hinawa, you're sixteen and all of your classmates are out driving and having a good time. If you're going to get anywhere in life, you need to be able to drive something. Now c'mon, daylight is going away and I don't want to be out in this dark for too long."

"Fine." Hinawa sighed, getting into the driver's side door and setting her book bag into the back seat. Naoto got into the passenger's seat and strapped her seatbelt on before looking over at her younger sister. "Got your permit on you? If you get a ticket it's gonna be on me..." she started before Hinawa groaned, reaching back to get her bag and pulling out her wallet. Looking straight ahead with a pouting expression, she held out the wallet towards Naoto and part of it unfolded, showing her permit, but something else slipped out of the same compartment, which forced Hinawa's attention to snap towards said item and pick it back up. It was a picture of her when she was younger, along with her sister and two older people standing behind them, all four of them smiling widely. Hinawa's pout became an earnest frown as she looked at the picture, and Naoto's expression dropped as well.

"I've been looking for that picture for a while now... hoping we could put it on the wall or something like that." Naoto started, her glance occasionally switching from the picture to her sister. It wasn't a very comfortable subject for either of them, the death of their parents, but as the older sibling, she learned to take it better, but for one as isolated as Hinawa, it wasn't such an easy task. "But if you want to keep it-" she started before Hinawa put the picture on the top of Naoto's hands, still not looking at her as she cranked the car up. "It's fine, take it. I'm tired of carrying it around anyway." she said with a slight gruff, driving the car forward and down the road towards the city.

The mood was now somewhat uncomfortable now that the picture had been revealed, but she had to lighten things up as best as she could. "You know... you've got a birthday coming up soon, remember?" she said with a slight smile, occasionally glancing to the road to make sure her sister was abiding by laws. "We can go somewhere really nice, and don't worry, I'll drive this time." she continued, but she noticed that Hinawa's demeanor wasn't changing. "That's great." the younger sister replied, both of her hands on the steering wheel and her eyes focused straight forward. "Yeah... that sounds good to me..." she muttered quietly. Naoto sighed, not out of annoyance, but of sadness as she tried her best to comfort her sister. Hinawa's eyes were slightly red now, and Naoto began to worry that Hinawa would start crying.

"Here, park right over at that street light and I'll drive. You've done good getting this far at least." she said with another smile, but Hinawa simply parked in the mentioned spot and the two of them swapped seats, with Naoto sitting straight in the driver's side and Hinawa curling up slightly in her passenger's side; the reminder of what happened to their parents had truly ruined her mood, and she clearly wanted to have some quiet time to herself. Naoto then assumed the task of driving to the store, the trip now somewhat felt pretty drab and uneventful, now that Hinawa had no interest in talking. She continued driving until she made a turn towards the bigger part of the city, where there was a long straight road with several red lights, but when she stopped at the first one, she noticed something odd, standing under the street light ahead of the one she stopped at.

It was a tall, hooded figure, with a long and ragged trench coat.

"Huh?" Naoto said to herself quietly, though doing so was enough to get Hinawa's attention to divert to the figure as well. "That's weird. First guy we've seen since we left the house and he looks like a total creep." Naoto said, her attention still focused on the figure. By this point, the red light had turned green, but Naoto hesitated to move the car forward, as the being in front of them hadn't budged. "Go on. He'll move when we start going towards him." Hinawa gruffed, crossing her arms as she stopped looking at the figure and towards her sister. Naoto then pressed the gas lightly, and while the engine could be heard gaining traction, the car itself wasn't budging. "What the?" Naoto said with frustration and alarm, stepping on the gas pedal repeatedly to make the car move, but to no avail. It was here that the two of them noticed what was going wrong: from the bottom of the figure's feet emerged a darkness that covered all of the streets and sidewalks around him, and it had gone right under their car. Like a fly in a sticky trap, the two of them were stuck in place.

This was when the hooded man began to walk towards the two of them, causing Naoto's heartbeat rate to spike. Getting out of the car and running away would have been an even worse idea as their feet would surely be caught in the black shadow material below them. Their options were rapidly decreasing, and the figure was only getting closer and closer, and while Hinawa herself was becoming more and more frightened with each passing step, Naoto's cheery and naive demeanor seemed to diminish almost entirely. In place of the goofy girl she was used to living with, Naoto was now stone-faced serious, and her tone more dry and straightforward. "Hinawa." she started, putting both of her hands on the steering wheel and gripping it tightly, her gaze now one of strictness rather than fear. "What I'm about to do is something that you can never repeat to anyone. I'm not even going to ask you; you're just going to do it, alright?" she started, her eyes glancing over to the obviously confused and frightened sister. "Not a word, to anyone."

What happened next made Hinawa wonder if she were dreaming.

Naoto stomped her foot into the floor of the car just past the gas pedal, and the sole's of her shoe began to glow with a bright blue light. Intricate blue lines began to course all throughout the interior of the vehicle, before seemingly diverging towards the sections where the tires of the car were located. On the outside, the black tires were quickly covered in a thick blue energy, one that, as soon as it reached around the tire's bottoms, cleared a small space around each of them from the shadows. Cleared from their previously stuck position, Naoto quickly put the car in reverse and slammed the gas pedal, not caring in the slightest if it ended up breaking. With a loud roar, the car raced backwards, Naoto's attention having to divert from both her rear and the being in front of them. Hinawa's heart seemed to stop almost entirely when she witnessed what had just transpired in a manner of seconds. Her sister had powers!

The hooded man stopped in his trek when the car had managed to clear it's way out of his trap. "Hm." he mused to himself in a low and pleasantly surprised tone, tilting his head slightly at the same time. But this was the only word he spoke before he raised his arms up slowly to his sides, causing the shadows along the roads to converge to his location. As they gathered, the shadows began to slowly envelop his legs and eventually covered his body up to his waistline, and once there, the shadows began to elevate him into the air, whilst still being connected to the ground. Now at the height of a small building, the hooded man threw his arms behind him and pointed his body forward, and the shadow spire he was connected to began to quickly move towards the direction of the fleeing vehicle, using the shadows on the streets below as a catalyst for his movement.

"What's going on?!" Hinawa screamed, her back pressed hard against her seat and her hands tightly gripping the hand bar of both the passenger's door and the arm rest of her seat. "How are we moving!? What's with the shadows and the blue lights!?" she continued as tears began to stream down her eyes. Naoto initially didn't respond, focusing more on moving as fast as she could force the vehicle to go and also making sure that they were still a good distance away from their pursuer. "Naoto!!!?" Hinawa screamed at her sister one more time, causing the latter to finally address her. "Stop screaming!" she yelled without looking at Hinawa, continuing to look behind and in front of the vehicle. "I can't focus when you do that!! I'll explain everything to you when our lives aren't in mortal danger, alright!?" she continued, but Hinawa wouldn't get a chance to respond as the two sisters saw the being in front of them once again, coming around the corner of a building a few meters ahead of them. This time he was high in the air, his waist down covered in shadows that connected down to the ground. His head was lowered and his arms were curling at his sides menacingly.

Almost immediately, Naoto jerked the steering wheel to the left, which quickly moved the vehicle deeper into the city and give the figure less room to maneuver, or at least she hoped. The motion caused their stomachs to pull and the two of them both groaned as the car pulled itself out of harms way for a few seconds longer. But sure enough, the figure rounded the same bend as they did, and the shadows were causing him to move much faster than their measly little vehicle. Although Naoto couldn't see it, the figure leaped from the shadow spire that he was connected to in order to land several meters in front of the car once again, and this time, Naoto wouldn't be able to react fast enough. The being shot his left arm up into the air, and in that same motion, a blade-like collection of shadows materialized only a few feet in front of Naoto's speeding car, and as soon as it did, the car hit it full force. The blade cleanly cutting the vehicle in two almost flawlessly, and causing both sides of the car to zoom past the hooded man, who merely watched as the two sides skidded to a halt, with Hinawa's crashing into a corner of a brick building and Naoto's skidding to a stop quite a distance away from him.

Hinawa was incapacitated; while the impact wasn't fatal, it had certainly done its damage. Her head now had a large cut on it, causing generous amounts of blood to stream down her face along with her tears, and her head was hanging low towards her knees. Naoto had faired much better, the collision and the skidding having only caused her to hit her now bleeding nose; she was also rather dazed from the impact, unsurprisingly. Staggering out of her now bifurcated car, she held onto her head and moaned lowly as she tried to get her bearings. She fell to her knees after a few seconds of trying to keep her balance, and her blurry vision turned up to see the wreckage where her unconscious sister lay. "Hi... Hinawa..." she muttered, doing her best to get back up to her feet.

While she was doing this, the hooded figure was moving towards Hinawa's wreckage as well, but his intentions were clearly far from helpful. His left arm in particular, at least from what Naoto could tell, had a rather unholy series of markings on it, and he was holding it out towards her sister's location. She had to hurry and stop him, but her head was swimming too much for her to stand for more than a few seconds. The hooded man's left arm was beginning to glow with a bright orange light, but the black markings were becoming even more clear as a result. When he made his way to her section of the ruined car, his left arm grabbed hold of the girl's arm, and his arm's aura began to flare like fire, while Hinawa's own body was beginning to glow with a blue light. This lasted for a few seconds before both lights dissipated, and the figure released his hold of Hinawa's arm, which dropped back down to her side, still unconscious.

That's when the figure turned his attention towards Naoto, who was still on the ground. His left arm was outstretched once again, ready to inflict whatever he had done to Hinawa onto Naoto....

The Death God's Gathering
So the time had come after all. He'd been waiting for this day for what felt like forever. Truth be told, Kazuya had never been to the human world, but he didn't consider it problematic, it couldn't really be that different from Soul Society could it? He was standing in the middle of Yōkōgoten, the first of the northern Rukongai districts, in front of a pair of massive red gates leading into the large Edo-style castle which had given the district it's name. The Red Court was so known due to the immense castle that took up most of its space, and the perfectly aligned houses that surrounded it, all of it belonged to one man, Shigenaga Arma. After the fall of Yamamoto, and the chaos after the war, the wealthy merchant had made the district his own empire, few knew anything about what occurred in the Red Court - and busy with it's own matters, the Gotei 13 had largely been unable to put a stop to the activities, Kazuya wasn't the only worried about Shigenaga, far from it, or for that matter, the actions of his rivals. For Shigenaga was a part of the Four Heavenly Kings, four individuals of exceptional political power, wealth and influence that had all but divided the Rukongai in four pieces between them, as they fought over the leftovers.

A gentle breeze played across his face, and ruffled his disheveled hair. He'd chosen to wear nothing more than the ordinary Shihakushō for this mission, he wouldn't give their opponent advance warning of his capabilities as a Captain, so his white haori had been left behind. He'd likewise removed the Kenseikan from his hair, it was difficult for him not to wear them, they meant so much to his clan, but his duty as a Captain had to come first, Byakuya would surely understand. With his standard Shinigami garments and unruly black hair, Kazuya hoped that he wouldn't be recognized by their enemy, even if they'd done research on him. If they believed him a simple seated officer, he'd likely be able to take them out in one fell swoop by relying on the advantage of surprise.

Kazuya turned around as the massive gates behind him opened fully to reveal three figures walking towards him, he knew that one of them was Shigenaga himself, but the other two seemed to be simple maids, set to escort their master and remain at his side. He'd really have preferred not to involve him, but he was a friend of Kurama, and according to his former mentor, he was invested in the human world as well, and had access to intelligence which most others would be unable to produce. Shigenaga was going to provide lodging, food and a contact - he had also agreed to monitor the area and have his contacts gather intelligence in the meantime, all this would've been amazing if it weren't for one thing that constantly grated on Kazuya's mind: Shigenaga had yet to name his price.

He'd never before met Shigenaga in person, he was dressed in fine clothing, crimson silk adorned with golden thread. Upon his fingers gleamed three bands of woven gold, inlaid with various jewels. He fought back a frown, what a garish misuse of wealth, the nobleman in him sneered. The Heavenly King appeared friendly enough, his face was warm and welcoming, his lips curved into what seemed like a genuine smile. He appeared so affable that most people would've neglected to look at the whole picture, but Kazuya focused intently on his eyes. Shigenaga's hazel eyes were warm in color, but they appeared wholly detached from the rest of his expression, they were cold and calculating, appraising him silently, judging his worth and mettle.

He has the same eyes as Kurama.

They exchanged formal greetings, Shigenaga bowed to show his respect to Kazuya's superior bearing and rank, and the Captain accepted the gesture politely. The small ritual was completed in the proper manner, he'd grown used to things like this. He knew that Shigenaga likely wished to converse more, he was a Kuchiki after all, and a worthy contact for him to have - he avoided any further conversation by greeting his maids, each of whom seemed to carry around several gift baskets, very peculiar. However, when they looked up to greet him in turn, he felt his breath catch in his throat, there, in front of him, stood the two most beautiful women he'd ever seen in his life, their radiance was overwhelming, their lips lush and perfect, their hair long and wavy, and their forms exquisite. A blush crept across his face and he reflexively stepped away from them, trying to calm his beating heart.

Fighting to regain his composure, he turned around towards the Seireitei, hoping that his subordinates would arrive soon. A dark chuckle behind him made him wary of Shigenaga's presence.

"You needn't worry yourself, Kuchiki-dono. These flowers are not of this world"

It was showtime now. Normally, entry into the Human World would never be granted no matter how many times he would request due to the prohibition that his division is given. However, Ichimaru would finally get a chance to see it. He had none other than Captain Kazuya Kuchiki to thank for such an intriguing opportunity. His studies on the different worlds lead him to want to experience them firsthand. Of course, places like the Dangai and Hueco Mundo provided some risk factors but the Human World has such valuable intel that Ichimaru would not pass up a great chance like this one. From his quarters in the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumeshō, he prepared himself to rendezvous with his commanding officer for the mission at hand. He could see the great distance he needed to cover in order to locate the Kuchiki heir. Ichimaru secured his Zanpakutō to his back before departing.

Using his outstanding Shunpo prowess, Ichimaru set off towards the first district in Rukongai with the wind flying in his face. His choice of attire was that of his usual Shinigami apparel: a black umanori hakama, haori, and tekkō with a white and blue kimono over it. His lieutenant badge was concealed beneath his kimono, on a black obi around his waist. Logically, his mission would require him to conceal his true level of power in order to have the element of surprise. His neatly kept, dark blue hair tied in a ponytail billowed behind him, reaching his waist. His indigo eyes narrowed as his destination came into view.

Without as much as an elevated heartbeat, Ichimaru sped through a good distance between his barracks and Yōkōgoten. In the center, he spotted his commanding officer, Kazuya, waiting with complacent look along with a rather unnerving man standing near him with two women. Ichimaru guessed that these two were serfs of some kind as he walked toward Kazuya. With a short inhale, Ichimaru spoke to greet the noble clan heir. He bowed respectfully before speaking.

"Greetings, Captain Kuchiki." He said sternly and with a stiff voice. He tried not to use his normal Kansai dialect in favor of sounding more formal and distinguished. The last thing he wanted was to leave a bad impression on such an influential individual. Turning to Shigenaga, Ichimaru subconsciously bowed to him as well. This was not out of respect but out of a certain distress, as though the man had some great power that could be incurred easily. Finally, he greeted the two maids without realizing their angelic beauty. His face slowly heated as he turned away from them. His had leapt so quickly that it felt as though it were in his throat. After a couple seconds, Ichimaru turned towards the Seireitei, a sight to be marveled. The time for his mission's beginning was at hand.

Leaving his room within the Ninth Division, Nisshō Ichijōji made his way tot he Rukongai. He was excited, as he hadn't had time to return to the Human World for quite sometime after his death. He was still very much a kid at heart as he used his powerful legs to launch himself through the districts to meet his captain.

He was for once wearing his standard Shinigami attire, however due to his appearance he was a bit apprehensive about returning to the world of the living, even if it was with his Captain. "I hope I don't draw too much attention to myself," he muttered under his breath as he landed on a building and took in his surroundings as to not get lost. "Alright its that way," he said as he used Hohō to leap towards his captains large spiritual energy signature. Landing next to his captain, he smirked before taking a bow out of respect. "Good day Kuchiki-taichō, Fuyutama-sama," he said before bowing to Shigenaga Arma. "Good day Lord Shigenaga."

