Izanami no Jidō: Gazō no Yomikomi

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Old Enemies
The two figures were walking through a rather straight-forward building complex. One of them was shorter than the other and she had two white hair braids dangling behind her. The other had his hands in his coat pockets and stood straight up, his eyes flaring with purpose. All was quite within the seemingly empty building, the only noise being their own footsteps. The female voice broke this strange silence with a frustrated groan.

"Why do we have to go to his home? Of all other places in the city?"

The male voice sighed. "Sophie, Preacher is the only person in the city who can get us to the Human World without being noticed." She looked up towards him. "Who says we'll get in trouble for leaving?" He tilted his head slightly to the right to where he was looking at her. "No one." He turned his head back to where it was facing forward. "But I'd rather not take our chances."

She emited a heavy sigh. "If he says one word to me, I'm going to kill both of you."

By the time the words had left her mouth, they were standing in front of a white wall. Soifon walked up to it and looked at all of it's corners. After seeing nothing of interest, she turned towards her husband and briefly waved her arms up. "The hell is this? What is he the actual wall?" Taking the opprotunity to amuse her partner, she twisted around and slammed her right fist into the wall, breaking it down. Akisame looked in amazement, surprised that his wife was still just as strong as she was years ago. When the dust cleared, a couple of coughing voices could be heard, and then they saw him.

Preacher was sitting in an office chair that was facing a square shaped desk, which itself was in an oddly small room with just a bed and a small kitchen. In his lap sat two young women wearing buisness suits, trembling in fear at the two figures that stood in front of the newly destroyed wall. Preacher himself gave off a rather dumbfounded expression that made Soifon chuckle slightly. The two women quickly ran outside of the building past the two Soul Reapers, who were staring at the comical face of John Preacher.

"...I say, was that really necessary?" he calmly asked, looking at Akisame rather than Soifon. "In case you didn't notice I was in a rather important...uh...buisness meeting. Regarding my..."

"Save it Preacher, I need a favor to ask you." Akisame said, holding his left hand up. He and his wife then made their way into the slightly dusty room. "You know you could have just imputted the codes into the shorter left hand pannel that i've shown you countless times before rather than breaking down the bloody wall itself!" Preacher said in a frustrated tone. "Now i'm going to have to move back into my little sewer room."

"C'mon 'Preacher'." Soifon mockingly said to him. "I'll bet you were planning on moving away from this little panic room soon anyway. Not many girls like myself would prefer to stay in a crowded little pit like this."

"Ah Ms. Feng, I would greet you in a more appropriate manner, but I would prefer to keep my head on my shoulders." Preacher replied in an equally mocking voice, putting his right hand on his chest and bowing before her. "Uh-huh." she said, looking around his seemingly blank room.

"Preacher, I need to see the PLR." Akisame said, interrupting the conversation out of fear that it would get out of hand. "Sophie and I need to get to the Human World ASAP."

Preacher simply stared at him. "The PLR? THE PLR?! Why in God's good name would you come to me asking for an invention that i've only used one time?!" The enigmatic old man began to pace around the room in a strange manner.

"I just told you, we need to use it to get to the Human World, the Appalachian Mountains specifically." Akisame flatly replied. "I'm serious Preacher. The situation is dire."

Preacher stopped pacing and let his arms drop to his sides as he walked closer to Akisame. "Have you already forgotten what happened last time I used the device?"

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Soifon. "Wait wait. What exactly is this PLR?"

Preacher sighed. "It's a device that a few friends and I invented. It was designed to get troopers to and from different planes of existance quicker than traditional methods. It takes the Spiritual Pressure of it's target and then quickly fires it towards another plane. I could go more in depth, but i'd rather not. All I'm saying is that when I first used it, we never got word from the test subjects."

Akisame's expression didn't change. "We have to try it Preacher, we need to get to the World of the Living now." Soifon nodded her head in agreement, she wanted this whole ordeal over with.

Preacher let out another sigh. There was no point in arguing with them. They were serious. "Very well. Stand over there in front of the bed." The couple hastily did so and the stood in front of the mattress that only came up to their ankles. Preacher then walked over to his desk and pulled out a small, tazer like device.

