The War of Four: Crossing the Wire

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The Final Battle Begins! The First Steps Towards Victory!
"This is Zulu 2-1 to Overwatch. Zulu team has completed sweep of Area 9. No negatives detected over."

"Roger that, Zulu. Hold your position until relieved. Reinforcements are going to arrive shortly. Out."

Zulu 2-1, otherwise known by his real name Brice, let out a heavy sigh as he switched off his communicator. A disgruntled look was on his face as he turned towards his patrol partner. "Patrol this and patrol that. Ever since Squad Omega 3 went missing, everyone's been more tense than usual. If I don't get killed in action, everyone else's stress is going to do me in!"

The partner shrugged lightly, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned against a large warehouse. "Well, you have to admit that it's for good reason. I mean, we had reports that these guys were high-ranking officials. Leave them unchecked, and they're bound to cause trouble. Can't really blame the higher-ups for being so on their toes about this."

"I just want to get this over with as soon as possible, Jackson." Brice muttered. "The moment they get to make the call, we get to go home and let the more devoted police officer patrol for as long as they like. I, however, would get to sit at my place for some hot chow. Not to mention that I haven't gotten a chance to send a letter to my wife and son--"

"Wait a minute." The said Jackson looked up with slight interest, both of his eyebrows raising. "You had a wife? And a son?"

Brice smiled proudly. "Yeah. Been married for a year or two. My son Stephen's turning five a few weeks from now, and I'm hoping that this can end in time for me to join his birthday party. He might not remember it, but that's why we've got photo albums to bug him with when he's older."

A light chuckle came from Jackson, and he pushed himself off of the wall. "You're starting to grow old, Robespierre..." He said jokingly, keeping the rifle within his hands lowered. "Think you just might need to retire before you get arthritis or something." This only made Brice roll his eyes in good humor. "Anyway, just to be on the safe side, I'm going to take a brief sweep within the nearby alleyways. Be on your guard, all right?"

"Not like there's much else to do..."

With that being said, Jackson walked away and left Brice to stand with his own pistol at the ready.

Unbeknownst to them, however, they had listeners within the warehouse they had been talking beside.

Tamiko was peering through a one-way window, leaning against the wall as she listened to the two guards finalize their conversation. She gave a heavy sigh, closing her eyes and hanging her head a little. "Hope you live long enough to meet your wife and son, my friend..." She muttered softly. She despised the idea that the ones she opposed weren't all psycopaths and tyrannical zealots, but instead sociable human beings. It reminded her just how grey the situation was in total, just what measures the Gotei 13 was forced to resort to when pushed to such a limit. Masahiro's recent actions were still fresh in her head, after all...

"It can't be helped," Seishuku spoke lowly and stoically calm in Tamiko's general direction. He was leaning against one of the internal pillars of the Beta Team's hideout. With his arms crossed over his chest, his uniform now donning custom-crafted pieces of Kidō armor he was able to forge within the past several days of hiding within the base, "fatality rates are exceptionally high for mercenary organizations. Now that they're an established military force, there's bound to be an even higher rate of casualties because of their allegiances."

"I'd prefer," Tamiko said, shooting a slight glare towards Seishuku for his input. "not to dwell on it, Fubun. Not now, of all times. Masahiro was bad enough, but you repeating the reality of the situation isn't going to make my mood any better about it." She walked away from the window to the radio system they had established within the confines of the main room. Her palms pressed themselves on the table surface as she looked at it thoughtfully.

Enrico had been assigned to man the radio whenever the others weren't. Most familiar with the equipment, he was able to rearrange the parts and designate a makeshift lobby HQ right next to the kitchen and a dozen meters away from the entrance.

"They've been quiet on their end for the last half hour," Enrico spoke as he looked up from the seat he had chosen. Sitting directly in front of it with his hands resting on the table-top, he looked up at Tamiko with a reassuring smile, "I think they're gearing up some fancy speech before they send their troops down. If they need anymore intel we haven't given them in the past several days, then they would've communicated to us..."

"Hope they haven't run into any problems beforehand..." Tamiko muttered, folding her arms across her chest as she looked over at Enricho. "With this being the day that the counter-attack begins, I'm just waiting for a problem to happen..."

"That sounds a bit too pessimistic for you, Tamiko." Masahiro's voice said from the nearby hallway. The source was leaning against it, arms folded across his chest and a small smile on his face. "I think we've all had enough problems stacked up on our persons for once. With anything, this just might be the good luck streak we were all waiting for. And speaking of which," He looked over at his other two compatriots. "Anyone know what to do once it actually begins?"

"We have a few alternative objectives," Seishuku announced, turning around and facing them fully, "we can either move to incapacitate their air fields they've placed within the Seireitei. Aim to smash their communications arrays they've established with their troops. Or...we go to rescue the Captains that are imprisoned somewhere within the underworks of the Seireitei itself."

"Well, I can easily say that rescuing the Captains is immediately out of the question." Masahiro said, causing Tamiko to spin her head towards him in a mixture of surprise and annoyance.

"What? Why?" She demanded, casting a slight glare in his direction.

"Think about it." He reasoned, using a calm but somewhat empathetic tone. The last thing he wanted was to sound too stoic and detached like Seishuku. "That's most likely what the resistance force would be thinking of - salvaging any manpower for attack. What would be the use of going there when our allies will be finding that particular point?"

This was enough to soften Tamiko's light glare. She frowned thoughtfully, tilting her head to the side. "Well, once you put it that way, I suppose it'd be pretty pointless for us to go in there. What about the other two options?"

"Silencing the aircraft, as much of a blow it would deal to the Inner Circle, would not be crippling enough. In a narrow-minded sense, such a thing would only put us on even footing with their troops, but considering that they have the upper hand in combat technology, they would still be fully capable of decimating our forces. Going for their communcations, however..." A slow smile crossed his face. "Would do much more. Without their ability to voice alarms and commands to one another, they're essentially blind and in the dark."

"It'd be a necessary priority then to silence their communication. The only real problem is where is the central hub? If we leave one spectrum of their forces capable of reestablishing contact feasibly, it would be fruitless to partake in this endeavor," Looking between his two compatriots, he crossed his arms as he asked aloud, "is there any place within the Seireitei that would be a good location to set up a communication array?"

This was where his two comrades would furrow their eyebrows in thought and look at each other, hoping that they would find an immediate answer out of one another. But when it was clear that none would come, they were at a loss for words. They started to think about it, racking their brains for a possible point in where they would find a possible central hub for the Inner Circle's communications. But after a moment, they found themselves looking Seishuku with rather blank looks.

"Okay, maybe this isn't going to be so easy as I thought..." Masahiro muttered.

"I'm... sure we would notice it if we see it, right?" Tamiko offered. "I mean, modernized technology is usually the most obvious. There might be some communications tower set up or something..."

"If you're going to bring up an idea, Masahiro, try and at least have a good idea of how to accomplish it," Seishuku sighed, his eyes rolling as he turned around to face the one-way window. What interested him was the reunion of the patrolling guards outside, and the renewal of conversation. While at first he thought it to be idle chatter, he couldn't help but raise a hand to the others to beckon them to come closer to hear it.

"Huh? What is..."

Masahiro didn't bother to finish the question as he and Tamiko tentatively moved over to Seishuku's side. They lent the outside their ears as well, picking up the words of the police officers outside.

"...is nothing but a mess. Why would they keep military elements within the Seireitei when they're sending in police units, too? Why aren't they waiting until the situation's all cleared out?"

"They must be real eager to make this place known as secure as soon as possible. They're trying to lessen military involvement as soon as they're sure there's no more threats to worry about, but there are particularly strong concentrations at the more prominent Gotei 13 barracks. Heaviest one I've seen yet is at the 9th Division."

"You mean the place where they're setting up a communications tower? Well, that'd be a bit justifiable, considering it's... well... a communications tower. Wouldn't be surprised if most of the troops guarding that place were of the 43rd Sherman Regiment. Those guys are mean sons of bitches when they need to be..."

"No kidding. I heard that they've actually got more kills on Captain-class opponents than any other division within the I.C.'s military. No special powers or nothing! I mean, just think. If all of the military was like that, we'd be frickin' invincible!"

"Yeah... because then we wouldn't have to worry about the little things like those scraps of the Gotei 13 running around."

"I heard that..."

"So did we," Seishuku spoke with a smile, turning his head over to the others before dropping his smile as he looked thoughtfully, "but that both helps things and complicates things. Taking out the tower won't be the issue. Its the matter of a sufficient distraction to lure away the majority of the security surrounding it..."

Masahiro folded his arms across his chest and looked away from his partners, thinking about it. "I'm sure whatever assault that the resistance members conjure up will do the trick. They'll be aiming for the strategic points of the enemy's stronghold, and the defenses will most likely be concentrated on them instead of us. That should give us ample opportunity to sneak in and do whatever we need to do in order to severe their communication lines."

Tamiko allowed herself to snort a little, looking a bit smug. "See? You didn't believe me when I said it'd be a communications tower, did you? That's what happens when you don't listen to logic."

"Neither of you looked so hot when your friend asked you where that would be, hehe!" Enrico spoke in retort, momentarily laughing before he ducked away from a dagger-filled glare from Seishuku.

"In any case," Seishuku looked towards the window, as he felt an ominous foreboding sensation sweep the atmosphere as a proximate bright light illuminated the alleyway, "the war, has begun..."

The Stoic Stand-Off, Unrelenting Power!
Within the 11th Division's barracks, there would be a storm waiting to brew.

Deep within the nests of what used to be Noriko's residence of office, soldiers outfitted with various type of Kidō armor were stationed and maintaining a steady patrol. Each of them had their own assortment of heavy Kidō weaponry, capable of shredding anyone who wandered carelessly into the zone of occupation. Unlike the police officers that made up the majority of the internal defense, they were much more serious and competent. Rarely did they speak words to one another, and the conversations they carried were usually related to their business.

This was probably one of the toughest defense to breach. But that was why the one sent to deal with it would be one of the most dangerous combatants Hollowity had to offer.

He walked through one of the more empty hallways with a sword in hand and a mask covering his expression. His other hand was in his pocket, almost as if he was taking a stroll. Underneath the Hollow mask that covered his face was a concentrated and cold expression, his eyes sweeping the area constantly for any threats. Thanks to stealth, he had managed to get in undetected. Had it not been for his goal, he would've probably gotten to their center without any trouble. But he knew that he was only a side show to the main part of the invasion, as were his comrades.

He took in a deep breath, exhaling and forcing any nervousness he had within him out of his body. He stopped in front of the door, reaching a hand and pushing on the handle to force it open. The door made a creaking sound, alerting any nearby soldiers to his form when he stepped through. Had it been police officers, they probably would've warned him to stop. But the armored soldiers were much harsher to their opposition, which was emphasized by the radio command of one of them.

"Unknown entity. Terminate imme--"

However, he would not be able to finish his sentence before Senkaku was on him.

SLASH!

With a single swipe of his sword, that particular trooper and his armor was destroyed. The other soldiers widened in shock, as they attempted to raise their own machine guns to destroy the intruder that attacked them. But the man was quicker.

SLICE-SLICE-SLICE-SLICE-SLICE!

Within a matter of seconds, the intruder had swung his sword to cut down each and every one of the heavyset soldiers before they could even pull their triggers, slowly sheathing his sword as the blood from the cuts sprayed from their bodies. They collapsed, leaving pools of crimson in their wake. The intruder didn't spare a word or look back, knowing that there was no point. There was no time to gloat or crow over how weak they had been. There was only time to move forward, if he wanted himself an his comrades to succeed.

Just as he was nearing the next door, he was greeted with a surprise.

WHAM!

The door was kicked open, revealing more soldiers that raised their machine guns. Briefly, the intruder's eyes widened, and he only had time to put his arms in front of his face before they opened fire on him.

RATATATATATATA~

However, as powerful as they would've been to any other individual, the Kidō bullets that assaulted him had virtually no effect. It was all thanks to the immensely strong Hierro that kept them from shredding him, allowing him to keep his ground. As he held his stance against the barrage, he began to summon his spiritual pressure to his aid. The air around him began to billow with a sudden pressurizing thickness, and it wasn't long before the soldiers began to realize what he was doing.

"Oh, shit! Stop firing! Get out of--"

PWOOM!

But it was too late. The man swung his arms out, unleashing a concentrated force of spiritual pressure. The opposition unfortunate enough to get caught directly within was instantly crushed, their bodies torn apart and rendered asunder by the energy. Those who had been hit indirectly were thrown out, slamming into the opposing wall of the next hallway. Those particular ones didn't dare try their luck again, picking themselves up and retreating to a secondary line. As the stranger continued walking, he could hear their radio chatter.

"We've got an intruder! Code Red! Code Red!"

"Who is it?!"

"It's the Tercera of the Espada Afilado! He's coming this way!!"

Underneath the mask, Senkaku couldn't help but smirk. "That's right." He whispered. "I'm going to destroy every last one of you, and there's nothing you can do about it. For the Primera..."

In the distance, the soldiers couldn't help hear a number of explosions and similar cries in the distance. Four different directions of heavily armed sectors were suddenly attacked and without warning. Like distant thunderclaps, brief flashes of light followed by flames and thick, black smoke that rose to the sky indicated the intensity of the various other invaders.

A number of soldiers began to gear up and rush towards the sound of the nearest proximate exploding Spiritual Pressure. As they saw their men crumpled to irrecognizeable chunks of metal and blood, their response was immediate.

"Open fire!"

RA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA!

All eight troopers began unleashing a virtual hell of Kidō blasts, all from which were fully automatic weapons. Never knowing the ramifications of their prior bretheren, they fired their red colored projectiles of concentrated slugs of Spiritual Energy towards their target, aiming to make him as irrecognizeable as their comrades appeared to be.