Aiken Kuchiki rested on a small bench that stood on the outskirts of the infamous palatial estate and its rose gardens. Before him was a gardener, plowing away at his trade, trimming and grooming the precious red flowers that created a beautiful crimson ocean around Shigenaga's castle. The gardener had been making idle chatter with Aiken for the past while, simple things like business, their respective jobs, and why Aiken's hair was so oddly dyed blue on the sides. He had regaled the man with a tale of misspent youth, though a glance from his wizened eyes showed the glint of silver in his hands. Their talks continued even as the old Kuchiki watched two other Shinigami brazenly enter the castle. All he could do was shake his head. Do they have no regard for their station? he wondered.

Aiken had been hear a while, long enough for the stone beneath him to have turned warm from his presence, long enough to have become well acquainted with the man in front of him, and long enough to know that one did not simply wander into the home of Shigenaga Arma unprepared. There had been a messenger from the 's Inner Court Troop that had given Aiken all he needed to know about his most recent assignment. They had been told to prepare for an excursion to the Human World, an investigation of events surrounding the, and without the typical aid of spiritual outposts, or the elusive , their leader for this assignment, Kazuya, Aiken's very own great-grandson, was forced to seek outside aid to procure their necessary equipment. Supplies, lodging, necessities that the Seireitei did not have at current. The message had also made it clear that no one besides Kazuya should have been involved with meeting the likes of one of Soul Society's Four Heavenly Kings. It wasn't hard to see why the elderly Shinigami was frustrated enough to let out a bitter sigh.

"Y'alright there Azuki-san?", asked the gardener. Okay, so it would have been hard for the gardener to know his intent.

"Heheh, fine, fine, just realizing how carefree children are today", Aiken replied, casting his weary eyes over a group of nearby children playing nearby the castle. Likely those children of the innumerable servants under Shigenaga's employ.

"Peace'is only jus' comin' back t'these parts, after what dem Quincy brought", remarked the gardener with parts regret and elation in his tone.

"Yes, let's just hope it stays that way".

Takashi had been overseeing a Zanjutsu training session for his division’s new recruits when he had received the notice of his conscription to the task force. They had been given a day to make any necessary preparations before the departure, and Takashi had spent his time attending to a myriad of last-minute tasks, ensuring his division would be able to function completely as normal without a Lieutenant. He had not even mentioned the assignment to his Captain except to say that command had been transferred to the Third Seat. Byakuya had been at the Captain’s meeting, and it had been at his silent approval that Takashi was now on his way to the World of the Living. There was no need to say anything more, and to question the decision would have been a slight to both him and his Captain. But still, he wondered why it had been him who was among those chosen. He had been assigned to the Human World a few times before, to be sure, but those had usually involved routine konsō rituals or Hollow exterminations. He was by no means an expert, and considering the gravity of the situation Takashi was concerned that his limited knowledge regarding both the Human World and the Visored would hinder the investigation. But there was nothing to be done now.

Now Takashi was gliding through the sky above the North Rukongai. He had left early that morning so Kohaku could hunt before heading towards the 1st District. She was more peevish than usual as she had been unsuccessful. Takashi had given her a bit of deer jerky but she was still unsatisfied, angry at what she called her own ineptitude. As he approached Yōkōgoten Takashi began to grow more and more uneasy. The entire district served as the palatial grounds for Shigenaga Arma, one of the “Four Heavenly Kings” of the Rukongai. When he landed and began to walk towards one of the Crimson Court’s many gates he saw for himself that rumors of Shigenaga’s wealth were not exaggerated. The place was immense. The outermost walls of tamped earth and tightly fitted-stone rose up from the hill the castle sat on, and thorny dark vines of roses clung to the cracks in the stone. But as Takashi made his way through the small village that sat outside the servant’s gate he could not help but notice the haunted look to the residents. They were well fed, well clothed, and certainly lacked for nothing, but there was either a wary or empty look to their faces, their eyes darting back and forth nervously or glazed over in a trance-like state. They were not overly friendly, and it unnerved Takashi that he could pass through them with hardly a second glance, even as an officer in the Gotei 13. He was wearing his Lieutenant’s armband for the mission as usual, as not only did it denote his rank, but it could also serve to draw enemy fire away from any less experienced Soul Reapers accompanying him, serving as a secondary means of protection. To remove it would be to fault in his duty to those he served.

Although it was against protocol, Takashi climbed the long stairway that led to the castle proper and entered through the servant’s gate. He did not want to draw attention to himself and supposed it was the best way to enter. The wide, double doors were open, and he blended in with the steady, thin stream of passerby traveling in and out on their chores and errands. The inside of the castle was of course more lavish than the outside. Dark red lacquer support beams and wooden verandas, along with the gently sloping black tile roofs accentuated the red stonewalls; it was extravagantly rich. At least it isn’t as monotone as the Seireitei. Takashi shrugged. Kohaku paused from preening herself, took one look at the place, and then continued to run her beak through her feathers. Garish. She said firmly.

Takashi made his way to the front part of the courtyard and found the doorkeeper in the gatehouse.

“Excuse me sir,” he said with a small bow. The man looked up from his desk and nodded.

“We’ve been expecting you.” he said flatly. The man was middle aged and bald, and blinked at him behind a pair of thick spectacles. The effect reminded Takashi of a mole.

“Has anyone else from the Seireitei arrived yet?” Takashi asked. “Ah yes, someone from the 9th Division.” The man stood up and walked past Takashi. He seemed to remember him suddenly and stopped, motioning for him to follow.

“Come this way.” he told him. Takashi obliged, and was led through a series of corridors and courtyards until they came to a shaded, open-aired anteroom. A small, circular doorway led to a paved court that sat just in front of the main tower.

“Wait here.” the gatekeeper said before shuffling off. Takashi stood at attention and waited. A few moments later a servant appeared, followed by none other than Kazuya Kuchiki. He was not wearing a Captain’s Haori or the distinctive hairpieces of his clan, and Takashi could only assume it was because he wished to keep his identity undisclosed. He bowed as Kazuya passed him, but showed no more deference than he would have to an equal. Kazuya nodded and continued on into the courtyard wordlessly. Takashi would wait at the door. Another man from the Ninth Division is here. Kohaku noted. Takashi closed his eyes and concentrated. Sure enough, there was a faint presence of another Shinigami in the area. Aiken Kuchiki. Kohaku continued. I believe we met him once. Takashi nodded. He remembered the noble, wrinkled old Kuchiki, and was glad the man was here. They would be in need of his wisdom and experience, to be sure. After a moment’s thought, Takashi told Kohaku to fly up to the roof and perch somewhere out of sight, which she did swiftly and silently. He himself remained by the doorway, but from Kohaku’s position he could see the courtyard where Kazuya stood. Are you hidden? Takashi asked Kohaku as he saw through her eyes. Of course. She replied, somewhat offended. At that moment Shigenaga himself entered, striding out from an impressive set of carved doors with no small degree of confident arrogance. He was accompanied by two female servants, who carried various baskets with them. Strange. Takashi thought. The two men exchanged greetings before they were joined, suddenly, by Ichimaru Fuyutama of the 4th Division and Nisshō Ichijōji of the 9th. Takashi was shocked by their abrupt appearance, but Kazuya seemed to accept their presence easily. What are you doing? He growled inwardly. If Kazuya had wanted to remain relatively unknown to Shigenaga, or at least alone, that leverage was now gone. It looks like Shigenaga is about to say something important. Kohaku pointed out, and Takashi focused on the conversation at hand.

Shigenaga lead the assembly into his castle. Towering pillars of red wood supported the roof, and lavish carpets decorated the floor. Ascending a massive staircase, they were guided down a long corridor, with paintings, art pieces and vases containing roses lining the walls. As they walked, Kazuya silently cast the spell upon himself and his subordinates, the spell was perfectly executed, and empowered with his extraordinary magical ability, there was no need for words, thought would suffice. Clearing his mind, Kazuya focused upon the spiritual energy of his allies, weaving their minds together with his own for a while, enough to deliver a warning.

"Don't make an attempt to reply to this, but as you know we're currently in the castle of one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Shigenaga Arma. Some of my colleagues might object to me telling you this, but as you're all seated officers, I think it important to put this into the open. Soul Society is currently having economical troubles, it's been expensive to rebuild, more so than we'd at first surmised. In order to do this, we've been in need of resources, and Shigenaga, and the rest of his ilk, are the only ones who have the means to stabilize Seireitei as we know it. With this in mind, there's a few things we need to go over, both for the continued safety of the Seireitei, and for your sake."

Soundlessly, Kazuya wove a few signs in the air, making sure to cover up the gesture as best he could. He was a fairly talented actor, that's what happened if you were born into a noble family. Shigenaga himself merely walked along, it didn't appear as though he'd noticed. He strengthened his spell somewhat.

"Firstly, if you wish to speak up, do so, but make sure that you remain respectful. Angering Shigenaga is an act ill-advised, not only for your sake, but for the sake of Seireitei itself, we can't afford to lose his support at this point in time. Secondly, keep your eyes downcast and don't meet his gaze directly. He's got ways of controlling people, don't invite the attempt. Lastly, never, under any circumstance are you to use your full name while interacting with him. Use only your given name if possible, if he asks you to sign something, keep your name safe by deliberately using different kanji. If you fail in this, it's possible for him to steal your name, identity and sense of self, erasing your current life and have you spend the rest of your life working for him."

Wait, there was something strange about this, he felt as though two of his teammates were missing, turning around quickly, he noticed that Nisshō and Ichimaru, who he'd assigned to the rear were strangely absent! Kazuya did his best to conceal just how angered he was by this undermining of his authority, he could only assume they'd misunderstood something and gone off on their own. Ichimaru wasn't used to being in teams like this, he supposed he could afford to be lenient with him just this once, he likely didn't know proper protocol. Apparently that sort of thing was unnecessary for a Lieutenant of the 4th Division. He'd have to talk it over with Captain Ukitake, he was her direct subordinate after all, he dreaded the visit, talking to her always made him uncomfortable.

But this was no time to worry about walruses. Gathering his thoughts and calming his already frayed nerves, this would be a long mission, Kazuya turned to the only officers who'd thus far respected his authority. Clearing his voice, he made his first command.

"Right. It seems as though 3rd Seat Ichijōji and Vice-Captain Fuyutama have taken the liberty of travelling to the Human world without my explicit permission. Aiken Kuchiki, you are to take Vice-Captain Sakuma with you to the Human world while I settle matters here with Shigenaga. The two of you will also bring with you the gift-baskets that the maids were carrying. There's one for each of us, they contain everything we might require in the human world, including, pills, one  in each, so that we might communicate with Soul Society, and various other items we might need. Don't lose them!"

Curtsying to the Shinigami officers, the mentioned maids presented the gift baskets with a lovely smile on their faces. "Enjoy! Shihōin-sama said everyone loved gift baskets!"

With the arrival of all the members of the task force, Ichimaru was assigned to the rear of the group alongside Nisshō Ichijōji. He saw Captain Kazuya stroll along with Shigenaga and move toward the latter's grandiose citadel. The decorations were exquisite and certainly were expensive-looking. To think that in a time like this, one could be living so improvidently. It annoyed Ichimaru somewhat to see how well off Shigenaga was compared to the rest of the Seireitei and even the higher districts of Rukongai. Seeing as how he had little idea as to why he would be accompanying Shigenaga to this proliferate abode, Ichimaru rationalized that he should put his primary task ahead of his commander's plans. He knew that it may cause trouble later on but he told himself that he could deal with repercussions later.

Diverging off from the group, the Fourth Division lieutenant found himself staring down a large corridor, separate from the one they had previously came through. His hand moved for his Zanpakutō and unsheathed it, holding out in front of himself. With a ninety-degree twist clockwise followed by a counterclockwise turn off ninety degrees, Ichimaru had warped the space in front him by using his blade.

"Open." Ichimaru uttered. The resulting effect was a red, vertical line followed by the doors opening. Beyond them was the other set of doors that released four midnight black creatures that would guide them into the Human World. One of them flew a few circles behind Ichimaru before settling behind him and trailing him as he walked through the gate, sheathing his Zanpakutō. While walking through, he could feel the standard seal being placed on his body. The crease of a door soon appeared in the sky above Karakura Town. At that moment, the voice of Kazuya spoke out in his head. The captain laid out the grounds as to how critical Shigenaga is and why they were accompanying him. Ichimaru only shook his head, knowing that he would not have to worry about Shigenaga. He continued forward and the door to the Human World was made accessible.

As it opened, Ichimaru walked forward and out, standing in the air. A flash of images came to Ichimaru's mind when he looked at the streets and buildings below. However, he shook his head to clear it and ignore the sudden vision. It was then that he glanced at his ring on impulse for a split second. The area felt very familiar though he knew that he had never been there before. Looking around he saw the calm and quiet city, nearly devoid of activity.

"There is something strange here." He said with an inquisitive tone. From what he read on the current Human World, Ichimaru expected to see bustling crowds and mobile machines on wheels. What was before him was an area with little to no activity, a sharp contrast to what he knew. Ichimaru lowered himself to the top of a medium-sized building with a large neon kanji sign that read "Open 24/7". He wondered briefly how a human could work for so long without rest, but dismissed the thought and focused on the task at hand.

"Captain Kuchiki, I don't think this is our spot. Our objective must be elsewhere. Perhaps we should-" He cut himself off as he realized that he could not communicate back with Kazuya. Exactly then, Ichimaru felt something so horrid and disturbing that it made his body tense and his heart race, adrenaline filling his nerves. On instinct, he moved towards the source at a moderate speed in order to keep his presence concealed. After all, anything with this level power is without a doubt spiritually aware. "This must be a significant target, if not our main objective. There's no way this power is of a simple human.

Having noticed that Ichimaru had left the group, he decided to follow the Vice-Captain of the 4th Division. Walking down the corridor he lightly tread trying to conceal his presence from Ichimaru. Coming up to the Senkaimon, he witnessed Ichimaru open the gate and enter the world of the living. He decided to follow the officer, with the thought of returning to the World of the Living overcoming the fear of his captain. Walking into the Senkaimon, he felt the wind blowing against his fur and he was at ease.

Looking around he immediately felt a wave of nostalgia. However this was cut short as he looked down and noticed Ichimaru's shift in demeanor, causing him to sniff the air. On instinct, Nisshō followed after Ichimaru, as he too had sensed the presence of a spiritually aware being. "I wonder what that is," he said as it felt similar as well as foreign.

"As it is commanded", Aiken replied flatly to the words of their Captain, though he would deny ever being perturbed by the events that had just transpired, the ruffling of his brow was a clear indicator to any who knew him, his face almost looked like a pineapple at the creasing of his wrinkled visage intensified. It didn't last though and he quickly cast it aside for a more neutral expression by the time the maids presented the offered gifts.

"They are most delightful, thank you", he replied donning a smile, faked but seemingly authentic in the eyes of most. It was a cold smile, that bore some warmth to it, an element to aid in the facade Aiken would not say. With a whisk of his hand, a brief glow of light overtook each of the gift baskets. A wordlessly casted spell of his own making, a developmental deviation from that allowed the singularly limbed man to do the work of several men, assuming he sought a job as a stockroom assistant at any rate. It would also free up his associate for the time they would spend together. Speaking of which...

"Lieutenant Sakuma, would you lead the way?" he asked, several delicately wrapped gift baskets now floating around him absently.

Takashi noted the tense lines around Aiken's eyes, and shared his quiet distress. For a subordinate to show such impudence... he sighed and shook his head.

"Of course," he turned and bowed briefly to Kazuya, "sir," and then the two took their leave. As they emerged outside into the courtyard once more Takashi peered at the floating baskets and wondered what was inside. He reached out and opened the lid. The contents, as Kazuya had stated, appeared to be various tools they would need in the Human World, as well as a folded Gigai, its face smashed and contorted in a dead scream, with a complexion of pasty squid. He shivered and slammed the lid shut.

"To the Senkaimon then?" he asked Aiken. Kohaku flew from the balcony and landed on Takashi's shoulder. Is that where we're off to now? She added. Yes, and from there the World of the Living. He replied. Aiken nodded, and with a flash the two Shinigami had disappeared, taking to the skies to travel as quickly as possible. Time was of the essence, but Takashi did not mind leaving Ichimaru and Nisshō to fend on their own for a while, let them flounder a bit. Still, he hoped that they would not compromise the mission. He narrowed his eyes as they approached the Seireitei, peering into the distance to spot the towering gates of the Senkaimon. Aiken took the lead, and Takashi followed him as he slowed his speed before finally coming to land in front of the gate. A member from the Kidō Corps ran out across the courtyard to meet them. "Lieutenant Sakuma, 5th Seat Kuchiki!" she called out as she ran.