"Now this may or may not be the most painful thing that you've ever felt in your life. But since you're so desperate..."

Akisame held his left arm up yet again. "Preacher, I appreciate all the help that you've given us." he nudged his wife on her left shoulder, goading her into speaking. She simply let out a reluctant sigh. "And I'm sorry about your wall. I'll pay for it in full IF I return." Preacher chuckled before pointing the device at the two Soul Reapers. "Good luck, my friend." he said as the PLR let loose a white beam of energy that engulfed Akisame and his wife who were holding each others hands, and with a bright flash, they were gone from the room.

"Now to clean up this damn mess."

The couple then appeared atop a rather large snowy mountain overlooking a massive mountain valley. "I think we're here." Soifon said, unfazed by the cold. "Yeah, and look over there." he replied as he pointed his right index finger at what appeared to be a small town just below the mountain. "That's where we need to go."

He started to treak down the rocky face, still holding Soifon's hand. She reluctantly followed. They hadn't made it seven feet before Soifon gave a frustrated moan. "You know we could just Flash Step down to the bottom."

He stopped and looked at her in a comical fashion. "...maybe we could maybe we couldn't. What if you can't-" Before he could finish, Soifon jumped off of the ledge that they were standing on, taking Akisame with her. They both fell off of the rocky cliff face at frightening speeds.

"What the hell is she thinking?!"

Then, with lethal precision, Soifon Flash Stepped both herself and Akisame near the bottom of the mountain. The atmoshpere changed from snowy and cold, to mild and spring like. Soifon landed on the grassy ground with elegant grace, while her husband simply fell through a tree. When he landed, Soifon casually walked over to him and picked him up by his left arm. "You okay?"

"Yeah." he said in a somewhat pained groan. "It would've been nice to have recieved a heads up first before you jumped however."

She chuckled. "If I did that, then I wouldn't get to see your face." She let go of his arm and began to walk towards the town that was just beyone the short tree line. "Now come on, let's start looking for McTavish." He regained his tight posture and followed her into the secluded town. As they walked through the surprisingly primitive town. They began searching for their target. After about two hours of searching and asking other civilians, Akisame began to doubt the Oracle's wisdom.

"What a dump." Soifon said, her head tilted upwards slightly. "It's a wonder how this McTavish guy, or anyone else for that matter lives here."

"I don't think it's that bad." Akisame said. "If anything, I like it better than Yurei. It's not as crowded or noisy." He gently put his left arm around her waist as they walked down the middle of the town. She leaned her head on his chest in return. "Yeah it would fit a lazy ass like yourself." She then stopped him right in front of the building that was in the center of the town, and then turned herself to where they were facing one another. "Listen Aki, there's something I think you need to know before we go any further." She gently held his hands and lifted them upwards. "Alright, shoot." he said, curious. She hesitated somewhat to tell him. "I should have told you this before we left, but I wanted to keep it a surprise." She then brought her face to his right ear and whispered.

"I'm...i'm p-"

BOOM!

Midway through her statement, the building in front of them exploded in a brilliant cyan light. The two Soul Reapers were sent flying from the area, and they both crashed through the front of a large bus and busted out of it's back area. The bus itself was sent flying from the explosion. Akisame picked himself up to see a small figure standing in front of the blue mushroom cloud.

"What the hell is that?!"

From what he could see, the figure was short, had a round head, wore a strange garb around it's waste, and it was holding what looked to be a key. He looked over to where he thought his wife was, but she was actually behind him, grabbing him by his shoulders and picking him up off of the ground. "I think it's an Arrancar. The explosion feels like it was caused by a Cero." she said in a serious tone.

"Yeah, I figured as much." He wasn't really in a position to fight. This Arrancar was radiating a crazy amount of Spiritual Pressure, of which was higher than both his own and Soifon's. "Sophie, we need to be careful."

"Uh huh." she replied, a hint of excitment in her voice. He knew that she was raring to fight something. She hadn't done so in centuries. The last being she fought was Ultharon, and she was hopelessly outmatched by him, but she did not plan on making the same mistakes again. "You get some of these people to safety." she said, noting the many hapless civilians running for their lives. "I'll deal with this freak."