This time, Senkaku didn't throw his arms up. But all the same, the bullets continued to ping off his Hierro. Once again, he didn't stop to gloat or taunt them. Instead, he swung his hand out towards the group when those powerful rounds came close enough, summoning his spiritual pressure once again to his aid. This time, he used it as a concentrated cloud shield, with the bullets stopping in front of him once they got caught in that cloud. With a slight pulling back of his hand and thrust, he sent that rain right back at the troopers that dared to fire on him.

SPLURCH!

The rounds, enhanced by his spiritual energy, tore straight through the defenses of the troops and shredded the group within seconds. As Senkaku lowered his arms, his senses could pick out even more headed his way. "Let them come..." He whispered to himself, reaching up to pick up one of the machine guns dropped. He aimed it at the doorway where reinforcements would storm through, looking down the sights of the weapon. "Let them all come." With that being said, he unleashed the fruit of their own gift against them.

BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM!

Not only were the soldiers being shredded by their highly modified weaponry, but they also ended up firing a few ricochet shots in other directions, causing them and other follow-up infantry to be mowed down with them, causing blood and metal, sparks and flashes of light to emerge from the deafening sounds that cascaded through the military base.

A few of the soldiers, however, believed they had caught him off guard. Moving in from behind, they unsheathed Kidō blades the size and shape of a small gladius, and moved in for the kill. Each one slashed towards a key vital point on the Arrancar's body, hoping to nail him with a single incapacitating blow whereas their bretheren's projectiles did little to no damage to the Tercera Espada.

Senkaku's senses, however, were too quick to step up to the plate.

With two back kicks, he promptly knocked two of them on their backs. Then, he spun around and used the rifle in his hands to parry and ruin the balance over another. Flipping the rifle to one hand, he hurled the weapon at his opponent's head to stun him before grasping his sword with one hand. He drew it out in an iaiado swing, cutting down his hapless enemy within an instant.

SLICE-SLICE-SLICE-SLICE!

With a series of elegant twists and flips, he made short work of the others that attempted to flank him. Throughout it all, his masked face was set in intense concentration, even in the face of the shouts of the soldiers.

"We can't stop him!! We have to retreat!!"

"You stay put right where you are!! Failure is not an option!! Keep up the pressure!!"

"We'll die if we keep doing this!! We need more firepower, now!!"

SLICE!

After cutting down another enemy, this was where Senkaku allowed himself to speak. "Yes, you feel it don't you?" He asked, his voice loud and stern. "The fear of an unstoppable force cutting you down as if you were nothing but leaves in the wind. Tell me, did you ever consider the possibility of facing this fear when you were destroying the lives within the Soul Society? Did you ever think that karma would not be gentle on you?" He swung his sword with a violent flourish, slinging the blood off as he glared at his regrouping enemies.

"Well, now it's too late to reconsider or regret. I'm going to slaughter every last one of you until there's no one left standing. I will accept nothing less!"

"You bast--"

PWOOM!

The retort was promptly cut off when another force of spiritual pressure was unleashed, once again crushing his opposition in a mesh of metal and blood. Senkaku glared at it all before continuing to walk, with his sword at his side and his heart full of fire. "Not one of you will be left." He whispered. "I swear it..."

But what would come in retort, would be different from a mere handful of hardened, yet underclassed soldiers or a volley of weapon fire. Instead, what came next was within the camoflauge of the distant reverberations of the handiwork of the other Arrancars' attacks, reaching full force to the Espada's location. Just enough so to distort the sensory output by a small fraction...

SHFT-WHAM!

...just enough so to allow his mask-covered jaw to be slammed by a fist, barreling through the wall with blurring speeds to the observant senses and eyes to even one of the Tercera's caliber. The force thrown would be enough to kick up all corpses, debris, and haplessly dropped weapons and slugs with the wall of the room, enough to shatter and recoil in a surreal moment of absolute poise and sudden destruction.

What would emerge from the smoke, would be all the more surreal in comparison to the troops encountered thus far. Smooth, purposeful crunching footsteps of metalic in nature, revealed a bronze colored armored warrior, bearing semblence to a design from Aether, but with distinctive markings making him appear foreign. With a regal fur-lined black cloak hung over his shoulders and neck, the being spoke in a measured, eloquent tone while still projecting an assured menace to his enemy,

"No...I believe those are the words I should say to you, Tercera Espada Afilado."

"Ngh--!!!"

Needless to say, Senkaku was genuinely shocked.

His body skidded across the floor, his Hierro creating sparks to fly up as he did so. The intense friction was enough to cause his body to stop before it got too far from his assailant, and he was quick to maneuver himself up to a standing position. From the punch, he gripped his sword tightly in one hand, switching his gaze over to the challenger. As he took in the appearance, his eyes narrowed slightly in thought. This one would certainly be no pushover, judging from the stance and the visage alone. This would be his stopping point.

"And so an officer arrives. I was wondering if you'd show up right away or wait until the majority of your forces were decimated." He remarked. "To whom do I owe the honor?"

"Mukuro Sengumō," the armored general announced, speaking in a hallowed reverberation through his intricately designed helmet. Raising his right hand in emphasis, he preformed a "come-on" gesture as he goaded the Arrancar, "show me what you're capable of, Tercera Espada. You've shown to be worthy of my time...for the moment."

The man hadn't bothered to unsheathe his weapon yet, and he was challenging an enemy openly. Senkaku bristled slightly, straightening his stance a little more. "I'm not going to fight an unarmed opponent." He said firmly. "I don't care how strong you may think you are."

"How strong...I think I am?" Clenching his outstretched hand into a fist, Mukuro stared impassively back at Senkaku.

WHAM-BOOOOOM!!!

Within just a mere few seconds, his body crouched down within a singular movement as his hand slammed into the floor of the base. What happened within the impressive strike into the floor, a discharge of black flames were emitted, discharging out and engulfing the entirety of the base's barracks structure, sending out a searing shockwave to launch his opponent out into its courtyard.

"You must be misunderstood. I am no mere grunt sent to deal with a pest. You're the second strongest Espada Afilado, Senkaku Ningensei," Mukuro spoke in a contempted tone, grasping some of the flickering onyx flames and fusing them into a Kiriken blade into his right hand, his feet crunching the rubble as his body emanated an equally vile and powerful aura that distorted the atmosphere all around himself, "I am the Armored Dragon, a position only entrusted by Suna Tekketsu, the First Horseman, for me to dispose of the most critical of threats. If it be may by design or fate that we met this day, I will fight you on my terms," placing his left hand on a draconic-shaped blade on his left hip, in emphasis, "this weapon will only be drawn when your fullest capabilities are revealed to me. Until then, I will not need it to test your basest abilities, Arrancar."

"Hrah!"

This time, Senkaku was quick to act. He pulled his sword back across his chest before swinging it, the metal meeting the shockwave with immense force. The flames flickered violently within the wake of the collision, dissipating into the strong and rapidly fading winds. As he looked up at Mukuro, he couldn't help but scoff a little. "You regard me as the second strongest, and yet you believe that you can beat me only your bare hands?" He questioned rhetorically, wrapping a hand around the wrist of its opposite. "Fine by me."

TCHT!

Upon his mental command, the metal of his weapon ignited with a green flame, creating a torch effect that one could only relate to his trademark Espada Cero. The light from the flame-like energy was bright enough to illuminate Senkaku's visage, making him appear all the more menacing. He slid his free hand up to the hilt of his sword, preparing it for what he knew would be a tough battle.

Boom!

Then, he was in front of Mukuro in a heartbeat. The empowered blade of his sword raced towards the heart of his enemy.

CLANG!

With a perfect parrying blow with his black fire-enraptured Kiriken sword, Mukuro redirected the thrust to his heart to his right, using enough poise and force to allow him the follow-up counterattack with ease. With his left hand moving in a blur, Mukuro grappled Senkaku's sword arm with a nigh unbreakable grip, turning around and using his lunge's momentum to his advantage, as he hurled him head over heels and into the earth, causing an incredible shockwave.

CRACK-BOOM!!!

Simultaneously, he let loose a proximate spell of Raikōhō, causing an immense electrical blast of searing and concussive force to be let loose upon Senkaku's form, creating a powerful fissure of sparking and howling lightning from his palm upon his target. With an obviously red glow emanating behind the black slits of his helm, Mukuro didn't speak or goad, he just ensured that he'd project enough damage to implore the threat he held against him.

"Argh--!!"

Senkaku instinctively shut of his eyes when he felt his back slam into the ground with immense force. His Hierro was enough to stave off what would've otherwise been a crushing grip on his sword wrist, and thus he could keep a grip on his weapon. When he sensed the energies building up for the Raikōhō, his heart increased out of instinctive alarm. The position he in was certainly too vulnerable, and against an enemy like this, he couldn't afford to be weak. He swung two fingers of his free hand to point at Mukuro before the blast could be unleashed.

VWOOM!

A green Cero was unleashed, ripping through the blast. At the point-blank range they were at, the property of heavy energy concentration had the potential of taking off a good portion of Mukuro's torso and ending the fight right then and there.

Ordinarily, any other opponent would be alarmed at the swifter gesture and the unleashed force that would render any other entity into many awry pieces. Mukuro, unlike his compatriots, wasn't an ordinary enemy that Senkaku has fought. As the emerald glow continue to discharge, a blinding aura of golden light appeared within the epicenter of contact of Mukuro's body.

SSSSSSSSSHK!

A golden hand pushed forth through the emerald wafting energies, grasping Senkaku's fingers, forcefully bending it with a violent movement backwards in an attempt to break the joints and bone, bypassing the annoyance that Senkaku's Hierro presented. Behind the emerald light, a pair of glowing red eyes glared upon him as his right hand speared through and aimed to thrust his black-enflamed Kiriken blade to stab into Senkaku's Hollow hole from a directed angle to deal some damage.

One hand holding the wrist of his sword hand.

Another hand, generated from the very armor that Mukuro had on.

And yet another one, aiming for the Hollow hole just below his sternum and hidden within his clothing.

Senkaku was baffled. Not only did this man quell a concentrated Cero at point-blank range, but he had also made it so that escape was next to impossible. As he saw the Kiriken blade move towards his Hollow hole, he clenched his teeth. His narrowed eyes widened a little, pupils shrinking. All of it would be hidden underneath that mask, of course. But it wouldn't be hidden from the tone he took when he spoke again.

"Get off me!!"

With that roar, he quickly swung his legs so that they were at chest-level, his feet aimed at the spot just below the center of Mukuro's body. Within that split-second, he thrust his feet just as the Kiriken blade stabbed through his shirt and his Hollow hole. Mukuro would receive no purchase from his chosen target. Senkaku, however, would.

CLANG!

His sandaled feet connected with the metal of Mukuro's armor, sending him off of the trapped combatant and causing him to fly away. With a flip and twist, he threw himself at his involuntarily retreating adversary with renewed vigor. His sword ignited once again, and he swung it in a flurry of attacks once he was close enough.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

Mukuro responded in kind, only briefly stunned from the force used to propel his person away from the target, by his enemy. Once Senkaku blindingly charged to follow-up his attacks, he'd be greeted by peculiar sight. A golden armored limb jutting out at an angle from his shoulder, past his cloak, in addition to his normal limbs. Despite taking the full brunt of the attack, only the cloak itself bore a singed appearance and even that appeared to be abnormal.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

His sword arm repelled the blasts with equal intensity, causing a superheated wave of pressure to crack and shift the atmosphere around them, cracking and rattling the landscape around them, as the two moved at incredible speeds to retaliate each other. Mukuro found an opening within the flurry of attacks, as his third arm reached out discharged a wide area discharge of Haien-infused Nenshō flames towards his unguarded area. Simultaneously, Mukuro swung his left arm around, and emitted a hyper-condensed Spiritual Energy beam, in the emphasis of a cutting laser, attempting to blindside him from the last attack, if his parrying didn't occupy him enough, or his black flames failed.

Because the attacks were unleashed at the same time, there was much easier room for Senkaku to evade the attacks.

With a boost of his legs, he hurled himself over his opponent in an acrobatic front-flip. Once he landed on his feet, he twisted himself around in a pivot in order to strike at Mukuro's back. The flames around his blade brightened, the energy increasing in potency to the point where the Kiriken blade itself would be sliced in two pieces. It was a property of the Espada Cero to increase the overall sharpness and cutting potential of the blade at the user's will. His aim would be at the arm construct, his focus on the one thing that could cause him problems later on.

"Hmph..."

CLANG!

Within the instant that his adversary hurtled over his reach, he knew what he would aim first, having witnessed the true integrity and resilience of his armor. As he would pivot, Mukuro summoned a blade to his other hand and another to his third arm, forming three black flaming Kiriken blades at his beckoning. With excelling footwork, he evaded the slash of his enemy by preforming a deft diagonal body spin, as he held his three blades close to his form...

VWHOOSH!

...before spinning at a blinding pace towards Senkaku, spinning the blades in a whirling slash of poised, harnessed release of cutting and spiritual power, discharging a wafting fissure of black flames and shredding force upon Senkaku's entire form, sending a crack into the landscape for a square mile with ease.

"Ryūkuroi Kenhane!"

This next move would require precise timing on Senkaku's part.

His eyes narrowed, and he lifted his blade over his head. It was the initiation of an overhead strike, one that would split his opponent straight down the middle. He only had a short time period time to do it due to the speed Mukuro was bearing down on him at, and anything less would risk him. He only had a second to wait before his enemy came close enough. He swung down with all of his mind, releasing the pent-up energy within his blade upon contact.

The results would be devastating.

BOOM!

The power unleashed by the force of the strike was not only enough to make the earth buckle underneath Mukuro's position and create a small crater, but it also caused a bright pillar of energy to materialize and stretch towards the sky. It consumed a moderately large radius, bathing the area within its green brilliance. The energy generated would have torn apart and completely destroyed anything unfortunate enough to get caught within it, even turning to earth underneath it into glass.

The base had all but been obliterated. With nothing but a large crack within the earth and a deepened crater of glass-like properties, steaming and sparking from the two elements that had caused its formation, it looked as if no form of life had been spared. But then, hovering in place was none other than Mukuro himself, projecting an immense Spiritual Pressure while having two arms crossed over his chest, while two arms gripping two Kiriken blades.