"Requesting immediate transport to the World of the Living." Takashi stated, dispensing with formalities.

"Yes sir," she said, panting slightly. She knelt in front of the gate and placed her hands on the ground. After a brief Kidō incantation there was a flash of blue light around her hands, and the gate began to swing open. A crack of white light split and expanded as they doors opened, and Takashi blinked against the light to stare inside, into the Dangai. Two black Hell Butterflies on silent, silky wings emerged to trail behind him and Aiken. It was the only safe way to travel between the worlds, to traverse the black void.

The Kidō Corps member stood and bowed slightly as they walked past her.

"Best of luck," she said.

As soon as Takashi stepped into the gateway he felt the automatic limitation seal appear on his chest. Aiken received one as well, due to his high Reiatsu. The elderly man looked it over, it felt strange, but not unfamiliar to be engraved with that seal again.

"Reminds you of old times, doesn't it?" Takashi grinned.

"Very much so", Aiken replied.

As the gates closed behind them Takashi activated a Kidō spell, a small yellow orb of glowing light to illuminate their path. They took off at a fast, even pace, treading over the uneven floors of the Dangai which appeared to them as little more than a single tunnel leading to their eventual destination. "You do wonder why they took off so damn fast." Takashi called over his shoulder.

"They barged into the palace of an unknown element that could very well have killed them with a thought, I don't need to wonder about their stupidity, lad", Aiken replied breathlessly, clearly still annoyed even if his face stopped showing it. Takashi laughed, the sound echoing off the walls in the tunnel.

"I'll be sure to let you do the honors of disciplining them when we get there." Aiken nodded at that, a respectful gesture.

The two continued on in silence, until at last the white wall that stood at the end of the Dangai seemed to appear suddenly from the darkness: the opening to the Human World. Truthfully, Takashi was a little more than nervous at entering the unfamiliar territory. He had expected Captain Kuchiki to accompany them, but the unforeseen turn of events had left them without a commanding officer. All he hoped to do now was to gain some reconnaissance and prevent another massacre.

For Aiken, traversing that last part of the Dangai was an old sensation, strange, but welcoming. He squinted his eyes in preparation, knowing all too well the effects that were to be had by stepping into that all-consuming white light ahead of them. He carried himself with his usual confidence, but it was held up with an earnest desire to see the Human World that he'd been away from for so many years. That, and his desire to be of assistance to the young leaders of the Kuchiki clan. He was there to provide the experience that weighed on his very bones, and he would provide it even if his fellows were seemingly too rash to heed him.

The light swallowed them, pouring into them and forcefully tearing their bodies away from the emptiness that was the Dangai. They emerged in mid-air, their momentum carrying them a few steps before they stopped. For a moment they were utterly still, those first few breaths serving to acclimate them to their new surroundings. It was night here, and the clouds had cleared, moonlight shining softly over the world. Beneath their feet the lights of the city shone dimly, casting a silvery glow across the sky. For a moment Takashi entered Kohaku's mind and saw through her eyes. All the minute movements and sounds humming around them became clear to him, filtering through their senses like so much constant static. The living sounds of thousands, the distinct presence of humans. So many souls. Kohaku breathed.

Takashi turned to Aiken, and was once more in the mindset of an officer on duty.

"Kuchiki-sama, what do you suggest for our plan of action?" he asked. Of course, as the higher ranking of the two, he reserved the authority to make any final decisions. But Kuchiki was more experienced than he was, and if his social status was considered far out-classed him as a noble. For now, at least, he would defer to Aiken's authority.

The old man looked at him with weathered eyes, before closing them. It wasn't an answer to the question, instead he was absorbing what he has perceived. The stark difference in architecture alone was almost overwhelming. Last he'd seen were wooden hovels and large stone castles, the great flats and rows of stone housing were a great change, both to what he'd seen last in the Human World and to anything he could note in Soul Society. He shook himself of the desire to sit and gaze at everything; he had a job to do.

"We should find those two immediately, without the supplies that we have they are woefully underprepared for whatever may come", he stated.

"Understood." Takashi held out his wrist and, with avid excitement, Kohaku leaped onto his arm-guard, preparing to launch herself off into the air. You understand the objective? He asked her. ''Naturally. I already have a sense of their Reiatsu, they should not be difficult to track.'' She replied calmly, although her very feathers quivered with electric tension. Very well. He said. With that she sprang from his arm and, with a few powerful strokes of her wings, flew off into the distance.

"My hawk has already detected their presence in the area, she can lead us to their location." Takashi said to Aiken.

"We should follow your friend", Aiken responded. "We need not keep pace with her, but we should remain in view".

"Of course." Takashi said. He could still see a faint moving point where Kohaku was gliding over the lights of the buildings, but just barely. We will be following you. He told her. Don't fall behind. She teased.

"Then we should move now." Takashi said. He noted the baskets that Aiken still kept floating around him. "Would you like me to take some of those off your hands?" he asked.

"I believe you would rather your sword arm free, if the time comes", he remarked severely. He didn't relish the idea of a conflict coming to pass, but he was wary, and would be prepared for it.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Takashi said, and meant it.

With that, the two Shinigami vanished, barely anything more than the flickering of black shadows where their forms had once stood.

For sure, there was something very sinister afoot here, and it wouldn't just be in the form of absent crowds.

Thick shadows were rapidly encompassing the streets and sidewalks within the city below them all, and they were no ordinary shadows. Thick, eerie, and feeling like freezing cold tar, these shadows neatly covered every inch of the city streets, and at a first glance it would appear as if the entire city had been completely deserted. But then, Takashi Sakuma would both feel a warm and very uncomfortable aura sweep over them smoothly, like a warm desert devoid of water. But it was in this same moment that activity in the city, at least from their point of view, would start to bustle with activity.

But it wouldn't be the activity that they would expect.

Screams of women, from their early teens to late forties, began to shatter the silence that had swept over the area, paralleled at the same time by the angry howls and snarls of men who were in the same age group as the women. Girls in their pajamas began mad sprints out of their houses and apartments, screaming and crying as both older boys and men chased after them like wild animals, but their escapes were halted when they stepped foot in the shadows. Like quicksand, they were stuck in place, and their only solace was the fact that their lust-filled pursuers were also caught in the shadows as well. It faired no better for the older women as well, with some of their silhouettes visible in the windows of the buildings and houses. Silhouettes of men tackled them, dragged them out of view by their hair, and even more terrifying: some were even pushing their prey out of the windows and down to their deaths in the darkness-covered streets below, only for their pursuer's to leap out of the windows in hopeless pursuit.

It seemed as if the entire town was slowly starting to go mad.

I’ve spotted them. The news flashed into Takashi’s mind suddenly. He could see the two Shinigami in the distance from Kohaku’s location. Excellent.

“She’s located our target.” Takashi told Aiken. They came into eye’s sight for a brief moment to take another stride, and at that moment felt a sudden blast of Reiatsu. It was not overwhelming or stifling in anyway, but it was altogether too smooth and too warm. Instantly they could sense the sinister intention behind its emitter, and Takashi began to feel uncomfortable. It seemed inhuman, unnatural, and he could not identify what it belonged to.

Something was not right.

As if in echo to his thoughts, screams soon began to fill the air. Looking down from their position, they could see thick, low-lying black shadows filling the streets.

“What the hell is that?” Takashi asked. Aiken did not reply, solemn and tense. With his sharp eyesight Takashi spotted a human figure plummeting from a window, and his stomach clenched as they disappeared into the pavement. “You follow the others, I’m going down.” Before he could rush off there was sudden, intense grip on his arm and he was spun around to face the old Kuchiki directly.

"Suppress your Reiatsu as best you can", he advised. One may have expected Aiken to try and prevent such a rash decision, but his words didn't fit with that sort of approach. "We don't yet know what's down there, but if it has a face, then we want whatever advantage we can get, make it think you're weak until it is time to strike", Aiken continued on, his words hurried, clearly attempting to be quick. At the same time his feet moved, creating a growing gap between himself and Takashi. "I'll catch up as soon as possible", they were already in motion, and in the step of a single flash both disappeared.

With a flickering appearance Takashi stopped above the street, crouching on a telephone pole as he observed the chaos around him. Some were crying hysterically, dragging themselves along pitifully while others snarled and foamed at the mouth like rabid animals. He closed his eyes for a moment. “The lives of mortals are not our priority,” he could picture his Captain, placid as ever say. At the same instant he heard glass shatter and looked up. From the building across the street he spotted a man pushing a girl out of a window. “Screw priorities,” he said, gritting his teeth.

The girl hardly realized what was happening to her. She felt sharp pain as pieces of glass tore across her arms and back, and then there was no more resistance. There was no more of anything. She was falling, incredibly fast it seemed. There was no time to consider what was about to occur; yet she felt it instinctively and panicked. Her body, divorced from her mind, resisted her inevitable fate while she could not even comprehend it, her vision blinded with tears.

Then there was a collision, but not the one expected. Somehow, she was being carried upwards. She twisted around, eyes wide, and stared as the ground shrank away and, finally, she felt something under her feet. It was the gravel of the roof. Her body welcomed her salvation and she collapsed in a limp huddle, unconscious.

To Takashi, it seemed he was suddenly thinking much clearer. Adrenaline began to flow through his veins, though his heart still beat evenly and calmly. Saving all of them would be impossible, but he had saved one. Now, to prevent as much death as possible, he would find the source of this madness and stop it. He had to. It was his duty.

He sprang from the roof and gained some distance above the streets, following them like shadow-choked arteries to lead him to the heart. It seemed to become thicker and darker the further he went, with human bodies writhing and struggling in the black shroud, unable to escape he assumed. Here and there, a few small, glowing figures of blue could be seen, dotting the sides of the street. Already there were ghosts, grasping hopelessly at the snapped chains in their chests. He focused on finding the source of the sickly Reiatsu, and wished Kohaku were here with her keener senses. She would be tracking him now, no doubt, trying to find him in the tangle of buildings.

But he did not need the senses of a hawk to detect what came next…

Without so much as a warning, Ichimaru was hit with the sight that no individual should be damned enough to watch. A horrifying darkness was strewn as far as Ichimaru could see, with humans engulfed in it. Innocent pluses also found themselves plunged within it as well, hopelessly fighting to escape their inevitable fate. Ichimaru wanted to help them with all his heart, to save them from the hell that was the consuming darkness. He turned away knowing that he could not deviate from his task at hand: finding the source of this mayhem. He pressed forward with newfound drive. Seeing something so violent and sickening made him furious at who or what had been causing this. The thought of discovering this disturbance was something his own captain put into his head. Being a renowned healer as leader of the 4th Division, Rikuri finds every soul that enters the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho to be a top priority and thus, cares deeply for all. This compassion influenced Ichimaru even though he was not the type to get emotional. After the death of the Visored Hiyori Sarugaki, Ichimaru felt a certain sadness. He had never known Sarugaki personally before her admission to the medical facility. However, his shared compassion for patients with his captain made him want to find Sarugaki's killer.

At that moment, he could see more people going to their deaths screaming out in terror. That was enough to light a fire in Ichimaru. He held his palm out towards the flames and furrowed his brow. His mouth opened to speak as tiny fragments of spirit energy began clumping near his hand.

"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!" He recited, a red ball of energy launching from his palm into the darkness. His thought was that if he could get the darkness to disperse from the light, the people and souls trapped within it would be free and also draw out the source.

Appearing to his left, Nisshō watched as the ball of red light flew towards the darkness. He went to reach back for his Zanpakutō as if this didn't work, he could possibly use his Shikai to enable them to escape. "Fuyutama-sama, what is with this fog?" he asked the superior officer.

On One Front
As the impending ball of red flames erupted into the desired target, as Ichimaru intended, an explosion rocked the air as the black tar-like darkness splattered around like ink. Normally, doing such a thing in front of humans would be unthinkable, but given the present state of things, supernatural phenomena would be the least of their worries. Even with Shakkahō, however, the black tar only continued to seep about like a stubborn thick fog.

"...That was never going to work, sweetness." spoke an ominous voice coming from the vicinity where the spell had made contact.

Out of the darkness, a shape began to rise from its almost liquid confines, becoming more and more recognizable as the figure took more shape. It was a female from what could be ascertained from her facial and bodily structure, her hair long and dark as the night sky itself, with piercing green eyes like a beast, and finally showing her hands which were like the claws of a vicious tiger. The darkness surrounded the woman's body and slowly formed clothing; black attire that symbolized that of Shinigami garb, though it was significantly different.

Rising from the darkness, her entire body now free from its inky confines — assuming she had merely risen from within rather than the more eerie fact that the black tar actually created this frightening creature — as a malicious cackle emanated from her. "Isn't that just like you lot~ Firin' spells like the dickens!" the woman mused, once more cackling with a creepy screech that filled the air together with the screams of the innocent mortals surrounding the location; her eyes glaring directly at Ichimaru and Nisshō.

Nisshō stared at this strange woman and tightened his grip on his sword hilt. "What are your orders?" he asked Ichimaru as he was of a lower rank and didn't want to anger anymore upper tier officers as he felt that his Captain was most decidedly miffed that he left without permission. He scanned the environment and mentally decided the best Shikai ability to utilize in this fight. "Tatsugiri may work, maybe if I can get close enough to her..." he thought waiting for a plan of attack.

Ichimaru furrowed his brow, staring at the woman in black. Her appearance was certainly frightful and even more so was her laugh. The lieutenant forced himself not to resort to his base instinct and reach for his Zanpakutō. He knew he had to tread carefully in this minefield. Charging at her with reckless abandon was not an option. He looked over to his left as Nisshō asked for his plan.

"Seeing as how my Shakkahō did virtually nothing, we can assume that Kidō won't be effective." He analyzed. "Also, she came from that darkness. That means she's likely in her own element and though we outnumber her, she outmatches us." Ichimaru slowly moved to grab his Zanpakutō and unsheathed it.

''If we get too close, that darkness may cause problems. If we stay too far, we won't be able to deal damage. I can't release my Shikai without making further ripples. All these setbacks and not a single viable advantage. If we can use Shunpo to distract her, maybe we can find an opening and work from there.'' Ichimaru thought while firmly gripping his Zanpakutō in his right hand.

"Ichijōji-san, we're going to have flank her. Use Shunpo and look for an opening." Ichimaru ordered as he seemingly vanished from view. Already he was dashing in circles, leaving behind afterimages that were identical to his outer appearance. With his sword drawn, he searched for any opening no matter how small.

Unsheathing his sword, he stated softly. "Turn the Page, Sasshi," before his blade dissolved into thin air and became a moderately sized book. He then pulled out the bookmark to reveal a sword similar in appearance to his sealed blade before causing the book to shrink and be placed on the rack created by his sheath after the release. He used Shunpo to dash to the right, trying to flank the strange woman before uttering "Sasshi: Tatsugiri," which caused his blade to hum slightly. He then scattered pages from his book which created the area in which she could be sealed. He didn't want to spill his plan so he hoped Fuyutama would notice the ring.

This woman — aptly named Kavika — merely cackled at the movements of Nisshō as she rose her arms up high above her head. Large amounts of the black tar-like substance began to ripple about as several large watery pillars began erupting high into the skies above them; before subtlety raining down on the area around her and the two officers she confronted. With such close proximity and the large amount of black rain falling, it would be almost impossible to avoid getting rained upon by Kavika's tar. Surely, this was for some sort of nefarious purpose.

In mid-step, Ichimaru changed his foot placement to where he would jump backwards from the woman. He exchanged brief eye contact with Nisshō, knowing that he would take care of the rest. However, the woman was not so easily intimidated. The dark matter asking both Shinigami gurgled and took shape. Ichimaru looked up and saw the thick, black, rain. It seemed like the weather of hell was appearing in the Human World. The lieutenant wasted no time and sprang into action. Seems like I have no choice.

"Caress, Sōji no Jihi!" He called out. His longsword changed form, becoming longer and turned black. The former single edge became two and the guard became a crescent shape. The handle elongated to the length of Ichimaru's forearm with a pommel as a counterbalance. With his Shikai activated, Ichimaru slashed aggressively upwards towards the impending rain and released an expansive wave of spirit energy to stop the black matter.