He started to object to her idea, but stopped himself. Though she may be put in harm's way, there was no convincing her otherwise when she made a decision. "Be careful Sophie, please." and with that he left to help some of the stragglers get away from the area.

Soifon stared at her opponent, a cocky grin cracking her face. "What say you Arrancar? Hm? Are you just going to stand there gawking at your little mess?" she slowly pulled out her Zanpaktou, holding it straight at the figure.

"Sting all enemies to death! Suzembachi!"

With a red glow, her sword transformed from a short katana into a black and golden gauntlet with a small stinger on it's end that fitted perfectly on her middle finger. She stared into the weapon for a brief moment, recalling that she hadn't used it in years. But she quickly resumed her fighting pose, waiting for her opponent to strike.

The Arrancar tilted his head upward slightly, acknowledging his foe's existance. Then, with a quick Sonido, he vanished from his standing position. Soifon was ready however, as she immediatley twisted around behind her and blocked a surprisingly powerful strike from her opponent's key like sword. The attack caused her to drag her feet a little before she quickly parried his blow and unleashed a barrage of strikes upon him.

He was far more agile than she anticipated as he easily blocked or dodged all of the strikes. Not that she was too surprised of course, she wasn't putting much effort into the attacks anyway. The masked foe then backflipped towards the ground ahead of her. As he landed, he extended his left index finger towards her.

"Another Cero?" she scoffed, mocking his simple tactic. "Do you honestly expect me to just stand here and..." she stopped when she realized what his attack actually was. Rather than discharging the Cero, the Arrancar was actually enveloping himself in the Cero's energy. She spread her legs out, ready to Flash Step away from whatever this new attack was to be.

Then, without warning, the Arrancar sprang into the air after becoming fully enveloped in the cyan glow. She tried to track him, but the sun blocked her vision. Then she saw it, a blue trail of lightning was flying over her, then it quickly charged downwards in her direction. Her eyes widened in shock. Only one thought crossed her mind

"Shunko!"

Without a moment to spare, the white energy enveloped her body and she took the full impact of the attack. A large explosion ascended into the air. Akisame, who was nearly half a kilometer away, quickly turned to see the large mushroomcloud. "Soifon!" he yelled, turning around to come to his wife's aid.

When the dust cleared, Soifon awoke to find herself lying backfirst on the ground. Her body ached with soreness over the impact that she had taken. Her Shunko wasn't charged enough to withstand the attack that the Arrancar had just used on her. It was a wonder she was still alive.

Then she felt a boot stomp down on her chest, causing some spit to fly out of her mouth. She looked up to see her Arrancar foe staring down at her, unharmed, and he was raising his sword up in a fashion meant to decapitate her. She would've tried to stop him, but she was too sore. Images of Akisame began to flash through her mind.

"Goodbye, my love."

She closed her eyes and braced for the strike...

SPLURCH!

There was a deathly silence that echoed throughout the area, other than the sound of blood droplets. For a moment, time itself seemed to stand still. No one moved. No one spoke. Everything had froze the moment that the blow had been delivered. A sword was stained with fresh blood that continued to drip from the cold metal. Had one only their ears, they would've believed that Soifon had been decapitated by the Arrancar.

However, the blood did not drip from her neck.

Rather, it dripped on her face....

...for she wasn't the one who was hit.

Through De Soto's chest, a white cleaver had been punched from the back and out the front, the entire tip submerged in crimson liquid. Behind him, a hand held the hilt of the elegant and deadly weapon. It was the hand of a long-haired and somewhat aged man that appeared to be in his forties, crimson eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared into the back of the Arrancar's head. A grim smirk crossed his face. The blow would not kill him.... but it certainly would force him back, if he valued his life.

"This is what happens when you allow yourself to get distracted....." He whispered coldly, his Scottish accent making his rough voice all the more menacing.

She was too surprised to respond. Her face covered almost entirley with the Arrancar's blood, she quickly Flash Stepped away from the two and reappeared next to the newly arrived Akisame. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern taking over his face.

"I'm fine, it's nothing." she replied in a somewhat hazy voice, a result of having the wind knocked out of her. She turned her attention back to the two warriors. "Something tells me that's our guy."