"Most impressive, Tercera Espada," Mukuro spoke in a booming voice, his armor glowing golden and unmarred by the collescing destructive forces of their prior clash, "you have an accomplished amount of power and skill in just your sealed state. Truly a warrior of renown and worthy of my respect. I may have to draw my sword to meet you head-on...eventually..."

"Not even a scratch?!" Senkaku clenched his teeth, the grip on his sword unconsciously tightening. Despite his effort, there had been nothing done to the armor that protected his enemy's form. Frustration was starting to bloom within him, but he knew better than to let it become prominent. At this rate, the fight would become nothing but a stalemate. He knew that he needed to turn the tables if he wanted to win this fight. But he had to think about his approach...

"Respect?" He repeated, almost as if the word was a disease. "If you still refuse to draw the sword on your hilt, then you obviously consider me to be beneath you. Don't say words you clearly do not mean, Dragon..."

Tap-Clink!

With a swift use of Flash Step, Mukuro lands on the glassed landscape but a few meters distance from Senkaku. Mukuro stares at him impassively, and tries to convey his emotions through his words, knowing the masked Arrancar wouldn't be able to see it himself, "You doubt my sincerity? When I draw my blade, I aim to kill, not exchange blows to test the abilities of an enemy. But if you truly desire to see my weapon unsheathed," Mukuro emphasized with his right hand slowly and methodically grasping the draconic hilt, causing what looked like jaws to unhinge from the scabbard, allowing the elegantly crafted blade to slide in a smooth manner, as Mukuro stared him down, "then you shall have it...!"

SHIIIIINK!

BOOOM!

With a simple exertion of unsheathing his blade to the side, the glassed floor of their battlefield became shattered once more, sending a billowing shockwave from the mere flick of his wrist and the hefting weight of his weapon. Radiating a silver-black spiritual power, Mukuro became synchronized in releasing his own Spiritual Power with his weapon drawn, causing his extra limbs to dissipate and resume a two-armed stance once more.

"So he was testing me, just like she did." Senkaku thought to himself, tensing his muscles slightly at the shockwave that was sent through the area. The pulses from the power he was emitting signaled a much harder battle, and he knew that this time, there would be no holding back. He flourished his sword in a readying position, holding it at his side while looking at his enemy. "Death in the battlefield is the greatest gift that warriors will ever achieve. Anything less is an insult! If you really wish to show your respect, then no more games! Here, we fight!"

A Personal Fight, Honor and Obsession Clash!
VMMMMMMMM!!!

"Th-This Spiritual Pressure...Senkaku-san's battle is transcending all of ours combined. He must be handling somebody important if that's the case," Lobo thought, as he felt the tremors of the Spiritual Pressure and far-off explosions within the Seireitei's formerly 11th Division Barracks. He himself was in the midst of ruins within the 7th Division's Barracks, reformatted by the Inner Circle as a special close quarters batallion of soldiers to deal with enemies such as Arrancars or Soul Reapers.

Sadly, from the number of bodies and ashes he beheld from his own efforts, he had yet to see a true threat.

"H-He's too strong!" One of the squadsmen, a man garbed in black armor that had been partially shattered and cut by strafing strikes by Lobo's attacks, wheezed out by the remaining dozen or so soldiers.

"And he's one of the weaker Espada Afilado?! How are we to hope to stop him?!"

"We have to hold the line! There's no other option!"

"Isn't there?"

Among the panicked voice of the soldiers, a lone, collected and almost chipper voice rang within the atmosphere. Among the struggling combatants, a lone figure walked through their ranks with the casual attitude of someone taking a stroll. As it came closer, the details of a blue-haired woman could be seen approaching the area where Lobo was. She wore a dress coat and a Russian Cossack hat - something that was very out of place in accordance to the uniforms and armor that the other combatants wore. What was also out of place was the pleasant smile and the gleam in her eyes, almost as if she was happy to be within this area.

"It's good that you know you're being a sore loser if you run away." She commended the fighting soldiers. "But now, after seeing you have so much fun with this one, I think it's time that I stepped in for a turn of my own. Your work is done here."

"Y-Yes Lady Manami! Forgive us-"

"Let's just get the Hell out of here!" One of the soldiers grabs the stuttering comrade and they move as quickly as their exhausted and wounded forms could carry them. This making the ruined and battle scarred barracks completly vacated with the exception of the two combatants.

"Hm?" Lobo turned his attention to the newcomer. After a brief use of his Pesquisa, Lobo discovered that the woman had an effective restraint upon any form of exertion of her own Spiritual Pressure. But the way she held herself when moving through the soldiers and the way they treated her with respect, was definitely one as a superior, "I see that you must be a superior of theirs. What rank do you possess within the Inner Circle, if I may ask?"

As Manami turned to look at the Arrancar, her smile briefly widened a little. "I hold the rank of a Dragon, to be exact." She said readily, taking a look down at herself. "Yeah, I know I don't look the part compared to," She paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "Oh, I don't know, Mukuro or maybe even Yashin-sama for that matter. But regardless, what you see before you is one of the right hands of the Inner Circle's heads. It's very nice to meet your acquaintance, Lobo de Norte..."

"Likewise," Lobo couldn't help but smile at such a courteous being, even though she held a position he loathed. IN any other circumstance, he knew he would find her as fetching as Rukia Kuchiki, for retaining such a positive outlook in a dark atmosphere surrounding them. But at the mentioning of Yashin's name, he felt a slight pang of anger well within him, "its unfortunate to say this, but I am not here to exchange pleasantries. I'm here on behalf of the Hollowity as an ally of the Soul Society you occupy. If you don't forfeit and leave now, I'll have no choice but to kill you, Manami-dono."

At this, Manami began to idly sway from her heel to toe as she looked at Lobo with curious thought, the smile fading from her face. She had her hands folded behind her back, not yet moving to pull out the Zanpakutō sheathed on her waist. "Well, if it helps," She said casually. "I'm not here to be friends, either. My superiors gave me the order of holding down my position until the enemy's forces were crushed. In fact, I was supposed to be fighting and trying to kill you a minute ago. But, considering I'm facing such a nice and considerable guy, I'm willing to put that bit aside..."

She tilted her head to the side.

"...if you turn and walk away right now. I won't call you a chicken if you did just that. But if you stay, I can't promise what will happen to you."

Lobo's glowing eyes shrunk behind his partial mask. He couldn't help but pity the woman. She had a good heart, but her prowess as a warrior and her command within her organization allowed her to be within such a responsible position. He wished not to fight her, but if he left, someone else might...

"Don't disgrace yourself and the position you bear!" Lobo raised his voice suddenly, raising his blade pointedly towards Manami, "I will not have someone bearing the title of Dragon put on such a mockery before me! You, a person who's on the same plane as that monster, Yashin Shiyōnin, shouldn't display such kindness to me! Drop your act and draw your sword!"

This time, Manami's eyes widened in surprise as she picked out the one word associated with her colleague.

Monster.

That seemed to be enough to make her optimistic demeanor switch to shock before slowly fading to restrained resentment. She placed one hand on the scabbard and the other on her hilt. "Sounds like someone's a bit too serious for his own good." She said, slowly drawing out her weapon. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to throw such nasty words out to other people like that?" As she fully pulled out her katana, she briefly looked over at its cutting edge as if making sure everything was in order. As she looked back up at Lobo, she smiled once again. But this time, malicious intent was clear.

"Oh, that's right. You don't have a mother."

Woosh!

Then, with a Flash Step, she was in front of him. Her blade was swung, the cutting edge on a path of decapitating him.

Lobo's eye widened considerably at the sudden scale of malevolence projected from Manami. Barely able to swing his blade up into a parrying blow, a mighty spike of air pressure blasted any loose rubble and cracked what standing construct was left around them. With sparks raining across the ground, Lobo made sure to make ample opportunity to fight head-on against her without remorse. She wasn't worth an ounce of his restraint, so he would have none...

SNAP!

Grasping onto her free hand, he swifly bent his body forward, slipping a foot between her thighs to have his right heel rest onto hers. Pulling her forward, he swung his grappling arm's elbow with immense force to aim for her neck, intending on killing her in one fell swoop while keeping her weapon at bay with his own sword-lock weapon.

With all of the complex moves made to trap and counter, all Manami had to do was perform a single movement.

WOOSH!

With another Flash Step, she managed to slip out of his grasp and re-appear a distance away. After her form reappeared, she raised her free hand and wagged a finger at him. She spun her sword around in her other hand, the blade whirling around like a pinwheel in her grasp. "Ah ah ah~..." She chided. "Keep that up and people might start thinking something's up..."

"I don't know what you're insinuating, Manami-san..."

BZZT!

"...but I always move close into my opponent's space for the kill!" Lobo spoke in finality after preforming a swift Sonido, his body shimmering out of view and sensation before reappearing just above Manami's person. Swinging down his blade with effiecient power and force, a blue-white blade of energy extended along the cutting edge of his attack, smashing into the earth to create a geyser of compressed air pressure and blast away the landscape from which Manami stood upon.

"La Guillotina Ejercicio!"

BOOM!

With a simple sidestep and extremely careful positioning, Manami avoided the devastating strike that seemingly collapsed the very earth underneath their feet. As her blue hair billowed in the immense winds, the excitement on her face could've never been clearer. "Oh, he has a lot of energy, doesn't he?" She thought to herself, grasping the hilt of her sword with two hands and raising it over her head. "Good. Maybe this won't be so boring after all.."

Woosh!

She unleashed her own counter-attack, swinging her sword down towards his head in an attempt to split him down the middle.

SSSHRK!

At first, a dazed and bloodied Lobo had appeared to be perfectly bisected by the attack, as the producing pressure wave that gave way made an ear-popping detonation that would be heard throughout the city block. However, a quick disintegration and buzzing of two additional movements would indicate otherwise.

BZZT-BZZT-BZZT-BZZT...!

With two Sonido Clones moving in for the kill with a series of rapidly phasing-in-and-out maneuvers to disorient Manami visually, as they would attempt to take her by surprise by either of her flanks with perfectly coordinated slashes towards either side of the enemy.

However, this was all but a feigning tactic, as Lobo had dampened his Spiritual Pressure to all but zero output as he readied his stance directly behind Manami by a good five meters. When the Sonido Clones would come within her range, he reared back his sword arm while in a particular stance...and unleash hell!

SHINK-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK...!

With a series of hyper-thrusted movements of his sword arm, a series of wolf-headed shaped thrusts of piercing and shredding blasts from his precise aim to cover the entirety of Manami's flanks, both on the ground and the air above, to ensure maximum coverage area. The blasts that would leave in its wake, would crush and reduce a good quarter of the city block into blasted ruins and echo with the howls and growls of a ferocious wolf pack in its aftermath.

"Manada de lobos Estocada!"

SLICE-SLICE-SLICE-SLICE-SLICE!

As Manami dismissed the clones, she swiftly turned onto her heel to see the projectiles shoot at her form. As she kept her sword within its two-handed grip, she raised her blade again in order to counteract the ferocious assault. Time seemed to slow down as she moved, with nothing form her blade visible aside from the constant flashes that occurred every time it connected with a projectile. Some of them would even deflect back at Lobo - a testament of both her own masterful swordsmanship and energy control.

Then, she herself would attack.

WOOSH!

She kept up her furious sword barrage even as she attacked him once more, striking at him with speed that rendered her weapon and her hands to near invisibility. She wanted to push him back, shatter his defenses and destroy him. The smile on her face was enough to convey her desires, despite its outward pleasantry and mirth.

"She's skilled all factors I have: swordsmanship, close quarters combat, and manipulating the flow of foreign spirit energy. This woman is a fierce opponent for sure..."

Lobo thought as he parried away his own blasts with well placed slashes and thrusts. But it was only short lived, as Manami pressed her advantage by sending a rapid barrage of attacks to hammer at his defenses, causing his body to shimmer back and forth, while his heels grinded and spun around the ashen, broken earth around them.

To upset the balance of her attacks, he decided to take a risk.

Instead of making a formal parry to a series of slashes, he swung out his free hand...

VRRRRBLAAAAM!

...and fired a rapidly-charged Cero he had been holding back while upon the defensive. The massive crimson arc was enough to shake the atmosphere within the confines of their battlefield, as it would slam through several distant buildings before finally exploding in its aftermath. The close quarters proximity to it wouldn't have the affect as he would hope, but he hoped it would deter her from making a berserk lunge at his proximity and allow him time to work a strategy against her tenacious mindset.

SLICE!

With a sweep of her sword, Manami sliced the beam of energy before it could begin to be launched offensively. The released energy, diverted and out of control, was enough to destroy the surrounding area more than anything else. But in addition, her blade would cut through his hand as well. She would not pause, twisting herself around in a pivot.

THUMP!

One of her legs lifted as she spun, and her boot connected with Lobo's face. The force was enough to send him flying away. As she slowly lowered it, she placed a free hand on her hip and lowered her sword to a more neutral position. "You're fun!" She commented. "I don't think I've started enjoying myself so much for a good while. And to think that you're only the Novena of the Espada..."

"Ngh!"

Lobo couldn't believe how much he was being pressured by his adversary. His eyes widened when he felt the shallow cut cut across his extended palm from the blade that cut through his Cero so easily. Following up the kick he unexpectedly saw crossing over and piercing past his perception and kicking him square in the jaw, sending sparks and a flick of blood to fly into the air. His body corkscrewed, only saved from being slammed into distant rubble piles by slamming his sword's edge into the earth, grinding him to a halt and back upright onto his feet.

Staring at her cooly, he reevaluated his approach to her. Outward appearances suggested that this was all a game, and that he was the first to actually push her to such extremes. Or she still had quite a bit skill yet to show off, and he hadn't pushed her hard enough. Looking at his bloodied palm, a thought occured to him, of something he had yet to try out.