Slicing the air itself, Nisshō cut out a section of space itself and removed it and the black substance from his general area long enough to use Shunpo to get far enough away from it. Looking to the right and then to the left, he tapped his true Shikai, the book on his hip, which scattered more pages to which he attempted to widen the area of his Tatsugiri. However he changed the form of his bookmark from a sword to a pair of clawed gauntlets to better match his hakuda prowess. "I will rip this creature apart..."

A grin formed onto the lips of the strange Kavika, her almost freakishly long tongue extended out as it gently stroked against her lips; rising her arms upward toward the two officers. "Shinigami are so ugly...~ But hopefully you taste better than you look." the woman screeched, the remaining mass of black tar filling the streets below began to glow a faint purple, which only disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. The first action the black mass took was that it quickly spread and latched onto the remaining humans in the streets — all of whom were screaming and engaged in their strange activities due to some unknown interference — swallowing them up as their cries of anguish were smothered by the darkness. As the process had concluded, or rather, before either of the officers could attempt to stop her from finishing off the remaining humans nearby, humanoid shapes began to form in the black tar. Slowly, these shapes took solid form and detached from the greater black mass, becoming individual entities; numbering nearly ten of them as they continued to form as the humans were devoured. Once they detached from the mass, the black tar individuals charged forward — aiming to take the two officers down by force.

Ichimaru gritted his teeth and seethed as he watched the humans perish within the ever-consuming darkness. His first instinct was to immediately head in to cut the sinister woman down with no mercy. However, he knew staying calm and collected would be his greatest skill. He immediately spawned an idea that would only work once, and he would need to execute it quickly. Using Shunpo, Ichimaru suavely created distance by moving away from the impending entities. His window to perform his move was closing fast so he raised himself into the air and stood above the walking black masses.

"Ichijōji-san, get ready. I have an idea. Your part will be clear once you see it." Ichimaru informed, subtly glancing at the dark woman and her minions.

"Cry of the heavens! Beacon of the Almighty's wrath! Illuminate the blade and the stricken earth!" He called out. "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 onto the south!" He continued on. "Fly far and wide! Spread the retribution!"

"Hadō #42: Dandōdan!" The spirit energy around him came together, bit-by-bit, carrying out his whim. In his palm formed a single, excited orb of yellow electricity. With a small gesture, Ichimaru sent the orb forward at astonishing speeds as it turned into a cone shape. The single spear began to split into two, then four, then eight and continued until a massive storm of electric spears rained down on the malicious entities. Under the cover of his first attack, Ichimaru used his Shunpo to position himself above Kavika.

"Hadō #31: Shakkahō!" A molten sphere of red flames coalesced in his palm, radiating heat great enough to melt concrete. Ichimaru fired its explosive energy downwards into the chaos that was the black matter.

Almost as though they were providing no resistance whatsoever, the black tar humanoids shattered onto naught but splashes of residue after being struck by the two spells fired by the seasoned officer. In Kavika's eyes, a reflection of bright yellow light followed by the dark red light could be briefly spotted, as she curled her lips into a rather unnerving smile. What was odd was that the dark matter that had been struck by the officer had seeped into the ground, leaving cracks behind in the cement. However, more of the strange black mass merely took its place, surrounding Kavika as it then began to form elongated spikes aimed for the two officers; both the airborne Ichimaru and the standby Nisshō, firing several rather massive projectiles at an incredible pace.

Nisshō watched in awe. He was not known for his Kidō and as the two spells flew through the air he waited for an opening to spring a trap. As he waited he closed his eyes for a moment and had a quick discussion with Sasshi. "Do you think Tatsugiri will be effective?" he asked his spirit, which took the form of a little blonde haired girl in a blue dress at the moment. "I am not sure, its abilities are beyond our power at the moment, you have to confine her some how..." the spirit said. In the material world, Nisshō instinctively used Tatsugiri once again to sever the incoming attack, and removed it from his immediate area. "We have to trap her,"

Ichimaru's eyes widened as he saw the attack fly towards him with destructive intent. It would only be a split second between certain impalement and safety for Ichimaru. He used his Shunpo once more, slightly stumbling due to his sudden jerking out of the way. He slid out of the way, remaining air-born while having dodged the first projectile. The next one would not be so easy. Ichimaru took his Shikai and, with all of his might, slashed at the beam to split it. His arms nearly gave out on impact, surprising Ichimaru with his strength. ''We have to stop this woman, by all means! She's far too dangerous!"

Dashing around the perimeter he scattered the means by which he'd trap her. The pages of his book, could not be destroyed by conventional means and would not be absorbed without adverse effects. He ended up next to Ichimaru and tapped his superior’s arm. "The trap is set, just need an opening to get in close, can you do that for me?" he asked calmly.

Kavika's eyes peered toward the two officers and whatever trickery that they were up to in order to best her efforts thus far. However, she never displayed a sense of worry nor a trace of dread — she welcomed the attempts made by her Shinigami enemies, for battle was what she lived for; carnage at its best! But unfortunately, that would have to wait. A familiar feeling of reiatsu quickly caused Kavika's eyes to widen, almost as though it were a signal for something, prompting her to let out a rather ominous snicker.

The black tar quickly rose upwards and ensnared Kavika's body, leaving only her head visible now to the two officers as she began to speak out toward them once again. "Kekekeke... I'm afraid we have to cut our fun short today. You two had best getting moving if you want to meet me in combat again! Kekeke!" In ending her statement, the black tar swallowed her up and then dispersed, receding back into the ground as her entire presence had disappeared; she had left. And in her wake, the destruction had been wrought onto the town.

On Another Front
In another area of the city, as Takashi had been desperately looking for some way to handle the supernatural massacre continuously occurring right in front of his eyes, it was then that a figure slowly began to seep out from the darkness behind the officer. There, another woman similar to the one that appeared elsewhere before Nisshō and Ichimaru, though with remarkably different features along with snow white hair, who reached out at an incredible speed for the distracted officer; hoping to slash his neck clean through in that moment of convenience.

The murderous intent behind the strike was tangible. He could not identify the Reiatsu signature, he had not even seen his attacker, but he reacted on instinct. In an instant his sword sprang from its scabbard, singing through the air as he drew it upwards across his body. The sudden impact as the blow contacted steel sent him skidding backwards through the air, and he barely had time to react, turning the blade and cutting towards the throat of his enemy in one swift counterattack. But he had been too shallow, he had missed. Momentum carried the two of them some distance apart, and his gaze finally made contact with hers.

Her eyes were wide, with pupils barely more than thin slits. Her body and hair were smooth and white, with strange, rounded markings drawn across her skin. Her figure was humanoid, distinctively female, but she was certainly not a human. On the other hand, she did not appear to be a Hollow either. There were no mask fragments, no void in her chest, and her Reiatsu was entirely alien to him. He had never encountered one of her kind before, of that he was certain. Already he was formulating strategies, attempting to analyze his enemy from what little he had seen of her. She was fast, undeniably so. Takashi could feel a thin trickle of blood running down his neck from where her hand had brushed past, the strike having been redirected by his sword. He was certain that speed was not the only thing he would need to account for. This one was dangerous. Takashi could feel Kohaku reaching for his mind, searching for him and fearing for his safety. She was approaching their location swiftly, and Takashi allowed his concentration to slip for a moment as he contacted her. Stay away. He told her firmly. I want you to find the source of the black matter, leave this one to me. He sensed as Kohaku altered her course of flight, obeying him without question. She knew as well as he that he could in no way lose his focus here.

Below him the blanket of darkness still crept through the streets, and he heard sirens blaring in the distance. Time was short, and he could not waste any of it in dealing with this… thing. His brow knitted in a deep frown, and he leveled his sword at his attacker. Whatever she was, she was most likely connected to or directly responsible for the rampant chaos in the city.

“Who are you, and what is your purpose here?” he demanded.

The pale girl known as Skanda merely stood a ways away from Takashi — maintaining an eerie silence — before holding up both of her hands up toward the officer. "......" she uttered in a monotone mutter as her hands lit up with a bright red flame. Suddenly, a huge ball of fire erupted from her hands, roughly half of her height, moving at a high speed directly for Takashi.

Impossible. His eyes widened as the orb of red light materialized in front of her hands and shot towards him. His body seemed to move without his consent, and with one step of Shunpo he evaded the attack, reappearing a short ways aside. There had been no other recourse available to him, the distance and had been too short, leaving no opportunity to counter it directly. But an instant after he dodged it he regretted doing so. The Shakkahō exploded into the side of the building below him, no doubt causing uncountable damage and sending bits of shrapnel flying in their direction. She can use Kidō? Takashi did not wait for another attack, instead climbing higher into the sky with brief, flashing steps. He needed distance. Something to give him an edge. More importantly, he needed to draw her fire away from the human-filled city beneath them. Takashi turned as he travelled upwards, raising both his sword hand and empty hand above his head.

“Bakudō, number four, .” he threw the Kidō spell down towards his opponent, whom he knew would be following him closely behind. The yellow light crawled through the air, reaching out to ensnare his enemy. At the same time he released his Shikai with a simple command, “Plunge into flesh, Aka no Tsume.” He remembered Aiken’s words as the old Kuchiki had wisely told him to suppress his Reiatsu and “fight on the weak side,” but speed was now a crucial factor, outweighing reservation. Still, he would not fight at full strength, the Gentei Reīn on his chest would make sure of that. At any rate, his was not an ostentatious Shikai, and for now would actually aid him in compressing his Reiatsu into the cutting edge of the blade, which glowed with a soft crimson light. Only a few seconds had passed since he had cast the Kidō spell, and he stopped, widening his stance and preparing to strike. His opponent could cast Kidō spells—he wondered how she had responded to his own attack.

The light ropes of the Hainawa wrapped themselves around Skanda without hesitation, but perhaps what was so strange was that she offered no resistance; allowing the spell to bind her tightly. If anything, her only response was a light moaning sound that escaped her lips. Was it possible that she was somehow... enjoying this? In that very instant, her entire being shattered like glass; the glowing remnants remained suspended in the air briefly before shattering apart further and vanishing from this world. However, this was not the end of it. Once the girl disappeared, two more of the same woman had appeared; one on top of the building closest to Takashi, while the other appeared the exact same distance from the latter as the original had, albeit on his opposite side. Both girls rose their hands aimed directly for Takashi, "......" Flashes of bright yellow light escaped from their fingertips and ran rampant for where Takashi stood; now coming from two different directions.

Takashi knew something was off the moment his opponent had allowed the Hainawa to embrace her, and his eyes narrowed as her form shattered into shards of glass. Hainawa should not have had that affect, it was bodily deconstruction, more akin to something a Hollow might be capable of… and teleportation? He saw as she reappeared in front of him, and from the corner of his eye spotted her clone, who mimicked her movements exactly. No, duplication… their forms were identical, perfect copies, with no apparent way to determine the true from the false. He immediately switched tactics as they used the same Bakudō spell against him, resisting his first instinct to dodge the attack. Instead, he pointed his index finger towards the one on his left, and a beam of blue light shot forwards, crackling with electricity. The contacted the Hainawa and dissipated it, breaking it apart in chunks of yellow light. The spell had been cast wordlessly, but he had compensated with a higher concentration of Reiatsu, widening the attack and allowing it to continue to the end of the rope. He hoped the spell would not contact his opponent, particularly if she truly could duplicate after being hit with Kidō, which from what he had seen he assumed was the case. In the same instant that he had fired the Byakurai he sprang towards the opponent that was standing in front of the building. With the first step of Shunpo he dived downwards, below where she was standing. With the second he flew upwards, sword held in both hands, the blade screaming through the air as he moved, eager to contact flesh. Its cutting edge hungered for blood, and that same thirst was reflected in the light of its wielder’s eyes. It was gyaku-kesa, a simple diagonal cut, but enhanced with such speed and strength that it would sever the body upon contact, slicing through the hip and spine and continuing through the clavicle. The intention was clear: it was a strike meant to kill.

The two Skanda had been keeping their eyes firmly stapled onto Takashi ever since they fired their Hainawa, but nothing could have prepared her for what was to come. This was a slash as deadly as it was fast — the very sound it made as it ripped through the air was akin to that of a screech — and it was, without a doubt, going to be impossible for even Skanda to completely dodge it. She was intelligent enough, it seemed, to come to this conclusion on her own. And in the process, holding her hands up, the blade came swooping down to slash her in twain. As Takashi came down and performed the attack perfectly, accomplishing the goal of slashing this Skanda in a clean half, an orb that glowed brightly appeared in her hands at the moment her body was cut apart. "......" muttered the dying girl, the orb in her hands erupting right then and there, as a massive explosion rocked the land and undoubtedly consumed both the remains of Skanda as well as Takashi who had been in close proximity. The second Skanda watched silently from afar, atop a building.

Takashi’s momentum carried him upwards through the strike, past his enemy until he stood above the falling and separated body. With the rush of the wind in his ears he did not hear the spell’s name until it was too late. At that instant a bright orb of sparking, orange energy exploded outwards. Dandōdan was not a spell that was focused on accuracy. Instead it was meant to cause damage over a wide expanse, and it materialized into more than a dozen shafts of compressed, powerful energy to accomplish this. The bolts shot outwards from the blast in a wide radius, travelling upwards at incredible speed. Takashi tried to dodge, but just as he leapt out of the blast radius one of the spear-like projectiles tore through his leg. With a gasp of pain he was caught off-balance and, carried by the force of the blow, somersaulted through the air until he landed on the roof of a nearby office building. Wires and antennae snapped off as he contacted them, breaking his fall until he skidded through the gravel and rubble to a stop. Takashi stood to his feet, panting and trying to ignore the wound in his thigh.

He focused instead on the one opponent that still remained, who watched him closely from some distance away. You’re hurt. Kohaku’s mind had somehow entered his own; she had probably observed the entire exchange through his own eyes, from wherever she was. Not badly. Takashi answered. It was my own damn fault, I was being careless. He said. You could not have predicted that attack. Kohaku pointed out. No, but I should have at least expected it. He readjusted his stance, bringing his sword in front of his body and relaxing his grip on the hilt until it fit naturally into his hand. I need to end this quickly. He told Kohaku, Continue your search. She left him once more, and Takashi steadied his own breathing. Calm once again, he prepared to deliver another attack.

As for the woman before him, he still could not identify her race, but whatever she was she could most certainly be described as a demon. It seemed as though her mind was devoid of any active thought, but from her reactions Takashi hypothesized that this was probably not entirely the case. He could not afford to underestimate her. With a flash he disappeared from the roof of the building, rushing towards his enemy with deep, powerful steps. The sliding, guarded manner in which he used Shunpo closely resembled the footwork employed in Kenjutsu, and allowed him to use high-speed movement in conjunction with his swordsmanship. Previously, when Takashi’s blade had made contact with his opponent’s blood, he had gained a small increase in speed, and his senses had become slightly sharper as a result of his Shikai. But what he would have gained as an advantage had been mitigated by the injury to his leg. In other words, his speed was the same as it had been before. He would have to cut her again to change this.

Takashi turned the sword so that the hilt was level with his hip and the blade parallel to the ground far below. One more step and he initiated the attack, slicing towards the abdomen with a basic yet concentrated do cut. Depending on how she reacted he could quickly strike again within that brief opening, the impetus of the attack would come from a swift delivery and an unexpected secondary strike, which would be delivered to the chest as an unconventional lunge. But Takashi knew that he had lost precious time already, and that she had been given more than enough opportunity to prepare an attack of her own. He was on the alert and prepared to instantly switch to the defensive, depending on the way his opponent would react.

In the instant that the blade made contact with Skanda — who strangely, despite all the time she had to prepare countermeasures, did nothing to prevent the incoming attack — the most obvious result that one would expect from Takashi's attack occurred. Bifurcation. Skanda's entire body, split from the waist, separated into two parts. Her upper torso flew upwards and landed with a crackling thud onto the roof surface with the lower half of her body began making a tumble all the way down to the road below. Once the two thuds rang in the air, silence quickly enveloped the area. For a moment, it appeared as though Takashi succeeded in his task of taking down this horrid creature. But then the most unusual of all things, even more so than the other medley of nonsense he had served as a witness to, began to occur: the two halves of Skanda burst apart into a mud-like substance, black in its color, that spread outwards and began to expand rapidly; without end.