Akisame looked at the one who had impaled the attacker. He gave off a certain aura that he swore he could have felt before, but he couldn't place it. Whoever it was, he was clearly an ally and he owed him a debt, one that he planned to repay soon. He then tried to help his wife while watching the inevitable battle at the same time.

The Arrancar began to chuckle. "Distracted?" He lowered his sword to the ground. "...I wasn't distracted..." he said, coughing through most of his words. "...heh, I was just having a little fun...that's all." Without warning, De Soto used his Sonido to escape the blade's deadly touch. Reappearing right behind the Soul Reaper, he quickly lifted his sword up in a position to strike his opponent from the right shoulder down.

Within the instant the Arrancar disappeared, the apparent Shinigami spun around to initiate a complete 180-degree turn. As he did so, the tip of his blade dragged along the ground, and the metal's friction with the ground caused sparks to fly up. What appeared to be smoke seemed to be accumulating around the blade itself in the duration of the swing, glowing a faint blue...

Then, when the Arrancar re-appeared behind him and swung, he swung as well.

But his own swing unleashed the energy channeled within.... to devastating effect.

An immense energy wave was unleashed point-blank at the Arrancar, continuing to visually extend to the sky itself. The bright illumination of the blue color seemed to overshadow the entire village itself. Those who had not yet been evacuated.... a few children.... as well as a few adults.... stopped to look in amazement and wonder at the lethal and yet beautiful display made.

De Soto never saw it coming.

His eyes widened with surprise. Whatever attack it was that his foe had just used, it was no simple energy blast that was just shot right off of the bat. This attack was meant to finish him off for good.

"Wow!"

This was the only thought that he could manage to think as his body began to sizzle from the immense energy. Within a few seconds, he was nearly a mile away from the smoking town, caught up in the beam of energy that sent him flying. "THIS ISN'T OVER HARRY!" he yelled as he crashed into the ground in a somewhat comical matter, not caring whether or not Haralson had heard him. Next time, he wouldn't be so careless.

Soifon and Akisame simply stood in amazement, the former more so than the latter. This Arrancar was nearly twice her own power, the power of a former Gotei 13 Captain, and this stranger came and defeated him within a manner of seconds.

"Checkmate....."

The Shinigami sealed his Zanpakutō sheathed his blade, closing his eyes and smirking as he spoke the last word indicating the end of that duel. The Arrancar's last shout did not reach any of their ears, so their moods were effectively isolated from each other. Basking in the triumph of his victory, he clapped his palms together and casually turned himself around to face the two, eyes glancing in the direction of Soifon for a moment. However, it was only a brief moment. He closed his eyes and gave a nodding bow to the two - a nonverbal welcoming gesture - before he lowered his arms to his sides, turned away, and started to walk in the direction from which he came. Upon seeing the duel ended, the rest of the people decided to scatter back into their own homes and idly chat about what had happened.

"...Damn."

It was all Akisame could muster. He was equally as surprised as his wife was. "He's no ordinary Soul Reaper. That's for sure." he told her. She was wiping off some of the dirt that was on her uniform. "Oh really? What makes you say that? The fact that he just made me look like a goddamn fool in front of all of these humans?" she frustratingly replied.

He simply sighed as he watched the stranger walk down the road away from them. "Well we're not going to find out just standing here. C'mon lets go get him." With that he hastily walked in the same direction of his target.

Soifon looked on in slight disappointment. She was upset that her husband had already forgotten about what it was that she was going to tell him. She gently held her wolf amulet within her left hand, debating on whether or not now would be a good time to break the either good or bad news to him.

"Hey what are you waiting for?" he said back to her, still moving.

She exhaled and quickly followed him. As they caught up to the figure, Akisame tried to approach him in the most polite way possible. "Hey ah, that was pretty impressive what you did back there." he said as he was justa few feet from the man, his hands in his coat pockets.

The man immediately stopped within his tracks... not abruptly, but in a quick and gradual manner.

Once again, he casually turned around to give a cocked eyebrow and a casual frown. "Eh.... I don't find the usual spiritual energy light show thing very impressive myself...." He said, his Scottish tone once again showing itself. "I'm pretty sure that you'd be capable of much better feats, had you not the foe that you did...." He peered slightly, looking the two over carefully and placing a hand thoughtfully on his chin. "From the looks of things and the fact that I never saw you around these parts, I can safely say that was your first battle in your travels, aye?"