"You're quite the opponent, for sure. I believe you might be as strong as she  is," Lobo spoke solemnly, standing firmly towards Manami, clenching his left hand into a tight fist. Taking his left hand to raise it above a parallel-aligned blade, drawing his palm across its surface in a slow, deliberate manner as he spoke stoically, "I didn't think I'd have to resort to this technique, but I believe approaching you any other way will be countered with equal vigor or with greater skill than I possess..."

C-C-C-C-CRAAAAAACK-HSSSSSSSS!

After thoroughly wrapping his own blood onto the surface of his blade, a vibrant blue energy began to crack and hum violently along its surface. The energies began to emanate such a disorienting Spiritual Pressure, that the entire square kilometer shook and quaked from its existance being birthed upon the aura that shined upon Lobo's weapon.

"Gran Rey Espada Cero!" Lobo declared out, as the atmosphere shifted and cracked with intensity, his hat barely holding onto his flourishing hair of dreadlocks, and his cloak flapping from being at the epicenter of such power, "this is my personal weapon as being a part of the Espada Afilado! There is none among my bretheren who can wield this power..."

BZZZT-SMASH!

"...and I will end you with it!" Lobo declared aloud, as his blade swung down towards her position after a swift employment of Sonido, aiming to bisect her with a single blow. The aftermath itself would annihilate a great deal of the landscape, almost appearing as if the spacial fabric would warp and implode from the chaotic energies slashing through its surface.

"Oooh..."

To the fighter who attacked her, the attack created was certainly a beautiful one. She watched in awe as he appeared before her, the brilliant blue light shining on her face. Even as she raised her blade up to meet his own, her amazed smile didn't fade from her face.

POW!

She could feel the very power generated from the Cero as its energy sprayed sporadically from the collision point of the two weapons. Although she had to place a foot behind her in order to ensure that she wouldn't get shoved back by the initial pressure, the only signs of movement she was showing was her fighting against him in the blade lock that they were in. She managed a chuckle. "If only you had shown such devotion in winning at Hueco Mundo..."

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Oh, yeah. Our allies were so kind to tell us about what exactly happened back when Empresa fell. One of the soldiers under your command was so convinced that you were going to show back up to save them. I only wish that I could have seen the look on his face when he found out you had ran away to that Kuchiki girl..."

Instead of wavering Lobo's spirit, however, this seemed to have an opposite effect.

"SILENCE!!!!"

SSSSSHEEEEOOOOW!!!

Lobo snarled out, his blade lighting up dramatically, before discharging a tendril of chaotic Spiritual Power into her form, intending on shattering her Zanpakutō and dealing some damage, if not send her flailing back across the landscape entirely, "I make no apologies for my actions. I know the wrongs I committed and the reasonings I've discerned were flawed. But make no mistake...you aren't one to speak foul of me when you have done nothing but side with those of monsters! How can you dare to smile at me when you're as foul as the ash that has laid waste to my homeland?!"

"Gack--!"

Manami's eyes briefly widened as she felt the spark of energy course through her. She let out a brief, shuddering gasp before her back bent a little. She found herself being pushed harder as she fought against his immense strength, her spiritual pressure beginning to billow in order to counter it. But her shock would only last for a brief moment before she started smiling again and even chuckling.

"I make no apologies for my actions." She said, blatantly repeating his words. "I know the wrongs I committed and the reasoning I've carried were flawed. But make no mistake, you aren't one to speak foul of me when you've done nothing but side with monsters. How can you dare to scowl at me when you're as foul as the ash that has laid waste to my homeland?"

Then, she started pushing. Bit by bit, she forced herself back into her former position, pressing weight against the blade lock. Even in the bright light, she never turned her gaze away. "See what I did there? The only real difference between us is that I'm a woman and you're a man. Other than that, we're both playing the same game, fighting for control and dominion. Why else would your Primera seek to ally themselves with the very same people who almost brought them to extinction years ago? Why would they ally themselves with criminals and bounty hunters? It's because they're frightened, desperate and will do anything to be at the top of the food chain." Her eyes widened a little more.

"So, tell me..."

Then, she did the unthinkable.

Bringing one of her hands to his sword, she grasped at the energy of the Cero and began to close her fingers around it. It was a strenuous thing to do, judging from the slight convulsions of her hand. But, little by little, she had begun to close her palm around the blade and forcibly suppressing the blade. Little by little, the bright light began to fade away and disappear. Eventually, Manami's hand closed around the blade, and the slight smell of burning flesh could be picked up. She yanked the blade downwards to make Lobo fall off balance before raising her sword over her head.

"Do you feel like a hero?"

Then, she swung down.

Skrt!

CLANG!

Within the pulling movement, Lobo skirted forward and extended his foot to steady himself. As the blade came down towards him, he swung up his free hand and blocked it with the back of his own skin, strengthening his Hierro enough to only shed superficial skin. The effect was a shower of sparks, along with the fractional cut that shed a small amount of blood, coating the surface of impact effectively.

Without looking up, he spoke in an incredulous tone,

"Hero? You must have me mistaken for a fictitious character from your fairy tails, little girl," Lobo spoke lowly, as he let the blood run over his fist his face looked up at her with an unnerving menace he had rarely projected. The sheer bloodlust and rage began to wrap around his body like a mantle of blood and death, as his body's Spiritual Pressure spiked and shook around the atmosphere, nauteously before Manami, "I am an Arrancar. I strike fear into the hearts of any Soul Reaper foolish enough to make me lose my temper. In fact, I quite loathe your kind. You embody everything I know that Soul Reapers that possess evil within, and how they would misuse their powers of death..."

WHRRRRRRRR-CR-CR-CRK!

"...and I will purge any filth that dares call themselves of a higher plane of deity, than Hollowity..."

SSSSSHEEEEEOOOOOW!

"...ESPECIALLY YOU, MANAMI!!!!"

Within a single moment, Lobo charged a Gran Rey Cero directly around his left fist, still bracing back Manami's Zanpakutō and swung it upwards, releasing the violent and chaotic razor-shaped Cero with the clear intent of blasting into Manami and making contact, with the result of a violent spacial-rendering explosion.

"!"

Manami's eyes widened, but this time, her shock would hinder her.

She barely had enough time to Flash Step away when the Gran Rey Cero hit, its blue light once again enveloping the area. In its brilliance, Manami's form seemed to have been consumed within. The Russian hat that she had worn could be seen blowing away in the intense winds - an immediate indication that Lobo had finished the fight early.

But when, Manami's form appeared a distance away, it was clear that was not the case.

Even so, the last attack had left its own reward. Her sword arm was now smoking and burnt with third degree burns across its form. Part of her clothing had been caught, exposing minimal parts of her skin. Even so, she kept a smile on her face as she looked at her enemy. As the wind billowed between the two, she couldn't help but laugh a little. "Look who's calling me a monster now." She said, lightly shrugging her shoulders. "This game'll never end..." She pointed the blade once again at Lobo, raising her other hand in a "come on" motion.

"C'mon! Show me how much fear you can strike into me, Arrancar!!"

Raising his blade, he inverted the grip to point downwards as he stared at her across the wide crater of crackling energies, speaking aloud in a declarative chant,

"Howl In the Frozen Wastes..."

VVVRRRRRRROOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!!!

Within a large burst of Spiritual Power, a column of blue-black Spiritual Power slammed into the earth and expanded, sending concussive waves of air pressure that billowed across the landscape. Within the wake of such incredible Spiritual Pressure, the temperature dropped significantly. The air that was once stiflingly hot from the expense of so many violent explosions began to freeze over. A howling wind billowed outwards and dissipated the column of ferocious spiritual energy cloaking a now crouched over Lobo.

Rising from his all-fours stance, Lobo stood tall and looked stoically at her with his new form. Wearing what appears to be tuffs of black fur that is interweaved with obsidian armor, with a pair of forearm claw-blades with black gaunts with armored claws over them as well. His chest has magnificently crafted appearance of black metal with black fur interweaved in between each of the crevices, going for the same as his back. Going down to his legs, he has a set of black fur around his waist with a black metalic cuirass, leading down to thigh and shin armor that also had tuffs of black fur around it, leading down to menacing fur-laced metalic boots. He has twin black fur pauldrons that portrudes two spikes moving at a 90 degree angle from the sides. For his face, he bears no semblence of a Hollow mask, but has a more bestial pair of eyes with red eyes with slit irises, wearing a fur-laced cowl with a pair of wolf-like ears.

"...Fenrir," Lobo spoke in a lower voice, his face now revealed with a human appearance, with his complexion intact but with a set of fangs and more dangerous, predatorial appearance, "this is my truest form and my ultimate power, Manami. This is what true despair..."

SHFT!

SHINK!

"...looks like!" he finished, as his body moved at such blinding speeds as his form swung out in an impaling move, with his obsidian armored gauntlet shaped into a knifehand strike towards her chest. With even the slightest scratch, her blood would instantly freeze and begin to numb any point of physical contact, if not tear her to shreds from the sheer physical force behind its movement.

CLANG!

His gauntlet would meet her blade, and as she felt his energy and a chill shoot down her spine, her eyes widened briefly. Lobo might as well have been wielding a one-shot-kill weapon against her now, as any direct physical contact with him would most likely result in the blood in her veins being frozen. Any more grapples or CQC moves as she had done before was suicidal now. Luckily for her, she saw it as more of a challenge than anything else. A gleeful laugh, almost devoid of sanity and filled with anticipation towards the battle ahead, escaped her lips as she clashed with him once more.

Mute, Deaf, and Blind: Silencing the Tower!
BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

"Sir! There are four known intruders engaging our forces and two of our generals on all corners of the Soul Society! We must send what forces we have here to aid them in any way possible!"

"Dammit! How did the Rebels get through our defenses so easily?!"

"We're not sure sir! We believe it might be Space/Time Kidō, same method they used to extract most of the populace and wounded soldiers during the invasion!"

"Alright...we're leaving three dozen men here, and sending the rest to reinforce perimeters. If the Dragons are in combat with the enemy, establish a wide perimeter outside of their range. If at all possible, eliminate the enemy when its clear they're exhausted. Understood?!"

"Yes sir!"

Within a matter of minutes after the deafening explosions, disorienting spiritual pressure, and shockwaves rocked the Soul Society, Inner Circle troops were being rallied around the points of incursion. Not only were they to establish a wide, heavily enforced line behind the enemy's point of attack, but they were to reinforce key points of defense and the like. Currently, the communications array was the farthest away from the battle, so its defense was halved to help aid other hot spots.

Unfortunately, just as forty heavily armed IC troopers left by vehicles and other forms of rapid transit, three stealth-enraptured Lieutenants were coming into the base's perimeter. Seishuku taking the lead, grasped his Zanpakutō and usheathed it deftly, noting that the defenses were indeed significantly lighter, "I'll take the guards out within the courtyard. You go into the hub station itself and eliminate any forces there. I'll make sure to be discreet so as not to alert anyone else..."

SHFT!

Within an immediate movement after declaring their objectives, Seishuku unsheathed his blade and thrusted his blade through the first guard, stabbing him through the heart, making his death painless and silent. Wrenching his blade from the bloodied torso of the falling soldier, he moved in and began to take one after another by surprise. A few managed to catch eyesight of his approaching form but were unable to fire their weapons as he launched himself upon them.

With a motion of his hand, Masahiro allowed himself to take lead.

Woosh!

Without hesitation, they used a Flash Step to carry themselves to the entrance of the hub station and quickly ran inside. As she followed, Tamiko couldn't help but spare a glance behind her. "Wonder if those guys were the 43rd those guards were talking about..." She muttered.

"We would be so lucky." Masahiro rolled his eyes slightly. "They said that the 43rd were capable of killing Captain-class targets. Lower-class opponents like us most likely wouldn't have got the advantage if the 43rd were actually stationed here. At the very least, these must be the more commonplace." It wasn't long before he began to slow down, taking a position behind double-doors. "Hold up, I think we're at the hub station."

As Tamiko moved behind him, she could pick up the trading of radio chatter and reports behind the doors. "Sounds like a mess in there." She whispered. "How are we gonna do this?"

"I'll take this door. You take the other." Masahiro explained, reaching up with one hand to grasp the door handle. His other hand was raised up, having his Zanpakutō's razor wire form prepared. "We each take our own respective side. Open the door quietly, then dispatch them. On the count of three. One..." His hand gripped the door handle tightly. "Two..."

At this, Tamiko reached over to grab her own door handle and keep a hand on her on hilt. She took in a deep breath, sweat beading down her face as she waited for the final number to be counted. Those brief seconds never felt so long.

"Three."

Slowly, they pushed the doors open and wormed their way inside. Then..

Woosh!

SLICE-SLICE-SLICE-SLICE-SLICE!

The operators of the communications were quickly silenced by the coordination of the two Lieutenants. It only took a few seconds before all of them had been given killing blows. Their assailants re-appeared at the center, sheathing their blades as their bodies collapsed on the ground. Tamiko took in another deeep breath, giving a brief nod over to her partner. "Well... at least that was easier than I thought it would be. I thought their security would've been heavier here, of all places..."

Clap-Clap-Clap-Clap!

"Not bad getting in here, Lieutenants," A smooth, chilling voice spoke from the doorway they just came through. What they would see would be a black, spikey haired man with pale skin, black lips, and a white braid running down his shoulder over custom-woven sleeveless jacket and cargo pants with black boots. While he looked defenseless, he radiated an eery bloodlust and menace just from his mere eyes locking onto theirs, "it took us awhile to track you down, but we finally found the perfect location to set the trap. Thanks for springing it, by the way..."

"What the--!!"

The two Lieutenants immediately spun around to see the one who confrontation, with their hands preparing their weapons once again. Their eyes were immediately alight with trepidation as they looked at the newcomer, their senses picking up the malevolence radiating from him. While Masahiro narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth slightly, Tamiko held a pensive expression while a bead of sweat fell down her face. This was clearly no mook that had been sent in.