The fact that his opponent had made no resistance whatsoever threw Takashi off-guard. His blade had passed through her body cleanly, without hindrance. The question was, why? It had been altogether much too easy, unexpectedly so, and Takashi was instantly on the alert. It was almost as if, judging by her rather robotic reactions, she had been under the control of some external force. Like she had been connected to something, manipulated like a puppet. But his speculations were interrupted as he caught sight of a black tar-like substance that began to seep out of the craters it had formed in, crawling across the ground, dripping down from the air. It curled and billowed as it moved, an insidious, amorphous dark mass. It was the same as the matter that flooded the streets, possessing the same feeling, the same flow of fluid motion. But it was thicker now, and much stronger, almost taking on a life of its own; a living, breathing, devouring thing. Takashi studied the black matter intently, but was careful to keep his distance. If the demon had converted into the black matter upon her destruction, it was possible she could emerge from it once more. Perhaps she had even been born from the darkness. But if so, then it was as if the substance had swallowed her, reclaiming the life it had once birthed.

Wait a minute. Swallowed?

Pieces of information began to fall into place in Takashi’s mind, the evidence started to align. He realized now that the reason he had found the demon’s Reiatsu so strange, so alien in the first place was not because of any odd sensation given off by her spiritual pressure, but rather by the fact that she had seemed to pull the energy in around her. Similar to how a Quincy could absorb ambient Reishi, but more akin to a vacuum, or a refraction. An all-consuming darkness.

As the dark matter continued to spread Takashi decided to test his theory. He needed a small object, something he could throw, and casting about his eyes fell on his Lieutenant’s badge. He only hesitated a moment before he took it from his arm and initiated a Kidō incantation, using a low-level Bakudō spell to form thin, silver strands of energy that were attached to his finger tips. The spell was known as Tsuriito, (釣糸) or “fishing line” and was used primarily for tracking a target. In this case, his target was the black mass below him. He threw the badge and watched as it disappeared into the darkness, five silky threads marking its location. Takashi could track its movements through the vibrations in his fingertips, and when it hit the dense black matter its descent slowed significantly. There were a few moments where it seemed to rest on the surface of the black mass, almost as if the badge was being analyzed, or tasted. Then, without warning, it vanished. But what was more surprising was that the threads began to be pulled from his fingertips with much greater speed, taut with alarming strength. Takashi clenched his fingers into a fist and jerked his hand away, snapping the threads and breaking off the Kidō spell. It was as he had suspected, the darkness worked to absorb matter. At least, matter formed of Reishi. He wondered what affect it had on the physical world, and objects formed of Kishi. Such as humans…

It did not escape Takashi's notice that their numbers seemed to have been steadily decreasing, and the absence of life disturbed him. Where had they all gone? He began to fear the worst.

One Other Front
Without a doubt, Aiken was most likely in close enough proximity to be aware of the presence creeping up on Takashi, but before he would be able to even consider moving to assist him, several strange strands of a thick white substance had almost instantaneously appeared; surrounding him as though it were... a spider's web.

"I hope you don't plan on doing anything reckless, cutie~" spoke a feminine voice from above the web of strands, a black-haired maiden sat there with an eerie smirk plastered onto her face.

Cutie? What had stopped the elderly figure from his prior advance was not the silk entrapment he found himself in, but the words that hung on his ears. He was more prune than man, that Aiken, and to hear words like that were rare, if not utterly strange to him. He looked to regard this woman that had called out to him, as close as he was to being caught in her web.

"You do me too much credit, my lady", he replied with the lightest bow of his head, a heed of caution given his current predicament. "I am but an old fool, would your time not be better spent on someone who can grow to appreciate your words?", his words stopped matching his actions as his wakizashi came free from its sheath, a flutter of embers trailing behind it.

In the wake of the embers brought forth by the man's unsheathing action, more of Dhanya's webs could be perceived. And there inlaid the trouble. Several humans were tightly imprisoned in the webs that surrounded Aiken — some were screaming, others muttering what could only be considered gibberish, while the rest merely laid there as though they were in a deep sleep. Whatever the case, it was clear that they were Dhanya's prisoners, and now hostages that would prevent Aiken from enacting too much damage. A couple of the embers managed to catch onto a small part of the webs due to their reckless fluttering, and once they did, more screaming from the trapped slumbering humans could be heard; possibly inferring that damaging these webs would lead to killing these poor unfortunate humans.

"Nonsense... Even an old man can be cute, especially in his final moments." Dhanya shot him a vicious grin. Which was returned with a look of seriousness, though Aiken's expression was aloof, cold, there was an obvious aggression welling up behind his eyes. He motioned to return his sword to its sheath in order to flatly utter the command: "Enkindle, Dōshōkira...".

The sword and its scabbard began to glow in unison, a blinding white luminosity that quickly ebbed away after a few seconds. Aiken swung his blade forward, revealing its newly lengthened and blackened form while also casting another bout of embers into the open air. They fluttered brazenly in the breeze all around the area, but most notably seemed to congregate near the trapped Humans. There were a set of small torches attached to Aiken's newly transformed Zanpakutō which flickered out for just a second as he traced a returning motion with his hand, then those embers all rapidly expanded, exploding into a great burning wave. They swept over the imprisoned, crying Humans. Their screams, their calls for help, for a brief time it intensified.

It hung on Aiken's ears clearly until they died out, drowned in the loud roar of the flames, by the time they had fallen silent, the clamour of the fire was all he could hear. He looked to Dhanya once more as a new batch of embers flooded into the air from that cruel, black sword of his. "A Shinigami's duty is to protect the balance of souls", he began. "It is inevitable that Humans will die and pass on, and it is impossible, necessary even, that we cannot, do not, save them all", he explained in a clear monotone, seemingly unphased by the callousness of his own actions.

He drew into a stance, a posture resembling a fencer. "I have undoubtedly tipped the scales, however slightly, but I may still fix that by slaying you".

Dhanya observed with a silent expression, watching as the humans ensnared in her spider webs were burnt asunder, until each of the seven humans she had trapped were now naught but ash. And to this, following his rather lecturing speech, Dhanya could only respond with an elegant yet uproarious laughter, holding the back of her hand to her cheek as she did so. Her chuckle died out as she regained a composed expression, facing the elder officer with a light smile. "Maybe that is true, but can the rest be said for your friends...?" She then stood on her feet, as the spider web that had survived the fire slowly curled around her as though it were a defensive armor of sorts; a faint reflective glow could be seen from them, possibly inferring that these were now as hard as steel itself. "Oops, spoke too much~" she mused, as the edges of her spider web armor curled out and aimed directly for Aiken, firing off a barrage of blade-like projectiles at an incredible speed.

He had already known that Takashi was in a similar situation as himself, his spiritual senses had been on fire for a while now, picking up every little new disturbance in the vicinity, though Nisshō and Ichimaru were outside of his range, Dhanya had basically confirmed the possibility for him. And that was all she needed to do, that single lapse in judgement, the time taken to process a single thought was all her attack needed to bridge the gap. Careless, he berated as his eyes took hold of them closing in. He could have simply stepped back and they would have passed beneath him, but he had wasted time, and the projectiles were faster than his legs. His arm though, was a different story.

The motion was a swift and sweeping one, his blade drew quickly in a rise in front of himself. Multiple clanks rang out as the projectiles smashed against Aiken's Zanpakutō, barely even a millisecond between each as they impacted. Their momentum had been absorbed by the near-unbreakable weapon that was his sword. But there was more. Aiken's eye twitched, and a tingling sensation ran across his body. One of the projectiles, out of the reach of Aiken's short blade, had penetrated his shoulder. There was no pain, as such, his body had already filled with adrenaline resulting in something far more numb than deadly. His eyes passed over it momentarily, enough time to see his black robe darken just ever so slightly as blood ran into the fibers. But he ignored it in favour of pressing the offensive.

His blade swept downward this time, and the amassed embers fluttering in the air quickly responded to his command. They became beams of thin orange intensity that shot forward at a blistering pace, numerous cauterizing flames converging on Dhanya's location.

Dhanya's cage of webs quickly sprung into action and solidified instantaneously into the same strong material as before, taking the brunt of the beams as a series of explosions consumed Dhanya's being; a brief out-roar resembling a scream could be heard from her being as smoke completely filled the space around them. No doubt, because of this, her fate would remain undetected. But Aiken would receive his answer soon enough. From within the dust and debris, several projectiles which carried the flames remaining from Aiken's earlier assault shot out from the smoke, convening on Aiken's location. This was just the start. From above, a bruised Dhanya blasted out from the smoke and went high into the skies, her eyes peering down on Aiken. However, she took no following action, merely observing how he would respond to the projectile attacks; a small grin creeping along her cheeks as a secret existed within those projectiles.

And he reacted poorly. Aiken's heavily wrinkled face scrunched up, his face beginning to look like a piece of overly crumpled paper in the process. What absurdity is this? he asked himself inwardly. Though he hadn't made the same error in judgement this time. As he processed the odd results of his attack, and Dhanya's retaliation, Aiken's body kicked itself into gear. His left foot stomped on the air itself which bounced back against him, sending the elderly man leaping into the air, well out of reach on the encroaching projectiles. Thinking about it, and barring the fact that they were also on fire, Aiken assumed that this new barrage were not too dissimilar from his own, they would likely rebound and follow him after his evasion. Dealing with them, in the case that it turned out to be true, was not his priority though.

As soon as his movement stopped, having risen to a level not far off from Dhanya's own ascent, he quickly leaped back into action. Reiryoku flowed through his body, focused into his legs as each step became quicker and quicker, until the Shinigami was little more than a blur of motion. He went for Dhanya's flank, emerging on her left, his blade wreathed in flames as he attempted to cleave through the woman's strangely durable silken armour, and the woman herself.

The blade managed to pierce through the surface of Dhanya's webs, but the immense durability of the substance proved to be a bit too much for even the blade of this powerful officer, as it slowed down and finally halted half-way through the sticky substance. In such a close proximity, though, Dhanya merely stood still; confident in her victory, despite only having somewhat halted Aiken's advance momentarily. But the true goal of this was that, upon stopping Aiken's strike, Dhanya's index finger flicked upwards, as if to command the projectiles that had been dodged earlier, which began making a quick swerve mid-air. Unless Aiken were to somehow drag his sword out of the web that was now slowly, as though it possessed a mind of its own, consuming whatever parts of the sword it could, he'd have to abandon his own weapon to avoid being torn to shreds. All the while, Dhanya's smile persisted. This time, he was able to meet her smile with his own.

His assumption was correct, even if his strike had fallen short of the mark, its was still a revelation that granted him some satisfaction. He could account for this, plan around it. Indeed, the first step was already in motion. He let go of his Zanpakutō in order to spin on his heel, crouching down through out the process. The first projectile buzzed right above his head, having missed him by only a fraction. His feet pressed forward, as if kicking into a wall as his hand once again outstretched in order to tap the hilt of his sword. As soon as he felt the familiar touch of the hilt, he stopped resisting the building pressure his legs had formed and sprung into a single flash step that shot him back a considerable distance.

"Typically the flames would build up in the blade, and be expelled in a single powerful strike, but fire is also dangerous when allowed to expand unchecked", the old man murmured to himself while the flames around Dōshōkira's edge grew and grew. Becoming more intense, the very sword that was conjuring them becoming white hot in the process. His previous cut had failed to cut deep enough, leaving his sword trapped in Dhanya's grasp, but that wouldn't make it any less dangerous.

The bright glow of the flames burning onto the edge of the officer's Zanpakutō reflected in Dhanya's dark eyes as she glared at him; her smile all the more present. Even under the present state of danger from holding onto Aiken's sword, the web persisted and began spreading, almost as though it was intending to latch onto the part of the blade that was burning white hot. As expected, once the webs touched upon it, the flames spread onto it and caused smoke to quickly fill the vicinity between the sword and Dhanya. But what soon replaced the smoke was a deep blue glow; the webs themselves around the burning sword began to emit a bright blue light. It was then obvious what was occurring. Dhanya was absorbing reiryoku from the Zanpakutō through her webs, like a predator consuming its prey little by little. "It will just be a little more... Be happy, cutie. An old dinosaur like you will be one of the building blocks toward the future." she ominously declared before the webs that had not been caught on fire nor glowing due to absorption began to surround her body. "I hope you won't die before we see each other again~" her soft voice continued. They wrapped her, one by one, until her entire body was shrouded in the webs. And once it this occurred, the webs unraveled, revealing that she had completely disappeared; the only thing left behind were the glowing threads wrapped around the burning Zanpakutō, still slowly siphoning out energy from it.

The Reaping
For the first time, Takashi took note of the eerie silence. There was no sound except the deep, muted rumblings that seemed to be made by the black mass as it moved across the ground. There were no screams. No sirens, or signals, or motors…

As if to add to the stillness, with a few weak flickers, the lights in the buildings surrounding him shut off abruptly. But the moon was full, and the night clear. Pallid moonlight cast a soft, ghostly glow over the city, sharpening the edges of the shadows, deepening them. There was a tenuous, barely imperceptible energy that charged the atmosphere. Almost electric. Like a calm before a storm. Like the world was holding its breath…

An instant later, and a wall of pressure seemed to slam down from the sky. The ground began to vibrate violently, and whatever noise there had been before now paled in comparison to the screeching and groaning of the skyscrapers as they rocked back and forth, the earth beneath them shaking turbulently. Even the air was fluctuating, making it difficult to keep his footing.

Takashi. Kohaku’s thoughts shot out towards him, and he turned in the direction of her approach, sensing her among the disruption in the air. A faint blue glow, almost violet in hue, had appeared on the horizon, apparently the origin of the reverberations. Hurry. He willed Kohaku on faster. At last she came into view, flying hard and fast towards him, barely slowing as she landed on his shoulder. What the hell is going on? He asked. Her chest heaved in and out rapidly, obviously having pushed herself to reach him. Close your eyes. She commanded. Takashi did as she told at once, and she projected what she had seen as images in his mind. His eyes snapped open and his face seemed to drain of all color.

“We need to find the others, as soon as possible.” he said. Kohaku gave a start. Your sword! She exclaimed. Takashi took notice of the blade, consciously aware of it for the first time since he had cut through his opponent. Almost half of the sword was covered with the thick black substance, smoky tendrils writhing around the metal as it climbed higher, creeping towards his sword arm. It must have been from the blood of the demon, having been converted into the dark mass the same instant she had. Takashi swore. He should have cleaned his blade immediately, even a deft flick of chinugui could have prevented the problem. It was one of the most basic principles of swordsmanship, and yet it had escaped his mind somehow. He berated himself for his mistake even as he took his sword in both hands and sliced down cleanly through the air in sanbankage. Black matter trailed from the blade, leaving three distinct black lines hovering for a split second before the shadows dissipated. But the stroke had been largely ineffective, and the substance still clung to the blade. You don’t have much time. Kohaku reminded. I know. He estimated the distance between him and the nearest building. Which way are the others? He asked. Kohaku pointed out the direction and Takashi took off. He dived down, back towards the city, and moving his sword out to the side drove its tip into the face of a building, dragging it through the wall and leaving a thin, long division in the concrete behind him. He used Shunpo to give the motion extra force, running alongside the building until he emerged at the other side. He promptly inspected the blade: the technique had worked, leaving the black matter to seep into the split he had created. Takashi moved to sheathe his sword, but after a second thought decided to leave the blade exposed. He did not know when an enemy would emerge, and needed every advantage available to him. Takashi sprung into motion once more, and concentrated on lengthening his stride so that he covered as much distance as possible with each step. It was difficult, both because of the increased pressure in the atmosphere and also because the added energy to his steps caused the wound in his leg to throb. He continued to force the stiff and cramped muscles surrounding the injury to move, and move fast; pain was irrelevant, barely registering in the urgency of his flight. It was a race against time now. He just hoped he could reach the others before it was too late.

But he would not get far.

It was only a few feet in front of him that a blue light briefly sparked, quick enough to just throw him off guard. There wouldn't be any time to react before this single spark erupted into a large cage formation, trapping Takashi inside with a nigh impenetrable Reishi-field. It was condensed and human-sized, just enough to where Takashi himself could move only slightly, and it hummed like some sort of generator.

"What the... what is this?" Takashi slammed his fist against the bars. They were solid, strong, unbreakable. He tried to see past the cage to the outside world, to determine who his attacker was. It had all been much too sudden...

Then he caught a distinctive Reiatsu. The Spiritual Pressure of a Quincy.

The culprit of all this was near...