He shifted his gaze to Soifon, whom he had noticed when he had struck the Arrancar from behind. "Sucks, doesn't it, lassie?" He asked in a sympathetic, yet teasing tone. "You catch a fish and you end up hooking a Loch Ness. It's a pain...." He chuckled. "But, it has to happen sometime, doesn't it?"

She blushed. ''"Lassie?" ''She found the name to be somewhat charming, wishing that her husband would refer to her as such. "Yeah, I guess so." she replied, not looking directly at him.

Akisame smiled and turned his attention back to the man. "You could say that." He held his right arm out in a position to shake his. "My name's Akisame, this is my wife Soifon."

The man closed his eyes and nodded, raising his own hand to grasp the other man's hand in a firm handshake. "Always a rarity and pleasure to see a couple who know how to handle themselves in a scuffle..." He answered, releasing the handshake and folding his hands behind his back. "My name's Jack Taylor. What can I do you for?" To keep his own polite countenance, he held a serene and relaxed look in his eyes as well as a light smile.

Akisame's eyes squinted behind his glasses. Something didn't feel right about this Talyor figure. Questioning him further would probably yield better results. "Maybe you can help us." he said as he crossed his arms.

"We're looking for a man named Haralson McTavish. Do you know anyone by that name around here?"

The mention of the name wiped the smile off of Jack's face, and for a moment, he looked surprised. However, his expression immediately changed into a more solemn one. He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes and clasping his palms in front of his face for a moment. For a moment, he didn't allow himself to speak, granting the existence of a somewhat tense silence. Then, he exhaled, lowering his hands and looking at the both of them with a grimly serious face.

"I was hoping that no one would have to mention old Harold after what happened here...." He said lowly. "But....I suppose it can't be helped this time. I sense a long discussion approaching, and you've obviously come quite a long way, so I think it'd be best if I showed you my home so you can rest your feet."

He shifted himself back around and began to walk away, giving them both the notion to follow him. "And I'm not taking no for an answer...."

Akisame was shocked, his eyebrows raising slightly. He began to ask what happened to Haralson, but decided not to refuse the man's kind offer, thinking that their current location wouldn't be the best place to discuss anything further. "Very well. Lead the way." he said as he took Soifon by the hand and followed Taylor

Soifon wasn't all that convinced. Her eyes squinted slightly while looking into Jack's. She knew that he was hiding something, but she couldn't place it. Reluctantly giving in, she went along with her husband.

"This is gonna be a long trip."

Explanations
Shortly afterwards, the three had approached Jack's home and entered inside. With persuasion from Jack himself, they had all made themselves comfortable within his living room. Jack was sitting in a solo chair himself, a lighter in one hand, and a lit cigarette in the other. Two fingers held the cigarette in his mouth while he took a drag before exhaling the smoke in a direction away from them - just in case they disliked it. He didn't want to be rude, despite his smoking habit.

"Haralson was an old friend of mine...." He began, keeping a casual tone as he explained. "He was a bit of a loner and an anti-social fellow. Most of the neighborhood didn't like the guy because of him throwing his depression around like a ball. I was pretty much the only person he could ever consider a buddy, and it was because of him that I learned that he actually had a daughter and son.... both of whom who were enlisted within the Gotei 13."

Akisame sat alongside his wife in a large sofa that sat across from Jack's. He pulled out a cigarette of his own and lit it with a lighter that was built into his right index finger. Soifon simply sat up straight, trying her best to look sophisticated in front of the man. She took interest into his last sentance concerning Haralson's children and their service.

"Do you know who their names are? Or which divisions they belonged to?" she asked. "I'm the former Captain of the 2nd division, as well as the former Commander of the Omitsukido."

The last sentence brought Jack to smile a little. "Aye..." He confirmed. "The lad's name was Braeburn, 3rd Seat of the 5th Division. The lass's name was Brina." He leaned forward a little, keeping the cigarette in his mouth and folding his hands as he rested his arms on his lap. "You've probably heard of Brina first - she was considered a prodigy in the membership of the Omitsukidō's Punishment Force, second only to the Commander-in-chief."