"Must've been a rather pitiful trap if it allowed us to walk right into your control room unhindered." Masahiro remarked coldly, lifting a hand towards the surveillance panels. "Move back, right now."

"Or what?" Fuhai asked aloud in an amused tone, taking a slow deliberate step forward as his eyes glowed a red, malicious hue as his smile grew ever so wider, "did you actually think we'd leave such an important facility so unguarded? Do you even believe you're in the right room to scramble the entirety of our communications? I don't believe...you even know...where you really are!"

It was then that something very eery transpired. What used to be a simple doorway they had walked into was now a seamless wall, with no decorations or enamorings to show a hastily patch job. It was like the room never had a doorway to begin with. Even the controls themselve seemed to be covered in cobwebs, and the corpses around them seemed to be rotting at an accelerating rate, projecting a foul stench in the air.

All the while Fuhai drew closer and closer to them...with an unholy aura of dark spiritual pressure projecting from his body and a aura of black-violet energy enrapturing his body, his red eyes gleaming with sadistic hunger for their pain and anguish.

"!!!"

Masahiro's widened in alarm as he saw the settings change. Involuntarily, he took a step back as he took in the cobwebs around the controls and the doorway they had stepped through vanish. His nose burned from the stench of the rotting corpses that they had created, wrinkling in slight disgust. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tamiko look a bit more sickened by the display, a free hand to her mouth in an attempt to cover up the stench. He couldn't help but wonder just how well Seishuku was faring now that they had walked straight into this bit of trouble.

His eyes narrowed dangerously, and he glared daggers at the approaching enemy.

"That's as far as you go!"

When the fingers curled and bent themselves in a rhythmic and cryptic fashion, a multitude of wires surrounded and closed in on Fuhai's form.

Fuhai didn't even register the incoming wires that were aimed to constrict around his body. Once making contact, the man's body began to be cut and bleed easily, profusing what seemed to be an impossible volume into the air. Spinning and twirling, the innards became blood and the blood then reformed and returned his body into normalcy, as if the wires never touched him.

"You're in no position to bargain here," Fuhai's smile lightened, seeing that they were insistant on resisting. Raising his left hand for inspection, as if caring what dirt may be within his nails. Then, with a backhand wave of his free right hand...

BOOM!

...a force of Spiritual Power discharged in a transparent, kinetic strike towards Tamiko's person, purposely avoiding a direct strike to Masahiro, as a sadistic grin came onto his face. Not even bothering to make eye contact with Mashairo, he continued, "you're trapped like rats in my little maze. I suggest you drop the tough guy act if you want to see the light of day again...or I can torture you for my amusement. Or her," looking towards Tamiko's direction, he let his tongue lick slowly and suggestively over his thick, black lips, "yes, I think it will be more fun hearing her scream and feeling her skin come off, don't you think?!"

"Wha--"

Courtesy of the stench that permeated her nostrils, Tamiko was a little bit too unfocused in order to act in time. Her eyes widened as she felt the tremor of energy that approached her, but all she could do was swing her arm up in a meager defense when it hit. She let out a sharp yell as she was thrown back, her back slamming into the buttons and levers of the warn down controls. It didn't help that some of them were a bit too pointy and stabby for her taste.

As she was briefly hunched over, her ears picked up the words that the man was speaking to her partner. She gritted her teeth, her eyes narrowing in clear anger. "You're sick!" She shouted, quickly drawing her sword from its sheath. "Scum like you should never even have been brought into existence in the first place!" She lifted her sword to point at him. "You wanna torture someone? You're going to have to bring us down for that!"

"If we don't kill you, of course..." Masahiro added darkly, holding his hands at a close level with one another. The razor wire that made up his Zanpakutō was entwined and wrapped around his hands cat's cradle style, ready to be unleashed once more. But inwardly, he was making calculations. That reformation alone was enough to indicate that maybe the area around them was nothing more than an illusion, and that they really were standing in the communications room.

But how exactly would they shatter it, if that was the case...?

"You shouldn't be worried about killing me," Fuhai spoke cryptically, as he gestured with his right hand to their flanks, "when those you've already killed are your biggest concern..."

And what happened would be horrifying.

Groaning and moaning out dark growls, the bodies of the IC soldiers they just killed began lashing out in vicious thrusts towards their newly found targets. What used to be decaying, rotting flesh was now an array of mobile puppets, and all began to charge at them with drawn weapons and their own undead hands as they aimed to strike them down with their sheer numbers and proximity.

All the while, Fuhai smiled widely as his eyes widened with joy at the sight, "That's right! Claw them up and feast on their living flesh! After all, they robbed you of your lives without an afterthought, so why should you care about taking theirs with you?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Ah...Ah...!"

The irises and pupils of Tamiko's eyes shrunk as she saw the zombies approach her. It wasn't because of the fact that this was a case of undead attacking her (although that did disturb her somewhat). As she stared at them, flashes of earlier memory came into mind. She saw her own teammates, malformed and mutilated by the virus that had plagued them. She could hear their screams of pain and agony as they attacked, begging for their demise. No matter how much she tried to block it out, it was as if she had been pulled straight back into the Mourning War.

"IT HURTS! IT HURTS!"

"GET IT OUT! OH, PLEASE, DON'T LET ME GO THROUGH THIS!"

"TAMIKO! TAMIKO! TAMIKO--AAAAAAAARGH~!!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

As Masahiro sent his wires out to impale the motor systems within all of them, his eyes widened as he heard Tamiko let out a terrified scream. As he swung his gaze to her, he saw that she had dropped herself and fell back against the wall. "No, no, stay away from me~!!" She shrieked, tears running down her arms as she swung her arms up in a vain attempt to defend herself against the zombies. But it was clear that wasn't going to be much help.

Fortunately, she wouldn't have to. Before they could launch any attack, they were stopped as Masahiro's razor wire forcibly connected with their motor functions. Now, all of them were restrained. Masahiro was seething at the Inner Circle operative, his eyes echoing nothing more than the desire to kill.

Fuhai made a finger gun and aimed it as Masahiro as he restrained the undead puppets at his whim. A small orb of coiling spiritual energy began oscilating around the edge of his forefinger, crackling and humming aloud as he winked at his enemy with a teasing gesture, "Bang!"

CRACK-BOOM!

What would come forth would be a foot wide piercing drill of black lightning aiming towards Masahiro's upper torso. If it should connect, not only would it induce painful shocking currents to run through, but a foot diameter wide hole of anything it fully thrusts through.

"Nngh--!"

With a pulling back of the reins he had, Masahiro called out one of the bodies in front in order to take the attack. The combination of sizzling and rotting flesh was not a very good thing to have in your face, and he coughed a little as the order hit him. But still, he didn't allow himself to falter. He directed the rest of his puppets to attack their summoner, his fingers working to move their bodies as best as he could to coordinate their attacks.

As he attacked, Tamiko slowly pulled herself to her feet. Her knees were shaking, and she had to lean against the wall in order for her to prevent falling onto her rump. She had her head lowered, her face in one of her hands.

"Please," Fuhai spoke in a disappointed tone, swinging his hand out and forcing it into a halfway clenched fist, causing all of the bodies to halt in space, no matter how much the wires dictated their movements. With a simple squeeze of his hand, all of the bodies imploded, as if an invisible force of Spiritual Pressure crushed them into tiny fragments of what they were once resembling.

This also allowed him to grasp the wires with his spiritual harness, pulling them all at once into a visible string. Before he pulled Masahiro with a violent tug, hurtling him from one end of the room to the other, intending on battering him against the walls until his body was too battered to put up any form of resistance, "I can play with you two all day without any effort expended upon my part. Your strategies are useless within my playroom and you can't raise a finger without me breaking it off. You're finished!"

"Oh, really?!"

WHAM!

As soon as he neared the first wall, Masahiro pulled in his legs in and slammed them into the wall with enough force to force his feet into it. One of his hands split from the singular wire in order to grasp onto it tightly. "If you think me so easy to kill, then you must not understand the strength of the 11th Division." He said with contempt. "Allow me to teach you!"

Then, he pulled on the wire. The physical force he used was enough to yank Fuhai off of his feet and send him straight towards the waiting Lieutenant. He formed his free hand into a knife-like position, thrusting it towards the man's face as soon as he got close enough.

For a moment, Fuhai's eyes widened at forgetting his tactile control over the wires was still connected to his body, allowing him to be pulled as easily as he pulled Masahiro. But when he saw the move to attack being made by his enemy, he could only chuckle as the strike came towards him. Any force that the Lieutenant placed into the attack, was completely turned to the side, redirected, as if a rolling force was constantly flwing around Fuhai himself.

During this moment, Fuhai swung around his left arm at the passing by Lieutenant, discharging another burst of kinetic Spiritual Power, aiming to him point black at his backside and slam him into the wall directly proximate to the doorway, rippling and vibrating the entirety of the nightmare scenario he ensared them in.

Deftly landing, Fuhai placed his hands on his hips, looking to Tamiko and Masahiro with an incredulous look on his face, "Are you really Lieutenants of the Gotei 13? Seriously, you're making this game way too boring! Try and put some energy into it! I don't want to hear you scream that loudly..."

THUD!

"Nnngh--!!" Masahiro skidded away as he hit the ground, skidding partially on his side. However, the forceful push was nothing to hinder him as he swiftly got back up. The words of the man made him clench his teeth, but he bit his tongue. The last thing he wanted was to let his nerves get the best of him. As he clenched his fists, he looked over towards Tamiko, who had finally seemed to recover herself. "You all right?"

"Y-yeah..." The female still had one hand on her face, her other hand holding her sword at her side. "I-I'll be fine, I just got a little shook up back there. I can still hold my own, though..."

Masahiro looked back at their mutual enemy, his eyes narrowing once more. His fingers started to dig into his palms due to him clenching his fists so tightly. "A game, hm?" He repeated. "I shouldn't be surprised that you carry that mentality. Your leaders have been stringing you along with a piece of meat every step of the way. It's only natural that in time, the ones hiding behind the shield begin to make light of their situation."

"Fufufu, you must have me mistaken from other lackeys the Horsemen sent after you," Fuhai chuckled darkly, raising his hands out in emphasis, declaring openly, "I am one of the highest and most trusted disciples of Lord Shiyōnin, the true mastermind behind all of the events that allowed this organization to momentarily take over this pathetic society. Soon...the curtains will fall...and there will be nothing left of ashes for him to create a new order, one without a need of Horsemen, Aizen, and your precious Gotei 13!"

"Like I said," Masahiro said dismissively, opening his fists back up and curling his fingers. "Strung along with a piece of meat."

Vwoom!

WIthout warning, he began to exert spiritual pressure, his aura washing into the room and taking his partner by surprise. Reflexively, she took a few steps away, as the pressure had briefly overtaken her senses. The level was equivalent to that to a junior Captain's, certainly enough to give off a sense of slight discomfort to be near him. However, he took no notice of it as he raised one of his hands up. The look in his eyes presented nothing but murder. "I'm getting tired of hearing you run that mouth of yours, dog." He growled, swinging that hand outwards in order to send his razor wire at his enemy once more. "It's time you learned your place!"

"Hooh?" Fuhai noted the Spiritual Pressure, but was unable to feel it like anyone else would. If the Lieutenants paid a close enough attention, the Spiritual Pressurized energy within the air seemed to coil and rotate around him, without ever making contact with his body. Something also to note, is that he seemed to talk to someone else rather than them for the first time, "is it time?"

After a brief silence, Fuhai exhaled with a smile on his face, "Got it. Your will be done, Lord Shiy ōnin!"

''' CLAP! '''

"Yami Kyūzō!" Fuhai spoke aloud, funneling the exerted Spiritual Pressure of his enemy along with a ghastly exertion of his own Spriitual Power into the room. His body seemed to become more and more enflamed of black-white electricity, and flames around him, till his aura became so potent...

BOOOOOOM!!!

...the room exploded, along with nearly the entirety of the communications hub station, causing the outside sattelite dish to topple over in a fantastic explosion of force and flames.

It was here that Tamiko's eyes briefly widened to comical plates.

"...oh, f--"

BOOM!

When the room exploded, their vision was filled with nothing but flames and debris. Masahiro's eyes dilated, and he barely had time to swing his wires out in front of him to provide a defensive net. Tamiko had enough sense to leap behind him and his shielding. Still, his defense wasn't potent enough to keep them both from being thrown through the wall and into the outside. Masahiro could feel Tamiko clutch on to him as they flew through the air, the shockwave having knocked both of their senses out of whack temporarily.

THUD!

Then, they crashed into the ground, inadvertently separating from one another as they fell onto their sides.

"Tch, you Soul Reapers are so fragile!" Fuhai sneered from amidst the ruins that used to be the communications hub, taking long strides through the burning wreckage as he glared at them with a malicious smile. Taking his hands, he emitted a dark spiritual energy that began creating a line within the air. Moving both of his palms to point in front of himself, spreading them parallel to either side before bringing his forefingers to meet just a meter above the line he created in the air, creating an arcane triangular rune to crackle to life before his targets.

"Triplicem vis, Obscura Tonitribus Hastae!"

CRRRAAACK-VOOM-VOOM-VOOM!

Within a mere few seconds, a powerful blast of dark spiritual lightning discharged in a trio formation, aiming to collide with them and cause a powerful explosion, aiming to wrend the flesh off their bones and turn them into ashes if fully hit on.

As the two quickly pulled themselves up from the ground, their eyes widened at the blast that raced towards them. Knowing that they would be destroyed for certain if they allowed themselves to be hit by it, Masahiro spread his hands out towards it. As his wires raced to meet the blast, he shouted out the release command of his Zanpakutō.

"Disconnect and Fracture, Barasen!"

Then, the very air space that the blast had gone through was suddenly warped and distorted. After passing a halfway point, the fibers that had held the lightning attack together had been split, and the attack dissipated before it could reach its targets. There was no indication of a weapon within the area, and Masahiro was seemingly armed with his fists. But still, hiss eyes glowered at the form of Fuhai as he slowly moved himself into a stance.