Then, a chuckle could be heard from only a few feet away from the imprisoned Takashi, in the same direction as the Reiatsu that he had felt just then. And standing there, looking up at him and his bright blue prison... was a tall figure, wearing a hooded trench coat. The shadows that had been spreading around the city seemed to merely circle around his feet harmlessly, revealing his nature as the master of the darkness that plagued Karakura Town.

"First real catch of the day, and not too bad of one either." the figure said in a mature and somewhat charismatic sounding voice, his hands folded behind his back as he calmly paced around the imprisoned Vice-Captain. "Looks like you got banged up pretty bad back there. Skanda sure does give her targets a hard time. But you're tough, to make it this far without completely passing out."

Takashi watched him pace back and forth as he tried to calm both his thoughts and his breathing. He was still panting heavily from travelling so far with Shunpo, but he narrowed his eyes and tried to focus on his adversary.

His Reiatsu, so far as Takashi could tell, was heavy. Convoluted. Like the weight of a thousand souls. But what caught his attention were the similarities it bore to the dark mass filling the streets.

"Are you... the one responsible for all this?" he spoke with some effort, the pain in his leg now bothering him much more than it had before.

"Yes I am." the being said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, his hands unfolding and coming down to his sides as he continued to pace around his prize. A noticeable feature was his exposed left arm; it bore numerous black markings of arcane origins, except the center of these markings was a marking shaped into that of a capital 'J'. "Marvelous, isn't it? Truly a Shinigami, of all people, would be right at home in a land covered in dark. It's a shame the Visoreds didn't think so..."

Visored? Then that meant... It seems we've found him. Kohaku noted gravely. A thousand questions raced through Takashi's mind. He tried to stifle it, to push it down, but the icy fingers of fear were beginning to wrap around his throat. This man...

"What do you mean?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from conveying any emotion. Inwardly he was in turmoil. It had been a Quincy who had destroyed the Visored? But how? If he had so easily taken out such powerful beings, Takashi knew he himself stood no chance: his end would come even more swiftly. He needed to find a way to escape, and began to examine the bars of his cage more closely as the man continued to speak.

"Well son..." the man went on, the shadows beginning to wrap around his feet and on up to his waist, elevating him up to eye-level with the captive Shinigami. "I'm a pretty straightforward kind of man; I like to keep things simple and to the point. I let you do your business and you let me do mine, and we both move on with our labors. But Shinigami, they're a nosy bunch you see, always have been and always will. Things can get so complicated when they get involved in my particular field of tasks. When that happens, my patience starts to run thin, and when I lose patience, people lose their lives." the man went on as the shadow spire he was on inched closer to the Reishi cage. "That bunch... they didn't see things the way I do. No, they didn't like how I handled things, and got up all in my affairs and I think you know pretty well how that turned out."

"I see. But what does that have to do with the humans? Why destroy them? This black matter... what is its purpose?" Takashi tried to keep the man talking even as he shrank back from him instinctively.

"Yhwach left quite a few parting gifts when he passed on." the Quincy went on. Seemingly unbeknownst to either of them, there was a presence on the building just above both of them, one that kept its eyes on the two individuals fiercely. "You see, there are some individuals who exist to give things out to others, bestowing upon them gifts of various kinds. Yhwach was one of them. At that same time, there are some individuals who were born to take such gifts for themselves, and use them for a greater purpose. I am one of those individuals."

His hand then reached up to calmly pull his hood off of his head to reveal a man who appeared to be in his early to mid-fifties, with blue eyes and dark blue hair that was mixed with white, stretching down into a thick beard. He smirked as he introduced himself. "Name's Kraven, Kraven Jäger."

Takashi had, in fact, noticed as some unknown being landed on the roof above them, but kept his gaze fixed on Kraven. If the newcomer was an ally, he could in no way give their position away. And if they were an enemy? It would be of no use anyway. He tried to process what Kraven had told him as he studied the man's face, committing the details of his features to memory. He did not now if he would survive the night, but if he did any scrap of information would be greatly needed. It was his mission, after all.

"What is that greater purpose?" he asked, thinking back to the last thing Kraven had said.

"I'll give you a hint." Kraven said as he leaned in closer and put his hand to the side of his mouth, as if he were sharing a secret. "I'm going to make things so much easier for both of our kinds, just you wait and see..."

"I don't understand... the war ended nine years ago." Takashi began, "There are very few Quincy left. Even if you were able to defeat the Visored, you can't expect to go up against the entire Gotei 13 single-handedly." Again he was stalling, trying to buy himself some time. If only he could contact Aiken, or Ichimaru. Anyone...

"The Gotei 13? What gave you the idea-" Kraven started to reply before his attention snapped upwards towards the roof above. Descending upon him was a violet, oval-shaped collective of energy. From experience, he could tell what it was: a Haien spell. His shadow spire moved him back, but not hastily, as he acknowledged that the spell was low level and incapable of causing serious harm to him. When it collided with the ground between him and Takashi, a wall of fire was produced, blocking the latter from Kraven's view.

Between Takashi and the fire wall appeared a feminine figure that Takashi would recognize almost immediately: Naomi Shirogane. Rather than start talking like she normally did to him, she instead kept her Zanpakutō blade pointed in Kraven's direction before sticking her other hand in between one of the gaps of the Reishi cage. "!" she shouted as a long white ribbon shot out from her hand and quickly wrapped around Takashi, before the latter was encompassed in a bright white light, and then teleported from the Reishi cage right next to her.

"Takashi, are you alright?" Naomi asked him while keeping her eyes and sword pointed towards Kraven's direction, strictness, and concern, laced in her tone and words.

But Takashi did not reply. He raced past her, charging towards Kraven with his sword drawn before bringing the blade down towards his head, combining all his strength into one unexpectedly fast strike. He hoped that the surprise of the attack would allow him to get closer than he otherwise could: he had only this one, brief chance.

"The hell-?!" Naomi shouted at Takashi as he lunged past the flames and towards the Quincy that started all this chaos. "What are you thinking, you moron?!!"

Beyond the flames, Kraven stood with his arms at his sides, his head and glowing blue eyes glaring straight at the oncoming Takashi, as if fully expecting the strike the moment the Vice Captain had made his lunge. The blade connected dead center with Kraven's head, wind generated from the force of the strike flying down the road behind Kraven and causing his coat to billow slightly. It even managed to draw a sliver of blood that trickled down Kraven's face, but his expression and pose didn't change

"There's a lesson to be learned here, son." Kraven muttered calmly as he looked up at Takashi with an equally serene gaze. "Never hit a Quincy head-on."

The next thing the Shinigami felt was Kraven's left fist flying into and through his torso, causing blood to erupt out of it in a highly violent fashion. But it was almost as though Takashi had expected that degree of failure as, even as he coughed up blood, he turned the cutting edge of his blade, bringing the sword in a sweeping, horizontal slice towards Kraven's neck. It was a desperate, last attempt.

The strike would connect, but it wouldn't have nearly the same impact as the last attack would. Takashi's sword might as well have hit a steel wall as the blade slashed into Kraven's neck, and almost just as quickly rebounded as soon as it made connection. If one would look closely, they would notice faint blue lines trickled through out the impact strike around Kraven's neck: Blut Vene.

This action caused Kraven to grin as he lifted Takashi higher into the air, looking at him in the eyes. "Now that's how a warrior is supposed to go down, son." he said, his tone somewhat earnest in giving the compliment. He then threw Takashi flat onto the ground before him, and then slammed his foot into the latter's chest. "I'll make sure you greet the next world with pride still in your heart..."

This caused a now mortified Naomi to yell out at him in anger, pointing her sword directly at the Quincy. The guard of the blade began to glow a bright green light, which quickly expanded into an entire see-through circle of Spiritual Energy. "!" she shouted, before the circle of energy unleashed a barrage of beams upon Kraven. Each of them collided with their target, but the powerful Quincy didn't seem to budge from his spot. This didn't matter to Naomi, as she put all of her energy into her legs and feet, before leaping towards Takashi and wrapping her arms under his shoulders, before leaping back away from the blast zone.

"You idiot... you fucking idiot...!!!" she snarled between her gnashed teeth, her voice cracking slightly as she spoke. "Why don't you ever just.... just trust me... why...?" she went on, her voice getting weaker and tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she flew back away from Kraven as fast as she possibly could.

Takashi lifted his head, but he wasn't looking at her. From behind them he could see as the dark matter began to move, coalescing into a more concentrated mass. His eyes widened.

"You might... want to run faster." he said, his voice thick with the blood in his throat.

Naomi had to stop briefly, her expression becoming horrified as she saw spires of shadows rising from the streets around them into razor-sharp formations. She put one of Takashi's arms around both of her shoulders, holding it with her left hand and wrapping her right arm around the back of his waist. "You're in no position to tell me what to do, asshole!" she said harshly as she tried to blink the tears out of her eyes, before she leapt onto the top of one of the smaller buildings, and away from the shadow spires.

"There's no escape..." a deeper and more menacing variation of Kraven's voice echoed in both the minds of Takashi and Naomi, briefly taking the latter off-guard. "What you have seen will never be unseen... those you hold close to your side will all hear of the horror you experience this night..."

"God... he can still speak to us, even after I blew him to hell..." Naomi muttered to herself in a worried tone. They sank down to the surface of the roof, and she knelt beside Takashi. He was clutching his side with his free hand while gripping his sword with the other, refusing even now to let go of it.

"There's... something worse." it was taking considerable effort in order for him to speak, but he continued anyway, "On the edge of the city. We have to... warn the others. Get away from here."

"Takashi..." Naomi said quietly, keeping her hands around his shoulders to keep him supported. He was clearly in no condition to move on his own, and she couldn't risk leaving him there alone in order to go find the others. At first she considered using to alert the others of their situation, but as a Kidō spell, it would only draw Kraven closer to their location. What could she do...

"Ah!" she lightly gasped with an idea in mind, turning her attention towards Kohaku. "Kohaku, I know you and I don't talk at all, like you do with Takashi, but please, I need you to find Aiken and the rest of the squad and have them meet us here. Takashi won't last much longer with these wounds and I can't leave him here." she said. She tore off a white part of her uniform from her sleeve and, using the same ink one would use for a Tenteikūra spell, wrote out the note: "Follow the hawk - Naomi Shir-" she wrote, running out of room. "Ah screw it, they'll know who I am." she said before pulling some thread off of the handle of her Zanpakutō and tying it to Kohaku's talon. "Go, hurry!" she said after doing so. With a powerful, graceful beating of wings Kohaku took to the skies and was soon lost to sight. Once his hawk had departed Takashi seemed to lose the remainder of his strength and he collapsed, falling onto his non-injured side.

"Takashi!" Naomi's voice was raised in alarm as he fell. She quickly came to his side and gently pushed him onto his back. She could use Kidō to sustain his health until the rest of the team reached their location, but doing so would only draw more attention to where the two of them were. "Fuck!" she cursed lowly before putting her hands over Takashi's wounded torso, both palms unleashing a soothing green light over the area. It was a low-level healing spell, but it could at least keep Takashi alive until she could get to where he could receive proper treatment.

Even as she just started the healing process, her eyes darted towards the distant part of the city. There was a fluctuation in Spiritual Energy, and it was now turning towards their location.

Kraven had found them, and now time was running even lower for her to save her comrade's life.

Racing Time
At Nisshō's instruction, Ichimaru sought to make any opening possible. However, that task would not be easy. Kavika's defense was great enough to where it would seem she was always on the offensive. Ichimaru tightened his grip on the hilt of his Shikai, ready to act at a moment's notice. Without so much as a warning, a blanket of spiritual pressure fell upon Ichimaru. It felt as though tons of lead bricks came down on his shoulders, making his knees quiver under the weight.

"What— is this — reiatsu!?" He said aloud with gasps in between. Looking at Kavika, he watched as she receded into the darkness from which she emerged. He stepped to stop her but collapsed to one knee, needing to use his hand for support. As if the stifling reiatsu was not enough, the ground began to quake and shift the building upon both Shinigami stood. "We need to move from this spot and follow that woman." Ichimaru told himself. Using his own reiatsu, Ichimaru pushed against the unknown force just enough to allow himself to stand.

"Ichijōji-san, we must pursue her! She'll likely lead us to the cause of these disturbances." Ichimaru informed sternly, already setting off towards the calamity left behind in Kavika's furrow. His steady release of spiritual pressure would no doubt alert any spirituality-aware being within a large radius. This eliminated his element of surprise; however, he could still see the trail that the demonic woman had gone through. Ichimaru had already known that wherever Kavika was headed, there would be more trouble for him and Nisshō.

Nisshō had no time to execute his maneuver before the sneaky Kavakia slipped away. His body, like Ichimaru's, fell under immense pressure. However, Nisshō had far less trouble withstanding it and was able to move relatively easily. Returning his Zanpakutō to its sealed state, he sheathed the blade. Seeing his superior officer setting off after Kavika prompted Nisshō to follow closely. His plan would have to wait as his target was on the run. "Where could she be headed now?”

At that moment, Nisshō heard the voice of his commander call out to him, informing him of their goal. He shook his head in acknowledgement and quickened his pace to keep up with both Ichimaru and Kavika. Nisshō was in agreement with Ichimaru in that Kavika was indeed dangerous and needed to be eliminated. That is why he was so ready unveil his Zanpakutō, to end the threat as quickly as possible. However, due to recent events, that was obviously going to be much more difficult than planned.

They travelled for some distance, and after a few minutes soon lost sight of the trail Kavika had made through the shadows altogether. At this rate, it was doubtful that they would be able to find her at all.

Just then, a gray blur dived from the sky above Ichimaru and Nisshou, appearing with a flash as the moonlight caught the turning of wings. It was Takashi’s hawk. She gave a shrill cry and beat her wings furiously as she slowed just enough to land, digging her sharp talons into the flesh of Nisshou’s shoulder. She called out sharply, in a rapid, clicking repetition, ducking her head up and down as if to get their attention. With her beak she reached down and tried to undo a string that tied a scrap of cloth to her leg. She was obviously trying to communicate something important, and seemed in distress.

Ichimaru began to lose sight of Kavika and with his sensing capabilities restricted by the foreign reiatsu, he had to rely on a strictly visual pursuit. He managed to stop upon the damaged rooftop of a once bustling store. Evidence of shoppers were scattered about on the streets below in bodies and products. Behind the lieutenant was a large neon sign, flickering rapidly due to damaged wiring. Ichimaru shook his head and sighed, thinking of another course of action to take.

''This reiatsu is too thick of a smokescreen to track through sensing and we don't have any sight of that woman. We'll need to get some sort of message out, otherwise we'll be moving blind.''

Just as he finished his thought, a call of a particular raptor came down from above the two Shinigami. Ichimaru turned to gaze upon a hawk landing upon Nisshō shoulder. Its majesty came down in a beam of moonlight and slowly folded its wings to halt its flight. On its leg, a cloth was tied although the bird attempted to remove it. That was where Ichimaru realized his goal.

"Kohaku! You've made it!" Ichimaru exclaimed, moving over to the hawk and removing the cloth. His eyes scanned it for any useful information but found nothing of the sort. "What's happened? Where is Sakuma-san?"

The hawk seemed to glare at him a moment, as he held the note with the instructions in his hand. She then took flight once more, heading back towards the direction of Naomi and Takashi. She travelled slowly, evenly at first as if to make sure both Ichimaru and Nisshō were following behind her, then altered her course in a wide, sweeping loop. They needed to find Aiken first, and she could sense his presence, despite the atmospheric disruption, from some distance away.

He let out a heavy sigh as the conflict drew to its abrupt conclusion, Dhanya had a reason for leaving the way she did, no doubt. But Aiken only cast a withered glare where she once stood, now occupied by the remnant clump of glowing webs and his own sword which had just moments ago clattered against the ground unceremoniously. "Full of tricks, that one", Aiken remarked sounding almost defeated. A crooked finger reached out and a wordlessly cast burst from the tip, it was a dim and simple lash of light, no more threatening than a cheap laser pointer but it still served to cut the silken rope that bound his blade, no more able to sap it of its lustre with the connection broken.

He scooped it up, all the while its size and colours shifted. No more a charred and broken black, instead a renewed silvery sheen to better reflect the ominous gaze of that overbearing moon that Karakura had attracted tonight.

The elderly man's eye twitched while sheathing his weapon. The adrenaline was swiftly leaving his body and had begun to remind him of his wound. A single shallow cut to the shoulder, though it bled like a fountain. There were bruises elsewhere and the ache of aged bones slowly returned to him. But he waved that off by occupying himself with his situation. He was surrounded.