After passing a surprised glance at her partner, Tamiko released that if they wanted a chance at winning this fight, they would have to attack with much heavier firepower. She switched her gaze to Fuhai, flipping her sword in a backhand position and pointing the sword tip to the ground. She placed her hand on the hilt's bottom, uttering her own release command.

"Connect To Me..." A pulse was emitted from the blade before it began to shift, the blade elongating and the hilt and handle gaining a distinct black color. "Ongaku!" She spun her sword into a more defensive pose, her body tensing up once more.

"Now that's more like it!" Fuhai declared aloud in renewed enthusiasm as he noted the released Zanpakutō into their true forms. As he raised his hands to renew his battle against them, he could only widen his eyes as he saw a third Lieutenant soaring through the air, parrying melee strikes by Jadoku with one arm while batting away his giant snake Doll.

Crashing to the ground, Seishuku holds out his blade before his enemies as he stood next to his allies, breathing slightly out of breath from the fight he had with his own enemy, "I see you two survived the blast...for a moment I feared Tamiko didn't survive..."

"Excuse me?!"

If the statement held no derogatory remark, there was certainly one made within Tamiko's mind. She swung her gaze towards Seishuku, one of her eyes twitching. "No, no, no, it's really nice to know that my teammates have so much faith in my ability to survive!" She exclaimed, making comical emphasis gestures with each and every word spoken. "Oh, big explosion? Tamiko must've died first because she's nothing but a useless female, and everyone knows women belong in the kitchen! Those sandwiches aren't going to make themselves, after all! Ha ha ha ha ha~!" Her tirade was finished off by a steaming glare in Seishuku's direction. "You're an asshole, Yabun."

It was here that Masahiro couldn't help but snicker a little.

"I was more concerned for your safety, than for Masahiro's," Seishuku spoke flatly, unamused by her antics as he raised blade to be parallel with his other forearm in preparation, "but I guess I should've used more precise words for my concern for you rather than the one I laid out simply for you.

"Lash Out!"

SSSSSHINK!

"Kyōbō!" With a swift declaration, his katana shifted in shape dramatically into a pair of nunchakus, with elaborate draconic symbols marked along the metalic guard and smooth black handles to hold them close to his forearms. All in all, Seishuku's appearance bore one of determination and total ignorance to his teammate's earlier emotional plight as he renewed his glare upon his two enemies, "this ends here, Dogs of the Circle!"

"Tch, this guy's too stubborn for his own good," Jadoku pocketed his hands as he got onto the back of his enlarged, violet-scaled snake as he glared at him and his two compatriots, "and you're still not finished? Fuhai, you got to stop taking your time with this stuff..."

"If I don't have fun, then there's no point in sending me to do it, honestly," Fuhai shrugged as he rolled his neck side to side, grinning at his enemies as he prepared to attack, "but now that you're here...I guess its time to-"

Then all antics ceased at once with a simultaneous thundering and flash of light around the Soul Society. What was just a air patrolled, darkened sky, then became filled with not just dozens or hundreds, but thousands of descending powerful warriors.

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!~" Their thunderous war cries echoed the society as much as their fantastic arrival, leaving the Inner Circle's forces helpless as their communications were cut and the enemy fell upon them without warning and provocation. The hour of reckoning for the invaders, has arrived!

It was an event visually shaking to even the allies who were within the perimeter.

Tamiko and Masahiro's eyes widened as they swung to the sky. As they were hit with the sight of warriors falling from the sky like rain, they couldn't help but gape in awe and amazement. At first, their hearts were stricken with apprehension upon the first glance they took. But as they recognized all of them to be allies and not the enemy, their stances relaxed somewhat. All of their work had finally paid off, and the cavalry had arrived to finish the battle.

"So, they've finally arrived, have they?" Masahiro inquired, slowly lowering his head to turn towards the two Dogs. He folded his hands behind his back, finally allowing a menacing smile of his own to cross his face. His eyes seemed to gleam with anticipation, and the anger that had coursed through his body slowly dissipated. "I guess this is where the final cards will be thrown down. Do you hear me, you punks? Our homeland will be your final resting place. Come, and be cleansed!"

Cry Havoc! Let Loose the Dogs of War!
Chaos.

It was the embodiment of the full scale battle that just ignited within the Inner Circle controlled Soul Society. Within the wake of thousands of Soul Reapers and Arrancars appearing within the wake of thunderous Time/Space Kidō, charging from the sky in a vertical drop that gave the imitation of wrathful angels with the aura of meteorites, the enemies stood no chance in the initial bombardment of what was the come.

Ceros, Kidō, and ruptures of breaking falls from hundreds of meters from the air, flames and shockwaves littered the ground, and what was known to be an organized, disciplined, and superior military force, quickly became disheveled from lack of communication and the sudden attack by so many vengeful warriors. Despite the modified appearance, the Soul Reapers were able to navigate quickly and snuff out many makeshift bunkers, level artillery mounts, and even dismember a number of armored vehicles.

Amidst the chaos, Captain Hayate of the 6th Division swung both of his fiery blades in a passionate discharge of fiery fissures of cutting force towards a number of high-tier enemies. Within the cries of many IC troopers, their bodies burned and turned to ash before the unrepentant eyes of the Gotei 13 Soul Reaper, as he unleashed hell upon his enemies and made sure to kill them as quickly, and painlessly as possible.

Looking to a nearby impact site where his fellow comrades were doing battle amidst a larger convergance of enemies, Kukkyōna observed to see if he was to be needed for any assistance in dispatching their targets.

Needless to say, the heat of conflict, Hachiro was shredding the enemy just as easily as Kukkyōna was.

SLICE!

SPLURCH!

His two blades were literally ripping his enemies to shreds, courtesy of both the speed and power he was unleashing behind every attack. His glasses, repaired and renewed, bore a menacing glint that hid his blue eyes. As he was attacking, the frightening smile that had become his trademark was on his face. All of this combined made for a monster that was tearing through the lines of a desperately defending enemy.

Noriko was matching the elegance and mercilessness of Kukkyōna.

She was constantly using Flash Step to weave in and out of the enemy's fire, striking down and bifurcating her foes before they had a chance to get in a good hit on her. Her strikes (and mostly because she was in her sealed state) provided less of a messy end to her foes than the results of Kukkyōna and Hachiro's work. Throughout it all, she had a scowl on her face and a hawk's gaze that would've destroyed them all, had looks been able to kill.

"This sector is littered with the enemy," Kukkyōna spoke aloud, Flash Stepping to their location after igniting the street with violent flames, scorching any wounded or dead remains of his enemies as he looked over the horizon at more dark shapes of IC troopers heading their way, "how many have they conscripted into their ranks, before awaiting our inevitable invasion?"

"It doesn't matter." Noriko dismissed, looking outward at the reinforcements headed towards their location. She clenched her sword tightly in one hand, feeling the fire burn within her as she slung the blood off of her blade. "They can throw all the reinforcements they want at us. It's just going to be a simple reinforcement in the lesson they'll learn today."

Hachiro exhaled audibly, holding his blades close to him as he moved over to the side of his fellow Captains. "Let's push forward." He said, giving a nod to each of his Captains. "The more we stay in one spot, the more likely they'll have a chance at overwhelming us. If we want to keep the advantage, we can't let them gain any ground."

"Allow me to clear the path then," Kukkyōna spoke affirmatively, walking purposely in front of the other Captains, as the far off troops began to open fire, wrending ruined buildings and the street into craters, unphasing the resolute Captain. Taking his left foot forward, and his right foot back, he pressed both identical fiery blades to have their edges touch at an arrow-shaped position towards the impending enemies.

Within a matter of moments, a fiery sphere began to gather just a few milimeters away from the flame-tongue aura that the Zanpakutōs projected. The sphere grew larger and larger, until it was the size of a human being, and taking on an appearance similar to a small sun. If any Arrancar would see this, it would almost appear similar to a Cero.

Then, with a stoic voice, he declared aloud, "Hai-Fū Taihō!"

BWHOOSH!

Within a mere few seconds, a billowing shockwave emitted from either flank of Kukkyōna, sending a large fireball towards the enemies beyond the immediate horizon. Those initially struck by the fireball would be carried off their feet, and send flailing off into opposite directions, lit aflame by the intense heat created by the projectile. But when it reached the center of the enemies, a dramatic and drastic affect would occur.

KRRRR-BOOM!!!

A large, bird-sounding pyrotechnic explosion enveloped, spreading out into a visage of a phoenix in aftermath as the flames enveloped the enemies, scorching them to bones and ashes within an instant because of the vicious tongues that cascaded across their bodies and the horizon. As a result, a good portion of the buildings were also incinerated, and the following shockwave would flourish Kukkyōna's hair and Haori, cracking the foundation of the structures on either flank to his form.

It was something that brought mixed reactions from his partners.

Hachiro's eyes narrowed as they looked upon the fire sweeping the streets, a frown on his face. He lowered his blades to his side as he felt the heat hit his face like a gentle slap to the face. By now, he was used to seeing such scenes. But that didn't mean he wasn't immune to the gravity or consequences. He closed his eyes for a moment and exhaled a heavy breath in order to steady himself.

"I hope this ends soon..."

On the contrary, however, Noriko seemed more welcoming to the carnage her rival had displayed. A small smirk donned her face as she observed the flames devour their enemies, her eyes gleaming with slight blood lust. Although she was no supporter of tragedy in warfare, there was always a certain beauty that she had learned to embrace as a Captain of the 11th Division. To her and her men, this was nothing but heaven that they always made sure to make the best of. She let out a low whistle as she moved to Kukkyōna's flank, with the elder Captain taking up the other.

Without turning his head, Kukkyōna made a hardened stare into the horizon, as cinders and sparks drifted across the atmosphere as a consequence of releasing so much fire into the landscape. It made him remember the Ultharon War...and how terrible warfare really was. Speaking aloud, he made sure to take the lead this time, "Let's move!"

"Right behind you." Noriko muttered, gripping her sword in anticipation as she and her other partner followed.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

VMMMMMMMMMMMM!

The large Airship Carrier, the Behemoth, moved with both a laborous speed, and an unstoppable velocity. It spanned nearly a kilometer in length, and was surely one of the largest aerial warships. Line with not only anti-air Kidō rail guns, but a series of both flank-spaced docks for the many airship snub fighters within its confines. With large engines projecting it forward and four rotating blades keeping it upright and giving it a sense of maneuverability, it moved away from the northern mountainside of the Soul Society's proximity, and to the immediately attacked Seireitei, along with a dozen escorting Air Cruisers.

While beyond its scope, one of the spotters for the Alliance's forces noted the large fleet heading their way, beyond the noted airfield and withholding incredible firepower that would make any even ground they've gained all but futile.

Grasping a Soul Phone from his pocket, he dialed the number for their own aerial units, and began relaying his report, "I spot a large Fleet in the horizon! Coming from the north, having been laying idle within the cover of the mountains, twelve Air Cruisers and one Airship Carrier. Its titled the Behemoth! Can I get a copy on that? We need an immediate preemptive strike on an enemy counterattack heading our way! Does anyone read me, over?!"

Readily, a voice answered him.

"We read you, 5 by 5, caller. Hellfire has acquired target "Behemoth" at the north. Firing."

This would be a display of what the Espada Afilado were capable of when it came to air power.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Four shots would hit the fans and visually consume the surface of the Behemoth, completely wiping out the carrier's method of staying within the air. White explosions would be the indicator of the anti-matter properties of the rounds unleashed, disintegrating anything consumed within their radius. Four more rounds would tear through the ship's hull, causing it to explode in a supernova-like explosion. Even from that distance, the shockwaves from the explosion could be felt from the ground units at the outer perimeters. Any aircraft unfortunate to be nearby it would be knocked out of the sky and taken down to the ground.

On the radio, loud cheering could be heard from the crew of the culprit aircraft, which was not too far above from the doomed aircraft. It was a massive beast that seemed to hover menacingly over the area, carrying its own assortment of anti-air guns as well as air-to-ground cannons. It was a tank of the sky, an angel of death and one of the most dangerous things the Hollow could've ever created. What was on its way to the area was the H-12 Alma, something that promised absolute annihilation of its enemy.

"That's how we say "fuck you" back at the range!" The voice of Yūrei's police commander spoke out.

"Enemy aircraft carrier has been neutralized." The voice from earlier spoke up. "We are heading in position for ground units to lay out coordinates for more targets, over..."

"Ma'am!!!"

At the 2nd Division's Barracks, an officer of what was the 43rd Sherman Regiment ran up to catch the eye of Brina and Kumiko. He was breathing heavily by the time that he had caught up to them, hunching over with his rifle in one hand. "We've got some serious bad news. An enemy aircraft has just been detected within our outer zone of occupation. Our spotters saw it take down the carrier Behemoth just before it could send supplies down in our direction!!!"

"What?!" Instantly, Kumiko rounded on him with an alarmed expression on her face. However, this was quick to change into an angry expression, and she swung her gaze off to the side while storming briefly away. "Fuck!! First the communications are down, now this?! What in the hell were those patrol officers doing down there?!"

"It gets worse, ma'am..." The officer said, straightening himself up a little. "Our sensors have detected enemy signatures headed this way. They've been sneaking through areas where the security system has been the weakest. Scouts have reported mainly melee and assassination weapons are being carried.

"So she's arrived, too?"

All eyes turned towards Brina as she slapped her palms together, a smile and squinted eyes making up her countenance. "Good. I was starting to get itchy and thinking that the training I went through was for nothing." She said. "Lieutenant, get your men in position. The Onmitsukidō and the 2nd Division are moving to take back their fortress. The highest precautions must be taken, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am!" With a salute, the officer quickly ran off and clicked on his radio in order to speak to his other forces. "Attention, all occupant units! Enemy targets have been sighted entering the area of vision. Ready weapons and occupy positions! This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill!"

As he ran off, Kumiko looked over towards Brina as the Dragon folded her hands behind her back. "You seem to be quite enthusiastic about this." She commented, frowning. "You do realize that right now, things aren't looking too good for us, right? Even if we fend of this attack, there's less chance that even the 43rd will have a chance to penetrate through the siege right now."

"Oh, you worry too much, dear Kumiko." Brina shook her head sagely and smiled, turning to face the balcony she and her comrade were looking out of. She observed the carnage below with amused eyes. "Getting caught off-guard is something quite common in the heat of warfare. But I'm sure that our forces will have plenty of opportunity to strike back. After all, it was only a matter of hours when we took it." She looked over her shoulder at the 43rd's commander, smiling.

"I think we hold a fair chance of holding it, don't you think?"

"They have a critical advantage though, that we don't, Brina-sama," A guttural, low voice spoke aloud as the next high ranking officer came to bear to her other flank, soundless and without notice. Unlike the others, he wore a dark varnished suit with tie, completely contrasting most of the others' uniforms and combat armor used within the regiment. Not only that, he held a Zanpakutō strapped to a black belt on his left hip, and withheld a totally bandaged head, detailing scarring beyond what most would imagine possible from past experience. The Captain of the Close Quarters regiment, Kakushi Jōnetsu spoke in continuation as he peered towards the horizon, "they have the idea of vengeance and justice for the ones they've lost and for their homeland to reclaim. They'll fight much harder than they have in the past and much less mercilessly..."

"You're sounding like a defeatist, Kakushi." Brina didn't bother to look up at him as she spoke, although Kumiko spared him a surprised glance. She turned her gaze back at the landscape. "I'd rather you not sound like such in such a predicament like this. Otherwise, you might demoralize the rest of us..."

"On the contrary, it just makes me enjoy the idea of ripping away their last hope of redeeming that was theirs and suffer in anguish in their last moments," Kakushi chuckled as he projected his feelings abot what he envisioned to those he'd slay, "but to not take their ferocity into check, would also be a misstep for us, is all I am saying..."

"Not to take it in?"

For the first time in a long while, Brina's voice began to show the first signs of war-induced excitement. The disbelief within her words that would've been otherwise subtle was made very clear. "How could I able not to do just that?" She questioned rhetorically, her smile growing wider and becoming almost similar to the one she had worn when she had fought Sazuke herself. "I can practically feel their rage crushing me, crushing us! There is no possible way of ignoring the weight on our shoulders right now. Their persecution is our excitement! Their desire for revenge is our lust for blood and carnage! This will be where our convictions collide, and it will be here that the final decision of supremacy will be made."

She spread her arms out wide. "Trust me, Kakushi. There will be no misstep here. Not this time..."

"Of course-" Kakushi began before his eyes widened behind his bandaged face. It felt as if he felt something for a moment, a slight fluctuation in the distance. Moving his hand to his Zanpakutō's hilt, he became silent as he waited to hear something, anything that would be coming. And then, it happened, "what the Hell is that?!"

SHINK-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK...!

In the distance, a large wall of black crystalline projectiles whistled almost silently towards the base. They numbered in the hundreds, and each one of them faintly glistened by any refracting light of cracking lightning within the clouds above. Curiously, they shattered halfway, and turned into tens of thousands of shards, each of them packing enough force to rip six inch holes through armor as it would descend upon the entire face of the wall, while the forward facing officers would take the brunt of the attack itself.

"Huh...?"

This was enough to garner the eyes of the soldiers. They looked up with initial confusion, which soon spread to alarm as they saw the projectiles launched at their position. A female officer was quick to bark out a warning to the ones setting up what appeared to be beacons within the outer perimeter. "Incoming artilery, 12:00! Activate the trophy systems!"

TZZT!

A loud, brief buzz signaled the activation of what would be a transparent barrier. Although organic entities would pass through it, those of energy projectiles and artillery would not. The crystal projectiles shattered into nothing but fragments when they were within the barrier's zone, raining down harmless shards on the soldiers as they took defensive positions.

"Snipers in position." A voice spoke, cold and mechanical throughout their comm sets. "Acquiring targets and terminating at will."

"Mortar teams, awaiting coordinates to fire!" Another voice, business-like and less formal than the one that had been registered before. "Spotters are in place!"

"Hold the line at all costs!" A male officer's voice spoke out among the crowd. "No falling back until we give the order to! Kill anyone that dares to cross our perimeter!"

What would come first, wouldn't be the expected Stealth Force agents. Instead, something far more ruthless and sinister would cross the threshold instead.

SHFT-SHFT-SHFT-SHFT-SHFT-SHFT-SHFT!

SPLURCH-SPLURCH-SPLURCH!

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

"What just came through?!" Kakushi shouted aloud, unsheathing his blade as he saw blurring images pass through that had been cloaked by transparent-refracting energy. What sounded in the wake of the arriving figures was a series of violent explosions and metal cutting through flesh. Kakushi desparately tried to sift his senses through the intruder, but came perplexed when he sensed a lot more than it appeared, "I-I can't tell how many there are..."

SHFT!

A blurring image appeared amidst the three officer, crouched beneath their spectrum of sight while deactivating the Kidō that wrapped over him. With two of four Zanpakutō drawn, he swung out in a circular manner that would aim to behead all three of the officers, including Brina, while retaining his discretion and form out of sight and arrival.

"!!!"

It was here that Kumiko's heart stopped for a brief moment.

"Already?!"

But it didn't stop her or Brina from acting.

CLANG!

Both of his blades would be intercepted by Brina's knife and one of Kumiko's pistol, with the latter gritting her teeth as the weapon slammed into her makeshift defense, while Kakushin leaned forward deftly to avoid a preemptive strike. She reached with her free hand to pull out another pistol, raising it up to view. As she did so, Brina swung her foot out to sweep her assailant's legs from out underneath him. Kumiko would aim her free pistol at his off-balance form, a single shot aimed at his heart in order to silence their would-be assassins.

BLAM!

"Gauk-!"

What appeared to be the would-be assassin's body sent tumbling over and being shot, what would come would be nothing more than noxious smoke and dust kicked up by the projectile's impact. The real attacker leaped upwards with a springing jump to avoid the attacks sent by the two officers. Once he reached the air, he dove back into the fray headfirst, holding his two swords back...

SSSSSHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINK!!!

...before unleashing an incredible exertion of synchronized Spiritual and Physical power, aiming to cut them all to shreds. This action alone caused Kakushin's eyes to widen at the sheer power, precision, and ferocity their newest enemy held. Raising his blade to parry the oncoming force from his body, he could only believe an Elite Combatant could be capable of this.

"Gah--!"

Knowing that imminent death would be certain if they allowed the attack to commense, Kumiko immediately swung one of her pistols up in order to aim at his form. But as she took careful aim, she wouldn't get the chance to fire. It would be not the attack, but Brina's retaliation that would prevent her from getting her shot off.

Woosh!

POW!

Brina's forehead had collided with his own with an audible bang, signaling just how much force had been put into the attack. Her eyebrows were furrowed slightly, and her eyes were half-lidded. But there was a small smile on her face as she looked at her enemy with a mixture of amusement and anticipation. Her counter would disrupt the path of the enemy's attack, diverting it to the massive room they were in. The walls, reinforced material, would not crumble underneath the power of the attack and would keep their surroundings a stable battlefield.

"Disciple 5, I've got an intruder within the Dragon's Head! Type Red!" Kumiko called over her comm piece, sheathing one pistol while keeping the other aimed at her enemy. "Get a squad up here, now!"

"?!" The assassin's head didn't split from the impact, but definitely rattled from the sheer force exerted upon his person. After realizing the other two weren't approaching immediately, he took a good look at who attacked him in the first place. With a sudden narrowing of his eyes, he automatically recognized his enemy and what she was capable of. Backpedaling away a few meters, he narrowed his eyes and kept his attention solely upon her, relaxing his sword stance as he spoke aloud with a stoic tone, "you must be Brina McTavish, Sazuke Tensai-dono's opponent the last time you fought here, was she not?"

"Attacking so suddenly and you didn't even take the time to identify just how it was you were attacking?" As Brina landed on her feet, she slowly raised herself to a standing position. Under the darkness, the light of her blue eyes could be seen shining menacingly. "That's quite the novice mistake for someone of your caliber, I must say..."

"Hardly," the assassin straightened his stance, raising his blades to be held in front and beside of him respectively, calling upon his own Spirit energy to manifest different colored auras to reflect upon the edges of his Zanpakutō, "you moved in the instant my attack was being carried out, making it too difficult to discern who you were precisely. I should've known someone of your caliber would interfere with my work..."

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

"...good thing I kept you busy enough to allow my comrades and subordinates to infiltrate your base without detection," the assassin spoke in the wake of a number of earth-trembling explosions and crashes behind their post. Just as he was speaking, another barrage of crystalline fragments rained upon the refurbished fortress, while more Stealth Force and Shadow Squad forces moved in and began engaging the enemy respectively.

"Dammit! They've must've infiltrated after we took notice away from the perimeter!" Kakushin growled aloud, rushing to the back door exit and leaping out into the air to engage the enemy, "I'll mobilize my men and keep these newcomers occupied! You coordinate with the rest, Kumiko-san!"

When this happened, the assassin moved forward, swinging his right hand blade to release a yellow fissure of Kidō energy to cut and burn Brina's frontside. In sync, he preformed a Flash Step to reappear above her as the attack moved in for the kill, slashing his left hand's sword to unleash a Sōkatsui laced fissure upon her from above, which would enable two attacks to converge at once, with amazing vibrancy and power behind them.

It was absolute chaos.

The 43rd, although having been prepared for the attack, had not been expecting enemies to appear so suddenly within the innards of the base. Guns were fired upon the approaching troops as they converged on the enemy's position. The quickness that the assassins were known for did not allow this to become too much of a hinderance, and they were on the internal guard within seconds. Heads were being blown off at close range, throats were being slit by knives, swords were slicing and cutting and even Kidō mines had been set to catch unfortunate enemies off-guard.

"This is Disciple 6!" A panicked voice shot within Kumiko's earpiece. "Enemy infantry within the perimeter guard! They're just pouring in here like cockroaches! We need additional support, now!"

"Hang tight!" Abruptly, Kumiko herself had moved towards the exit, stopping to allow the automatic doors time to open up. "Jonetsu and his men are reinforcing your area. Keep the area situated until they arrive! And as for the squad that I sent up, you need to pull back and help them out!" As she stepped through the door, she couldn't help but look over her shoulder as she saw Brina contend with the assassin.

"Fight on, Dragon."

The automatic doors sealed shut behind her, leaving Brina alone with her assailant.

In response to her opponent's movement, Brina first jumped upwards towards the ruined ceiling. But as her opponent appeared over her, she initiated a backflip in order to twist her legs toward his arm just as he was unleashing the blast. She managed to wrap her legs around the sword arm once that energy was unleashed, once again diverting its path. The result was the Sokatsui barely missing her face as the blue light raced by her head, the shockwaves billowing her hair. A chuckle escaped her.

Then, she threw her legs over, hurling her enemy away from her. She quickly twisted around, pointing her palm out at his sailing form. A blast of her own Sōkatsui energy was released, toned down but still considerably potent enough to severely injure him upon connection.

"Please..."

WHRRR-SLICE!

The assassin, upon being hurtled away by his opponent's legs, turned around in midspace within a blurring motion to face the oncoming blast of energy. Considering its power, it was easy for him to thrust his blades into the mass of fiery blue light and split it in half, sending it to either side of the observatory deck behind him with a profound explosive crash.

"...that will never reach me if you put so little effort into it," the assassin faced off against his opponent as the sounds of war raged within the 43rd Regiment's base. Taking into account he faced an adversary with Hakuda skills that surpassed his own and the infamous Poision Shunkō, along with her own deadly Zanpakutō, he knew he had to release all pretenses of going halfway against her.

Whish-Whish!

Throwing his Zanpakutōs into the air, allowing them to spin straight up, the assassin unsheathed his blades purposely as he coldly glared at Brina, "Allow me to introduce myself..."

SHFT-Clack-Clack!

Within a Flash Step upwards, the soles of his feet attracted the flat ends of the hilts of the airborne blades, making a total of four swords for each limb. Holding each of his Zanpakutōs respectively, he spoke in a cold, declarative tone, "I am Jōshōtsu, Shadow Squad Captain of the Deep Cover Ops. And you..."

WHOOSH!

"...are my prey!" Jōshōtsu whispered out as his body jettisoned with incredidle velocity towards Brina, one of which that would even match her caliber. Spinning his body in a corkscrewing motion, the force placed into his thrusting attack blurred into a monsterous tornado with glistening, shredding properties as a blast of spiritual power allowed him to hone in on his target and dive directly into her midst, tearing her to pieces.

Briefly, Brina's eyes widened.

"Four swords?!"

Quickly, she propelled her legs away from the area before Jōshōtsu's blades could skewer her. As she skidded away, she made sure to keep her knife in front of her. Her eyes were closed as she spun to face him, and one of her hands drew out what was a silenced Kidō pistol. It was here that she understood the dangers of taking this man lightly. Not only would be a contest of strength and power, it would also be a battle of wits and intellect. Still, it didn't keep her from firing her own taunt back at him.

"You have those very same eyes and attitude as she did." She remarked. "I think I'll rip those out of you first."

SHFT!

Within her remark, Jōshōtsu seemed to appear direct behind her, with his back flush against hers. Whispering, he held the stoic expression with a layer of content towards her, "You sound like a child who wants to smash a mirror for revealing something you didn't like. I don't particularly like children...who never accept...the weight of their...crimes!"

WHOOOSH!!!

Within this moment, Jōshōtsu rapidly spun his body with Hohō employment, as if he was in all directions at once while remaining still. While this was transpiring, his blades moved within a point blank whirlwind of cutting power, that would draw her into be struck, but blow away any countering force she would muster, even if she relied upon her firearm to even the odds.