Preoccupied with Dhanya as he had been, he had left Takashi to fend for himself, and now he couldn't even feel the lad's presence. ''Have we gotten so distant? Or is it this ever growing oppression?'' Aiken asked himself question after question in turn though he was quick to make his return to the skies, wary of the growing expanse of shadows surrounding this part of town.

"So that's it." Ichimaru sighed aloud. The cloth had instructions for both Shinigami to carry out with Kohaku as their guide. "Right then, lead the way, Kohaku."

The bird leapt from its perch on Nisshō's shoulder, making the tall rabbit grunt slightly as its talons came out of his flesh. ''Darn bird. Takashi and I need to have a word after this is all over.'' Nisshō thought irritably. He and Ichimaru watched as the bird set off towards the darker part of the city. Both Ichimaru and Nisshō followed after it. The two had to keep a slow pace in order to properly follow Kohaku. However, the hawk suddenly veered off in an adjacent direction and made Ichimaru and Nisshō change direction as well.

Ichimaru was somewhat confused at the change but continued to follow Kohaku, as did Nisshō. "She's likely leading us to someone on the team. After all, we do need to rendezvous with everyone to figure out a solid plan." said Nisshō. Ichimaru nodded in agreement and picked up the pace. Only a few moments later, a figure above them came into view. Nisshō could immediately tell who the figure was.

"Aiken. He's made it." Nisshō informed Ichimaru. The Fourth Division lieutenant then leapt on into air, subconsciously using reishi to stand, and moved toward Aiken.

"Kuchiki-san, are you all right?" Ichimaru asked as he approached the aged clansmen. That same old man had been observing the dark, fluid shadows that nipped at the ground he had previously fled from, almost absorbed in seeing how they moved. His head bobbed lightly as he noted his familial name being called.

He didn't recognize the voice, at least not at first. He turned to regard his caller, and was struck by the familiar blue hair, and those striking eyebrows. "Ah, Ichimaru Fuyutama, and, Nisshō Ichijōji", he recited with a calm, but rough voice whilst the humanoid rabbit stepped into view. "I'm no worse for wear, the both of you seem to fine as well", he remarked. Though his eyes were weary, he could make out every detail of his young cohorts when they'd gotten so close.

"Good. Seeing as you're alone, I'm assuming you aren't aware of Sakuma-san's location either." Ichimaru said, slightly hoping that he was wrong. Of course, the most logical reasoning would be to assume that Takashi had fallen in battle and continue the mission, but Ichimaru was not the type of person to leave another behind whether dead or alive.

"Our best option at the moment is to follow the instructions we received as well as follow Kohaku." Nisshō pointed out. He knew that it would be neither practical nor efficient to go on an all-out search for Takashi. With time running low, Nisshō motioned at Kohaku to lead them. The bird quickly took flight and headed off in front of the three.

Ichimaru and Nisshō took off after the hawk, leaving Aiken to match their pace. At high speed, using Shunpo, both the Fourth Division lieutenant and Ninth Division third seat raced to keep up with their guide in the sky. Their heading was once again towards the ever-darkening area of the city where the suspicious tar was thickest. Surely this is where Kavika and her comrades must be. Both Shinigami thought.

Advent of the Hunter
Minutes had passed, and Naomi still had not seen nor heard from Kohaku since she had sent the hawk out to warn her fellow officers. While she had succeeded in healing the majority of Takashi's wound, she knew that with every passing second Kraven was only getting closer and closer to them. Maybe if he did find them, she wouldn't have too much difficulty fending him off. What else could have caused such a delay in his pursuit if her own spell had not done some deal of damage to him?

"Come on Kohaku... don't leave me hanging here..." she muttered lowly as she kept her focus both on Takashi, and the approaching signature that was Kraven.

As for Takashi, his vision had been swimming in front of him as Naomi had activated the Kaidou spell. Now his breathing had become more even, more normal. Although it was still painful, especially if he moved, the wound had been effectively closed, and the bleeding stopped.

"Na... Naomi." he gasped as he sat up, but tried not to let the pain show on his face. "Listen to me," he said. "We can't stay here... there is no time..."

"You're not in a position to tell me what to do, Takashi." Naomi said firmly, placing her hands on his shoulder and chest to carefully lay him back down. "And neither are you in a position to move, not now. The Kaido spell sealed the wound, but you're still bleeding on the inside. The others are on their way now, and once we regroup we'll be gone from here." she continued, her expression becoming more tense as she went on. "The hell were you thinking back there? Charging at someone like him blindly? Did you forget everything you told me all those months ago, about lashing out blindly? You could have gotten us both killed, and left the others with no hint of the situation!"

Takashi caught her by the wrist, and his grip was surprisingly strong. "You don't understand." he said, "We have to leave... now." With some difficulty, he managed to brush her aside and somehow pull himself to his feet, although by the time he had gotten up he was panting heavily, and he still clutched the wound in his side. He was running on pure desperation now, time slipping away much too rapidly from him. His thoughts were spinning around his head wildly, and he couldn't think straight. It was, undeniably, a sense of dread...

Fear.

"Gah, you are so bull-headed..." Naomi muttered under her breath, quickly coming to his side in case he needed support standing. "At the very least, we can't go too far, not until the others get here." she said as they approached the edge of the building, but when looking down at the streets, Naomi's eyes widened as she noticed the black shadows not only enveloping the streets and sidewalks, but the bottom of the buildings as well.

"H-He's trying to swallow the entire city..." she whispered, her voice slightly trembling. The shadows, rising through the buildings, were spread throughout the city for as far as she could see. It was enough to make her reconsider her decision to wait behind for the others, because as long as it was taking both them and Kohaku, she was starting to think that they had all been consumed in the hellish maw that was the darkness.

"Swallow isn't the best word there, my dear..."

Kraven's voice was like a spear being thrown into her chest, her heart skipping a beat as she carefully turned around to face the tall and imposing Quincy, who was standing on the other end of the building's edge. His hood was down, and his trenchcoat's ragged, flaring end billowed calmly in the equally soothing wind. "But your concern is very well placed, because today is only the beginning of the end of your lives."

Naomi twisted around, quickly pulling out her Zanpakuto in a fluid motion at the same time and pointing it at the Quincy. Her eyes were widened and baggy; she hadn't been this afraid of something in years. This man was no ordinary Quincy, but something more, far worse. A monster in a man's disquise.

Kraven laughed in response to the motion, cocking an eyebrow. "I didn't take you for a fool back there when you ran, but I must have been wrong. You really think you and your partner there have a leg to stand on right now?" He looked around at both the city skyline and the streets beneath them. "Then again, I suppose you don't really have that many options, do you? The only thing you can do is hold me off until the rest of your posse decides to arrive, right?"

The last statement didn't make things any better for her. She had hoped that Ichimaru and the others could have at least taken him by surprise while she attempted to fend him off, but it seemed that he knew they were on their way. They may as well have been walking into a meat-grinder, in her mind. She snarled, holding her left hand back as her eyes started to glow blue with Resolve, and her body emanating an emerald green aura. She wasn't going to die standing still; she was going to go down fighting.

"Hyapporankan!" she shouted, as a silver-violet spear of energy formed in her left hand. Her stance firm, her feet planted on the floor, she hurled the Kido javelin towards Kraven with all of her might. Kraven blinked, and when his eyes opened, there was no longer just one spear, but several dozen, all of which slammed into both his body and his attire. The force of the spears sent him flying back into the taller building that was behind him, pinning him to it's hard brick surface.

"You got good aim there...." he commented with a smirk, seemingly unaffected by the action. It worried Naomi all the more that he wasn't reacting any like what she was hoping for; he practically let himself be hit by her spell, but she couldn't hesitate now. She then dropped her Zanpakuto and placed both of her palms outward towards her captive target. Just as she had done before, a green circle of energy formed from her palms, growing to be roughly as high as she was.

"Gaki Rekkō!" she proclaimed, before several dozen beams of emerald light were unleashed upon the captive Kraven, who in response, simply chuckled. "This spell again? What makes you think that it's going to work against me now...?" he started, but his smirk faded when he saw just what the spell was doing this time. Rather than aim for him, the beams instead all connected and were absorped into the silver sealing spears she had thrown at him earlier. When the beams stopped, the spears all began to change into a shining green color.

"Oh." Kraven mused, his smirk returning as he looked back over at her. "Very cle-"

He was cut off when the spears all detonated, consuming the Quincy and the building in a violent, emerald orb of explosive energy. The shadows covering the streets seemed to recoil away from the blast radius, and even the neighboring buildings shifted in response. Naomi knew that this wasn't nearly enough to kill her opponent, but she hoped that at least it could shut him up until the others got there.

"Takashi..." she started, her breathing becoming slightly heavier as her eyes began to lose the blue light, and her aura died down. She kept her eyes fixated on Kraven's spot, which was shrouded by smoke and green flames, while she picked her sword back up and held it defensively. "If you can, get out of here now while we've got a chance." she said firmly, not bothering to look at him. "The others are on their way now, I can feel it. If you can get to them now, you all can get back to the Soul Society, warn the others."

She hesitated before continuing. "I... I'll stay back... hold him off as best as I can..."

Takashi's sword hung limply at his side, but he suddenly tightened his grip on the hilt. "No." he replied with equal firmness. "There is something else coming... no one should be left behind. We leave together." In reality, he doubted he could use Shunpo at all in his current state. To try and leave on his own would be utterly pointless. He was painfully aware of his condition, and hoped that Naomi's spells had done at least some damage to Kraven.

"None of us will be leaving at this rate!" she responded angrily, her attention diverting from the wake of the destruction her spell left behind towards Takashi. "We-" she tried to continue, but her sentence was cut short as a narrow beam of compressed, orange tinted fire shot out from the smoke and straight through her right shoulder. She gasped in shock, dropping her Zanpakuto and immediately clenching the wound with her left hand.

"As entertaining as this has been..." the unharmed Kraven spoke as his form emerged from the smoke, his right hand pointed at the duo, and his index finger was trailing smoke. "...you forgot a pretty crucial detail when it concerns fighting Quincy."

Naomi's teeth clenched; the pain in her arm was unbearable for someone of her nimble frame. It had felt like a searing hot sword being wedged into her shoulder and not being removed. Even with this, the adrenaline began to pump through her, be it from rage or panic, and twisted back with her left hand. "S-Shakkahō!" she screamed, firing a crimson orb of energy out at Kraven.

The latter didn't move, as the Kido orb began to slow down as it neared the Quincy. Slowly, it started to break down into light blue Reishi particles, before dissipating entirely. It was here that Naomi's worst fears came to fruition; her spells were almost entirely useless against one such as Kraven, who grinned in a menacing fashion. "That detail, is that you should never use Kido against one." His right arm then reached back behind him, his middle and index fingers extended out into a claw formation. The tips of the fingers produced two sprites of flame, and the black markings on his left arm formed into an 'H'. "And now... it's time to demonstrate lesson... number... two..."

Naomi was frozen in place. It was too late for her to try and escape with Takashi. There was nothing either of them could do, the attack would be unavoidable. At the last second Takashi reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her behind him. It was a worthless gesture, he knew his body would serve as a poor shield against the blast, but felt the need to protect her nonetheless.

In that moment, something moved in the sky above Kraven. Barely visible as she turned her wings, folding them into her body and entering a steep, incredibly fast dive. The hawk rushed towards his face, talons extended, hungry to plunge into flesh. In the same instant she gave a sharp, piercing war cry. Her intention was clear and viscious: she aimed to gauge out his eyes.

Kraven's arm descended towards the duo, but it was in that instance that he could feel the hawk coming down towards him. Instinctively, he halted his arm's descent and instead pulled it back to his left shoulder, and turned to slash it towards the bird, but by the time he had done that, the hawk had already reached him. The slash produced two rends of fire that flew out towards the skies, and then detonated over the city, producing an explosion that dwarfed the one Naomi had produced earlier. Fortunately, the hawk had reached him before the explosion and had thus escaped obliteration. As fierce as they were, however, her talons could do nothing to Kraven once his Blut Vene kicked in. Using his left hand, he half-heartedly slapped the hawk away from him, not trying to actually hurt the creature so much as to get it out of his sight.

But that's when he felt the other Spiritual Pressures follow her arrival.

He grinned as he looked towards the new-comers. "Well well well... the gang is all here...".

With each step, Ichimaru and Nisshō grew ever closer to the shadows engulfing the city. Every which way, there were people and buildings slowly disappearing under the creeping darkness. It was a sight that made Ichimaru worry for the safety of Takashi. Losing a high-ranking officer on what was supposed to be a reconnaissance mission would be heavily taxing on the already depleted forces of the Gotei 13. Completing their task with no casualties was an absolute must at this point.

Suddenly, Kohaku, who had been steadily flying above the group, sped from view. She picked up speed and altitude at an astonishing rate until neither Ichimaru nor Nisshō could spot her anymore. Ichimaru looked forward to see small flashes coming into view. Nisshō's eyes squinted as he noticed the flashes of light as well.

"Lieutenant, are you seeing this too?" The third seat asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. That's our target." Ichimaru declared with a stone-like determination in his voice. He picked up speed, with Nisshō following suit. Both were moving at near top speed, a testament to their skills in Shunpo.

"Ichijōji-san, as soon as we reach that building, our priority is the rescue of Sakuma-san. If we're attacked, then consider yourself weapons-free." Ichimaru stated, with emphasis on "rescue". Nisshō nodded in response and placed his left hand on his Zanpakutō.

''There's no option to fail this mission. No matter what, we must escape with any and all intelligence possible.'' thought Ichimaru.

Without warning, in a brilliant flash, a large explosion erupted from atop the building where the previous flashes Ichimaru and Nisshō had seen. The shockwave was enough to stop both Shinigami in their tracks, halting their flash steps completely. With a clear line of sight, they both saw below them a girl standing before the remnants of the blast and protecting the still body of what both Ichimaru and Nisshō recognized as Takashi. She looked rather weakened, likely due to causing the blast, but held her ground as though something would emerge from the shroud of dust and smoke. Ichimaru continued towards the two below, that is, until a man came from the billowing smoke and fired a stream of bright orange flames at the Naomi, injuring her. Nisshō immediately took off after Takashi as he saw this, with Ichimaru trailing. With a little eye contact and a couple nods, the two knew what each other was going to do. Ichimaru would head to cover the Nisshō and engage the mysterious man while Nisshō would move to recover Takashi and the girl who Takashi was now protecting. However, from the sky came Kohaku, attacking Kraven, who was prepared to obliterate both Takashi and Naomi.

With haste, Ichimaru and Nisshō split up and moved into position. However, Kraven seemed to be aware of their presence and turned to meet them. Seeing Kraven's face made Ichimaru all the more fearful to have. But with this fear, he strengthened his resolve to fulfill his role and take him on. ''It's now or never, Nisshō. Get them out of here!'' thought Ichimaru.

Aiken had kept pace with the two younger members of his group, though when they flew off into a descent upon what Aiken's senses recognized as a Quincy, and a very powerful one at that, the elderly Shinigami remained behind, instead maintaining his perch high in the sky. A blue light shone on part of his body emanating from an appendage that had been attached to the previously immobile stump of his right arm. A unique Kidō spell that not only gave life to the deadened nerves of his missing arm, but projected a new limb for him to operate. Kidō was a powerful, nuanced art of combat that often necessitated the use of both arms.

The elderly man let out a heavy sigh, he wished with all the air in his lungs to bellow out a berating roar at those two charging on ahead. So foolishly rash, he said inwardly, as his only means of remaining calm. His eyes could not make out Kraven's features well, but his senses could see him clearly. His Reiryoku was far beyond anything Aiken could muster, though the Human World meant he likely couldn't inflate that even further with Reishi. His Reiryoku, that energy created by his soul marked Kraven as a Quincy clear as day. And that's all Aiken needed to truly know in order to formulate his own plan.

It was made in haste, centered around what had already occurred. There was little else to do that wouldn't rely on the folly of the Quincy or his allies. His hands flew through gestures that ended in him pointing a single arm downward, with an outstretched index finger. A tiny light formed on the very tip of his nail, and fell like a raindrop towards the earth. Its speed was otherworldly, passing by Nisshō and Ichimaru in a fraction of a second, and suffusing with the earth not long after that. The reaction was immediate. Thousands upon thousands of white radiant butterflies poured out of the earth, flocking into the air to encapsulate the streets. Suddenly the area was bright with their light, sound was drowned out under the chirping they emitted, Reiryoku and Reiatsu became almost impossible to perceive as they dampened the area in a single unified blanket of energy. Of course, the spell was an illusion, so these traits only held true for a single individual: the Quincy.