The requirement of immense reflexes, perception and prediction would have been considered hellish to anyone else, especially at the range Brina was at with her enemy. She opened her eyes to slits as she saw him move around her, her teeth gritted slightly within her mouth. She was made to dig her feet in as she felt the winds pull at her body, her cloak whipping around. But she held her ground quite readily, using her eyes and sense to sweep the area.

"Crimes, you say...?"

Then, she struck.

Whumpf!

The bottom of her foot would connect with his chest, moving with enough speed and precision to do the trick. She twisted her body around, aiming her pistol at his form and firing off a few shots. "That's a very subjective term, Captain Jōshōtsu, and it's not proper for someone of your occupation to be using it. I doubt that spreading good will and morality is within the perimeter of your job description, after all..."

"You're only half right, scum..." Jōshōtsu managed to brace himself for the incoming attack, as the force of his rotation had dampened her kick. Skidding across the air, Jōshōtsu allowed himself a rare smile, bordering upon sadism and menace as he coldly glared at Brina. Spreading his right middle finger out from his weapon's hilt, he  chuckled, "my actual job description...is to seek out and punish those who've left the Soul Society to pursue their own misbegotten goals!"

WHIIIIIIZ-CRRRK!

What seemed like a pointless gesture would turn into a painful, vice grip of hundreds of finite threads of Kidō threads surrounding her leg that had connected with his torso. Movement would become numbed and replaced with searing pain, as blood would seep from the leg, and allow Jōshōtsu perfect control of her limb.

With proper control established within a mere few seconds, Jōshōtsu pulled her back with immense strength, aiming to bring her to him. As she would come within range, he would charge simultaneously with an incredibly swift and slash at her being with all four blades from various angles, intending on inducing severe damage upon the Dragon, and tip the battle's balance in his favor.

"Ah--!"

It was a move that indeed cause pain for the Dragon. She let out a shuddering growl as she felt the threads attack her leg. But she was stronger than to let herself be overtaken by it. She had been trained not to break or crumble, by both Sui-Feng and Shikyo. In addition, there was the refusal to allow anyone but the 2nd Division Captain to kill her. No one else would be allowed that privilege, and she would see that through to the very end.

As she was forcibly pulled towards him, a mild burst of yellow lighting from a Tzusuri Raiden was shot from one body to another. It would only provide a slight surge in the nervous system, and nothing more than a pinch would be felt. Certainly, it would not be enough to stop Jōshōtsu's charge. As the two closed distance, she tapped into the affected leg and used her energy control to push out the wires that had the limb captive and regain control. It was all she could do to prevent further damage to it. But she was careful not to loosen the bindings, lest she wanted to alert him right away.

With the connection still active, she swung her leg again while performing a back-flip, diverting his charge path to send him careening into the far-off walls. She caught herself with her hands on the ground in a brief handstand before flipping back to her feet, chuckling. "And I suppose you would happen to know just what my "misbegotten" goals were, Captain?" She asked mockingly.

BWHOOSH!

Within contact of the wall, the powerful momentum Jōshōtsu funneled forward created an explosive affect, devestating the reinforced room even further. After a few long seconds, as the dust funneled into the air, a sudden change would transform the mild bonds into a total encasement of flesh-ripping cords around her body. Floating out  from the air, Jōshōtsu shot a knowing scowl, but didn't bother answering her with a verbal answer, as if he knew what she had done and what she intends to do from this point on.

"Kaizō Kidō," Jōshōtsu whispered, as a black electrical surge rushed around his body, subtly cleansing him of any electrical shock or influence he felt transferred when he missed his enemy discharge into his body. When that was finished, he discharged the energy from his body along the cords that would be wrapped around Brina, in the form of a five meter wide black lightning dragon, roaring out with immense fury and destructive force, "Ryūfuchi!"

"No answer?"

TZZT!

With a swing of her arms outward, Brina blew away the wires before they could begin tearing into her skin. Sparks flew where the brief burst of spiritual pressure and the Kidō wires were met. She sheathed both her pistol and her knife, looking on as the dragon split itself according to the path of the separating wires. She could feel the heat of the electricity as it soared past her, setting the room around her ablaze with black flames. Yet, all she did was straighten herself up, her eyes regarding her enemy for a moment more.

"No explanation as to what I've done? My reasoning, mindset?" Her voice began to echo throughout the battlefield as she spoke to her enemy. "I'd figure as much. Whenever it comes to the moment where everything and anything is needed to quell your enemy, you always seem to fall short within that department. Reports, intel and tactics... it all seems to fit well on paper. But in actual execution, the pieces never do fit, do they? I can't help but wonder how you feel right now, knowing it was that same lack of knowledge that gave up so many lives to the Inner Circle..."

"Strike Relentlessly," Jōshōtsu spoke aloud in response, flipping his foot held swords to be held by both hands, as an encompassing violet-black Spiritual Energy webbed and began fusing all four blades into a singular weapon...

SHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINK!

...with a loud crackling affect, all four blades fused into a large double-edged sword, with obsidian guard and hilt, with an enamored series of carvings embedded into the surface of the blade, "Kisaku. You are such a child, thinking you know everything there is to know about how things work. We allowed you to attain the Soul Society. Just like we allowed you to cover up the supposed murder of your mother, Brina McTavish," Jōshōtsu pointed his blade pointedly towards her position, his eyes fixated upon hers as he spoke in a venomous tone, "the fact you went out of your way to hide this fact, and choose to be a criminal, disdains the uniform you casted aside. For this reason, I am going to take personal satisfaction in maiming your body...and showing the ones you cherish just how weak minded you are!"

SHINK!

SFT-SFT-SFT-SFT-SFT-SFT-SFT-SFT-SFT-SFT-SFT...!

Within a single blinding swing with his right hand, dozens to hundreds of arcing slashes projected through the air, intending on cutting her body apart with every grazing pass. This was also a move to analyze her movements, to better anticipate her strategem, to keep from being struck repeatedly by her countering blows.

This time, Brina folded her hands behind her back and allowed her reflexes to speak for her.

Repeated and multiple Flash Steps were initiated within the blink of an eye. As the distortions within the air passed by, it looked like all Brina had to do was stand still. In reality, she was dodging each and every single one that came towards her. It was a combination of reaction, her senses, and the eyes that she bore in order to evade while keeping a constant and minimal pattern. Her voice would come through to him even through the midst of the chaos he was unleashing on her.

"Whatever you say, Captain."

Then, she was in front of him. The barrel of her silenced pistol was staring him in the face, and she was quick to pull the trigger before he could have time to identify.

It was here, that Brina had failed to evaluate Jōshōtsu's true strength.

ZZZZZT!

Within the instant she appeared, he used a burst of Hohō-based energy through his neck, causing him to evade the gun shot with an incredibly small margin. Within this space of time, he aimed to disarm her of the firearm she had been using. Turning around in a graceful riposete, he swung his blade in a brilliant arc to cleave the gun's barrel, intending on ridding her of the prized possession she had been using against him.

Simultaneously, he made a faint gesture with his left hand, sending a number of Kidō cords to slice and slash out in a dozen different oscillating threads. The force made by the cutting gestures would be so great, that the air pressure would warp and crackle of electrifying intensity upon each whipping movement.

Swipe!

It was a bare miss. But Brina's hand managed to yank her gun out of the blade's path before the cutting edge could carve it in two. A bead of sweat fell down her face at her alarm of the close call, but nothing else was betrayed on her countenance. The smile had faded within her desire to concentrate and focus. Anything less would result in her imminent death. As she pulled her gun hand back, her peripheral vision noticed the cords that had endangered her beforehand. The resonating stings of her affected leg reminded her just what they were capable of against human flesh.

To counter them, she swung her free hand in front of her when the wires came close enough. Another Tzusuri Raiden spell was unleashed, igniting the wires with yellow electricity and using them as a current to get to their wielder. Her gun hand was once again active, aiming the barrel down at the lower torso. She moved off to the side as she acquired her new target, using the subtle move to take his attention away. As she lined up her sights, a smirk returned to her face.

Then, she pulled the trigger.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

SHFT!

SLICE-SLICE-SLICE!

"Augh!"

"This way!" Meikurai called out to his companion, Rukia Kuchiki, as he preformed a swift simultaneous Flash Step stroke of his blade over three Inner Circle soldiers, causing spurts of blood to gush from their necks and torsos, as they fell down with minimal resistance. Using his shades as a HUD to scan the Kidō Corps secret entrance, he was able to sneak in during the chaos the four Espada Afilados were causing within the IC controlled Soul Society. Once arriving within the area, however, they found it to be transformed into a weapons testing area with various types of security. Ranging from the simple trained grunts taking up the security personnel, to armored soldiers, and even the hired-on Dogs.

While he knew they were getting closer, so were the number of forces within the corridors leading to the special containment center he believed to be the prison for the four Captains. Looking over his shoulder, he made sure to erect another illusion with his Zanpakutō to cover up the conflict and the obvious bodies laying awry within the base, keeping up their guise of arriving without notice.

"The security's getting more concentrated and dangerous here." Rukia noted, pausing momentarily to eye the uniform that the freshly killed were wearing. Her eyes swept the area, checking for any watchful eyes that could have been simply hiding in place as she moved to follow Meikurai. Her own sword was clutched in one of her hand, lowered at her side for the time being. "And the number of barricades are increasing. If anything, I'd say we're moving in the right direction."

"This is McTavish calling in!" Braeburn's voice on the radio suddenly caught her attention, and she clicked her earpiece on. "How are you guys doing on your end? We're still pretty much walking down completely different paths here, but it seems we're still managing to follow right behind you."

"We seem to be getting closer to our destination." Rukia said. "Enemy defense is getting more potent, although we're still managing to make steady progress. Seems that luck is on our side for the time being. What about you?"

Braeburn chuckled. "Oh, hell, I might as well be walking into a bloody goldmine here! The officers I've managed to kill have key-codes for a good part of the security system they have up and running. While the rest of the team have been progressing, I've been disabling as many of the security sub-systems as I can to make it easier for you to proceed. Unfortunately," An annoyed sigh escaped his lips. "I conveniently haven't been able to find a damn map. You would think that with how these guys navigate, there would be one haplessly lying around..."

"They're probably making sure the containment center is as vague to their security, as it would be for any intruders who would make it down here," Meikurai surmised as he began trekking down the hall, keeping his Zanpakutō at his side as he scanned the area visually and digitally with his shades, "only the highest of authority would have the knowledge needed to navigate through these hallowed passages. Otherwise, you'd have to rely purely on a sense of direction for a fixed area...or use enhanced senses-"

It was within this moment that Meikurai found himself stopping short, as he suddenly heard a number of fast-movement techniques initiated and stopping directly in front and behind them. From what his shades read and their appearance, they appeared to be mostly human, and held a variety of contraband-grade tech and weapons on hand. Strangely, the one at the lead appeared to be sporting a special brace for his torso, as if he suffered a recent back injury of sorts...

"You're not going anywhere, Soul Reaper scum!" Takeshi snarled aloud, as his Kidō blade lit aflame, signaling the others to arm their weapons and devices, making sure to preform a perfect containing ring aorund them, "you can sneak past Fullbringers, pal...we could sense your distortions the moment you came in here! Now...surrender, and I might not think about breaking your pretty faces in before hauling you back to my superiors!"

"We don't have time for this," Mekurai hissed lowly, ignoring the man's speech as he turned to Rukia to inquire the next course of action, "they don't seem as weak as the guards we passed through. Should we make a run for it and pass through, or deal with them here and now, like we did with the rest?"

"We try to run off, it'll just give them ample opportunity to sound the alarm and mess up the plan." Rukia said immediately, her eyes narrowing at the sight of the enemies that were challenging them. She raised her sword to a defensive stance, gripping it with two hands. "Even if this takes up a bit of time, there'll be someone else to pick up our trail and hit the objective. We'll have to take them out quickly..."

"Sounds like a plan-"

"HEY!" Takeshi sported bulging veins of comical proportions upon his forehead, swinging his Kidō blade towards their direction, sending a discharge of violent pyrotechnic energy towards his enemies. But upon doing so, he realized how outmatched he was against the two...

FZZZZZT!

...as Meikurai continued speaking unperturbed, as he raised his left hand forward, errecting a spinning disk of Bakudo-based Kidō, absorbing the ambient heat and energy placed within the attack, "Rukia. Let's finish them with a single blow!"

Turning his vile gaze back to Takeshi, the man suddenly realized whom he was up against. Stuttering he raised his left hand in recognition, "W-W-Wait a minute...y-you're...the...Mist...Dragon...?!"

"Disappear!"

VRRRRRRRROOOOOAAAAAR!!!

"...impossibl-!" Takeshi spoke in disbelief, even as Meikurai transferred his own bountiful Spiritual Energy into the spinning vortex of flames he acquired and then discharged it all at once, causing him and the two compatriots beside him to be consumed in the hyperactive tongues of fire, and reverberate with force along the tiles of the corridor's hallway.

This left the remaining three to charge in sync, fueled with rage of their leader's death and their fellow comrades. One used a special set of rune-laced gloves, harnessing the negatives of the atmosphere of the Kidō Corps base to discharge a web of forked electricity to ensare Rukia. Another wielded a gravity-based Kidō war hammer, swinging it around to make contact with Rukia's body or blade, making the impact all the more impressive and weight her down to the ground for an easier execution. The last held back and observed behind a black hooded visage of calm and clarified patience, intending to adapt his stategy according to the skill this second female warrior withheld.

All Rukia had to do was sheathe her sword, extend her hands out towards her assailants, and unleash a pulse of her own spiritual energy in order to destroy what would have been a lethal attack.

The pulse contained supercooled energy that was enough to freeze the electrified energy, moving outward to catch the attackers themselves in its hold. Their bodies would surrender to the frost, chilled down to the point where they shattered once they made contact with the ground again. Within seconds and without a moment's hesitation, they had been dealt with as easily as their leader had been. It was a demonstration of just how much Rukia had progressed in her training with Kaien.