As the swarm of butterflies enveloped Kraven, bleaching out the sky in a blanket of light, Takashi saw as Kohaku rode at the front of the wave, flying hard and fast to escape the edge of the spell. He called out to her with his mind, and she turned, suddenly, until she had at last reached their location, coming to land on his shoulder. Takashi turned his attention towards Aiken, who still stood in the air above them.

"How much time do we have?" he called out. "We need to leave at once!" the effort of shouting must have been too much of a strain for him, as a residual trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. He brushed it aside quickly, hoping it had gone unnoticed. Don't push yourself like this. Kohaku warned. It can't be helped. He responded. Taking his sword, he pointed in front of him with the blade edge facing the ground, intending to open a Senkaimon. But with a sudden spasm of pain he stumbled, nearly losing his footing, and his sword arm dropped. Apparently even a task as simple as raising his sword was too much for him. "Damn it." he muttered.

While Kraven was able to see both Aiken and the latter's spell, he was unable to react to it in time. Before his eyes was a massive and intense light that relentlessly assaulted his eyes, forcing him to close them shut almost immediately. The constant chirping of the insect-like constructs were that of a loud, constant alarm that began to tear his ears apart. He gritted his teeth in both anger and a mixture of arrogance, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"That's a nice trick you've got, Shinigami!" he yelled, noticing that he could now no longer feel neither his presence, nor that of the other Shinigami he was combating earlier. He shot both of his arms out into the air in front of him, his palms glowing with a bright orange light. "It's a shame that you weren't here earlier, because now I have to give you the same lesson I gave the girl!"

Particles of Reishi began to eliminate from the Quincy's palms, before spreading around him in the form of a sphere. Then they began to expand outwards, breaking down each and every butterfly construct that surrounded him into even more Reishi particles. In only a few seconds, the butterflies had all been broken down into Reishi, of which Kraven absorbed back into his hands and causing his body to glow with a bright blue aura for only a few seconds before dissipating.

Kazuya's Arrival
"It's become plain to see that your mouth far outweighs your merit, Quincy"

There was a ripple in the air, alike one produced by heat, the ripple expanded to open a whirling pathway of white energy, out of which Kazuya emerged. Taking his eyes off his enemy, Kazuya's gaze surveyed the area, taking particular note of each of his subordinates. Though he wouldn't admit it, he'd arrived quite some time ago, and had remained hidden in order to gather intelligence - he despised himself for this, but it was necessary in order to be able to confront the Quincy on equal terms.

"Lieutenant Shirogane" Kazuya's voice was directed towards the Lieutenant in question, his facial features exuding a sense of great pride, not in himself, but in her. "You've demonstrated exceptional bravery, loyalty and intelligence in these trying minutes. I shall see to it that you're commemorated for your efforts."

The Captain of the 9th Division inched a bit closer to Kraven, albeit maintaining a sizeable gap between them. As he walked, the butterflies would emerge once more to the eyes of the Quincy, and whatever energy he thought he might've absorbed from them earlier would turn up as nothing. Kazuya smiled to himself, Aiken was no fool, and he'd likely deduced that an indirect spell like this would have a greater effect than offensive magic. Still, he'd have to give the Quincy credit, his effort hadn't been entirely in vain, he'd managed to, for a few moments, shake the very will of his grandfathers spell, causing a brief lapse in it's effect. Impressive indeed, maybe he wasn't all talk, after all.

Holding the spiritual signature of Kraven fresh in his mind, Kazuya spoke aloud, to no one in particular, his eyes glazed as though in a trance. His fingers wove various arcane gestures as he communicated with the very will of Aiken's spell, instructing it to ignore the pull of Kraven's powers. As a former member of the Kidō Cops, Kazuya had encountered many rivalling masters of this noble arts, and all did they possess similar powers to a Quincy, the talent to shape, control and enslave energy - it was by no means exclusive to his foe. To fight such a spell caster effectively with magic, it was necessary to first ensure that his magic remained loyal to him alone. It was not that Kidō was ineffective against Quincy, it was simply that their abilities allowed them to override the will of most spells with ease, provided the original caster wasn't an accomplished master of the art.

Once his command was given, the Kidō Master turned his attention back to Kraven. Before he would confront him in earnest, there was one question he needed answered.

"Were you the one who killed Hachigen-dono?"

Kraven's attention diverted from the group of lower level Shinigami to the newly arrived Captain, his grin traded for a pleasant smirk. Had he perhaps encountered a foe that was worthy of actually facing? Marvelous timing, he thought to himself; how curious it was that the leader of the Shinigami group remained in hiding, leaving his flock to face tragedy and suffering without any aid. "Typical." he muttered lowly under his breath. As the butterfly illusion reappeared, he realized that his Sklaveri technique was not going to suffice in this matter; he would have to rely on more basic abilities in order to counter it. Blue lines of Reishi coursed around his head, his eyes shining a bright azure light. In particular, the flux of these Reishi lines centered around his eyes, ears and mouth; an advanced application of Blut Vene that only a Quincy of his caliber could use. Blut Vene serves not only as a layer of defense, but it also serves as a means to enhance one's senses beyond their normal limit. Hindered as they were, Kraven was able to enhance his senses to a point where one would consider them normal, enough to where he could see, hear, and comprehend Kazuya's commanding presence.

"You refer to the Visored, yes?" Kraven asked, still maintaining focus on his senses, while also giving equal attention on his newly arrived foe. The spell had been improved, upgraded from what it was previously; it was going to be much more difficult to enslave now that the Captain had arrived. Kazuya was certainly no pushover, far from it in fact, but Kraven preferably wouldn't have it any other way; the stronger the opponent, the more worthy the opponent, is how he saw it. He had to break the spell as quickly as possible, lest he continue to remain in a non-combative stage. Even for someone such as Kazuya, focus had to be kept on the spell, and this particular spell was centered on Kraven; no one else could see or feel it's effects, which meant that it was locked on his signature as a Quincy. If he wanted to break it down again and prevent it from being used, he would have to change what his Spiritual signature gave off.

This gave him a very sinister idea, one that could tip the scales of this conflict entirely. He grinned as the symbol on his arm changed into a 'Z'. "Well I do believe that you're in luck there, Captain. I think you should ask him yourself..." he continued as he raised his left arm upwards. The shadows that consumed the streets below him began to bubble and boil like a sickening tar, before a figure slowly began to emerge, following the movement left by Kraven almost perfectly. It was tall, round, and it had pink hair. It's skin was dark, sickly, dead, even, and it's eyes were a pale hue of what they once were. It was a re-animated corpse of Hachigen Ushōda, the Visored that Kazuya had inquired about just seconds before.

The shadows beneath Kraven and the re-animated Hachi began to swallow their legs, as Kraven quickly appeared behind the zombi-fied Visored. He was forced to break focus on his Blut Vene in order to pull of his next technique, and while the illusion was painful and hindering, he still continued to push on with his plan. The shadows beneath them then linked as they continued to swallow their bodies without dragging them under the streets, and Kraven began to fuse with Hachi's corpse. Like throwing a costume on, Kraven and Hachi both merged into one being, the shadows sinking back into their street-origins. Hachi, re-animated and possessed by his murderer, then looked back up at Kazuya with a devilish grin, his eyes glowing blue with the same Blut Vene lines that Kraven had maintained earlier. "You called... my old friend?" he said in a mixed voice of Hachi's and Kraven's.

Kazuya's eyes widened, an inner struggle plainly visible on his face. A Kuchiki wore their face like a mask, he'd been groomed to wear it proudly, a noble needed to be unshakeable, their resolve could never be allowed to waver. He'd hoped that Hachigen was alive, that he'd escaped somehow, he must've had, a master of his caliber could surely never have been defeated by a mere Quincy. It was inconceivable, yet here was the proof right in front of him. His emotions wavered, he took a step back and then, his mask shattered to reveal a hateful sneer.

The air convulsed around him, heat-induced ripples emanating from his position, his spiritual energy flared wildly, taking on the pinkish coloration of the Shakkahō. Soon he was engulfed in these peach-colored flames, lighting up the sky like a beacon. The flames lacked control and refinement, they reached across the evening sky, dancing amidst his own subordinates, stretching across the buildings, grasping after Kraven, yet unable to reach him. Memories of Hachigen flooded his mind, he remembered when he'd first entered the Corps under him, Lieutenant Ushōda, who had graciously taught him how to heal injuries and create bounded fields.

"Keep the spell steady, Kuchiki-dono, it reacts to your emotions! Slow and steady now"

He repeated Hachigen's advice, word by word to himself, as a lone tear fell from his cheek. Whether of fury or grief, he could not decide. The flames waned away, and Kazuya appeared oblivious to the fact that in his rage, he'd wasted a substantial amount of energy for no other reason than to vent his emotions. Kazuya made no attempt to hide his tears from his subordinates, tears shed for a friend should be shed with pride, that was his personal belief, even if his cousin would disagree.

"I will kill you, Quincy, and I shall do so without knowing your name, or sharing mine. You will die an empty death, writhing in the fires of my magic. I won't let a single mention of you remain in the archives, fade into oblivion, unknown and forgotten!"

With that, Kazuya let his rage be unleashed in the form of a furious firestorm that for a brief moment illuminated the heavens with it's brilliance, the flames soon assumed the form of a massive fiery serpent that slithered down towards the streets, like a living river of fire. It's maw agape it incinerated all that it came in contact with. It moved quickly, and it was heading straight for Kraven. It was indeed fortunate for Kazuya that the 12th Division had set up the spatial field to minimize destruction in the human world, as they often did whenever a Kidō Master announced his intention to fight, for few forces of the otherworld were as destructive as Hadō.

The spell had been cast with nary a word nor number spoken, it was summoned forth on the merit of raw will, skill and experience. But, at but one fifth of his full power, it had taken much more of a toll on his reserves than was strictly feasible in such a situation. Impressive display or otherwise.

Kraven had found his opportunity the moment Kazuya shifted his focus into using another spell. While Kraven's presence was dominant over the weary signature of Hachigen, it had caused a disruption in the spell's focus; the signature was now a mixture of Quincy and Shinigami, and this allowed Kraven to seize the chance to absorb the spell once again now that it was thrown-off balance. This time, the spell was broken down and absorbed in only a few short seconds, and it was fortunate that it had, because now, Kraven had an angry Kido Master to deal with. His senses restored, he could now distribute his Blut Vene evenly from his head throughout this entire body, as it always should be when in battle.

It was at this point that Kazuya's mighty serpent of flame charged towards him. It slithered down to the streets at high speeds, the intensity of the flames it generated forcing even the shadows that Kraven had distributed throughout the streets to briefly disperse as it passed by them. Windows of buildings were shattered and the glass fragments thrown towards the serpent's target in wake of the force the mighty spell had conjured. Kraven's body immediately separated from that of the re-animated Hachi's, appearing as a humanoid shadow itself as it quickly lunged for the shadows that remained on the streets behind him. By then, the snake-shaped inferno had consumed the last remnants of Hachi in place of the desired target, incinerating the lifeless corpse and not leaving behind a single ash, but had Kraven managed to escape at the last possible second?

The shadows that had previously cleared away from the streets in response to the gale of fire Kazuya released then reappeared on the same streets, and Kraven emerged from them once again, but he didn't seem to be as unscathed as he was before; in fact, the left side of his face seemed to have caught some of the blast. It was terribly burned, with parts of his teeth and tendons exposed for the others to witness, but he didn't seem to be visibly in pain; in fact, he seemed rather composed considering what had just happened. To his left, bubbling from the shadows was the horribly malformed corpse of the other Visored: Love Aikawa. His body was a shell of what it was prior to fighting Kraven, having been crunched and beaten to the point where he may as well have been a puppet, dangling lifelessly by the will of it's master.

The Quincy master then used his left hand to clench the back of Love's head, pulling his entire body back towards Kraven. His fingers dug into the corpse's head, causing it to shake around violently in a sickening fashion, before the force of the grasp caused his face to convulse inwards, his eyeballs popping out with a spray of blood into the shadows below. The fingers dug so far into the skull of the deceased Visored that blood began to seep out of the gaps of his head and onto Kraven's finger tips, just as he desired. The blood began to slither up Kraven's arm, slowly and steadily turning from a blackish red liquid into a hazy blue smoke. As the smoke made contact with Kraven's face, his burn would began to quickly heal up, restoring it back to it was before the intense flame had managed to strike him. Without a second thought, Kraven dropped the malformed corpse of Love back into the shadows, where it was slowly consumed to be used later for the same healing purpose. Without a doubt, the deadliest of Kraven's arsenal was The Zombie, for it not only allowed him to offset many of his opponent's strategies, but it also provided a source of healing should he ever need it.

His mouth began to open, perhaps to say something to the Captain, but he stopped as something had caught his attention, diverting it away from the Captain and towards the distance. Kazuya would surely feel it too, a spike in Spiritual Energy near the Osaka area, and despite how far away that would seem, to masters of recognizing Spiritual Energies, both of these combatants would be able to tell that something massive was happening there. Kraven simply smiled as he looked back up towards Kazuya. "Well, I hate to do this to you after all the work you've put into fighting me..." he began as the shadows once again began to swallow his legs. "But I really do need to pull out of town right now... got some pretty important business waiting for me."

Ichimaru, at the arrival of his team leader, was relieved but did his best not to let out a soothed sigh. He was still in proximity of Kraven and needed to stay alert until Kazuya could make his move. The crushing weight of both combatants' spiritual pressure caused Ichimaru to wince, making him take a wider stance to stay balanced.

With Captain Kazuya here, we can keep that monster busy. thought Ichimaru. He looked towards Kazuya and quickly shot a look of understanding before falling back to Nisshō, Takashi, and Naomi. Ichimaru took his chance to examine the injuries both Naomi and Takashi sustained. ''These two need help far beyond what's available here. If they don't make it back to Soul Society...''

The lieutenant let out a small grumble before moving to gently take hold of Takashi and stand him up, supporting him. "Ichijōji-san, take Lieutenant Shirogane and follow me. We have to get them back to Soul Society." Nisshō nodded and took Naomi into his hands, holding her bridal-style. Ichimaru responded by reaching for his Zanpakutō and unsheathing it. He moved to open the Senkaimon but suddenly froze midway. A shockwave of reiatsu hit him like a wall, coming from the general area of Osaka. Despite the distance, Ichimaru and Nisshō could feel the intimidating presence of the distant reiatsu. There's no way... thought both Shinigami.

Kazuya had to fight the urge to force Kraven back to them, there were spells that could seize individuals attempting to flee through the elements. But, even before he was a friend, Kazuya was a Captain, one with several wounded subordinates on his conscience, their safety had to come before his revenge. Time to demonstrate his knowledge of healing magic.

Approaching his subordinates, Kazuya raised his right hand, as he made an arcane gesture, as the very air around him began to condense into a sphere of revolving white glyphs. He folded his hands, while aligning his middle fingers in opposite directions, and with his pinkies crossed. He then chanted the incantation.

"O maiden of rice fields, thread and rope, a knot untied. Three raindrops I bring to thee, of blessings giveth, as with water taketh. A wheel of gold I turn by daylight, accept this honest plea. A drop of blood in a clear pond"

With every syllable, the air almost seemed to sigh, a soft gentle hymn accompanying each eldritch word he spoke. Each of his subordinates would undoubtably feel it's effect by now, a gentle touch, caressing their wounds. They'd been holding their own without him, the least he could do was to restore them to full strength. But even for someone with his reserves of Reiryoku, healing such a large amount of people while maintaining efficiency would prove draining.

At last, he raised his hands above his head, palm reaching skywards. As he uttered the name of the spell itself. "Meiyu!"

The glyphs dispersed into a myriad of tendrils composed entirely of what appeared to silver-white smoke. They reached outwards to each of the Shinigami assembled, entering their wounds and quickly binding together their injuries while realigning their spiritual particles back into place. Meiyu, and it's sibling Keikatsu restored an individual to their peak strength when cast by a true master, unlike spells of spatial regression, these were spells of restoration, which restored the subjects body to their natural state. They didn't as much heal injuries as erase them altogether.

His spell completed, Kazuya's knees buckled under him and he fell to one knee, panting in exhaustion.