She leaned forward slightly. "Yeah, Brina does sound a bit familiar. I think she was enlisted shortly after I retired though, I'm not sure." She looked down onto the floor for a brief second. "I've heard that both of them are wanted in the Soul Society. Braeburn for deserting his post, and Brina for possible murder. Though the details are scarce." Akisame stayed in the same pose, exhaling a small puff of smoke away from Jack and Soifon.

"The same on my end...." Jack closed his eyes and nodded before opening them back up again. "I'm not sure what happened to the two of them. But...." He paused for a moment, eyebrows furrowing. "Haralson? A few weeks ago and thanks to the small size of the village, the news that the man had disappeared spread real quickly. But once the police decided to send out a search party for him, they found him just as quickly...."

This was where he hung his head down, his bangs overshadowing his eyes.

"They found the poor lad hanging onto a rope by his neck, lifted off the ground by a tree. I guess his personal problems were getting to him a little too much. I couldn't really blame him, either.... with a nasty piece of work like Charles McTavish for a father, one can only take so much..."

Akisame sat straight up in response to the previous sentance, ignoring the presumed fate of his target. "Charles McTavish?" he said in a curious tone. "What all do you know about him? At least what did Haralson tell you about him?"

The sudden change of tone within Akisame's words made Jack raise his eyebrow a bit, but he humored the man. "Only he was the worst son of a bitch I've ever heard of." He answered darkly, a scowl crossing his face. "The way Haralson spoke of the abuse that the man personally handed to him...." His folded hands tightened. "It just makes me wonder why I never had to chance to meet him personally so I could rip his throat out."

Akisame's heart sank. "Oh...I see." Soifon looked up at him in concern. What Jack had just told him only furthered his anger towards his former teacher. "I apologize for interrupting. The name just kind of set me off." He leaned forward a little more, thinking that he may expose any secrets that Jack was hiding with his next statement. "You see, Charles McTavish used to be my mentor."

"That so....?"

Jack raised his head up again, peering at Akisame with a curious yet intense gaze. A small grin crossed his face, and as he turned his head to the side while still looking at Akisame, the result was similar to a comical "stink-eye". "Is this the part where I'm supposed to get up, crack my knuckles, and start beating the everloving crap out of you.... with the side effect of humiliating you in front of your mate?" He finished this off with a toothy, amused grin just for effect.

Soifon looked back at Jack with a stern glare, a sort of "Just try it" look, but Akisame simply chuckled. "Heh, after what i've seen today in the town, I doubt that would be the best thing for my health." He took is now finished cigarette butt and placed it in his coat's pocket, not wanting to flick it onto the man's floor. He then turned his curious gaze towards Jack, retracting his glasses. "Let me ask, what brought that on?"

After removing the comical look, Jack smirked briefly at the reaction he got from Soifon. However, upon Akisame's next question, he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What? That little joke I just made?" He questioned, his eyes going upwards in thought. "Well, I hate the guy. You're his apparent student. Common sense dictates that I should hate you, too. But so far, you're proving to be a decent lad. And you did help out keep the civvies safe from that maniac...."

His cybernetic eyes squinted a little more, his curiosity and skepticism ever so growing. What Jack was telling him seemed somewhat inconsistant. He states that the neighborhood hardly took a liking to Haralson, which would mean that Jack must not have been all that close to him either. Yet based on what he had just told him, Haralson must have told him enough to get Jack to hate Charles. But even Akisame knew that Charles wasn't the kind of person to abuse anyone that he was close to, with the exception of his betrayal, and Haralson would have had to have told Jack alot about Charles to incite this much antagonism.

Something was clearly not right here. But he didn't want to question Jack further about Charles, thinking that it may incite further tension.

"Which reminds me, who was that Arrancar that sacked the place?" He crossed his arms and folded his left leg over his right. "I mean Arrancars are crazy and dangerous sure, but ever since Ultharon's attack on Soul Society, I haven't heard of hardly one coming to the Human World to just randomly destroy things." He brought his sunglasses down over his eyes again. "It seems to me that he was looking for someone..."

Jack folded his arms across his chest, letting out a heavy sigh once the Arrancar was mentioned. "A manic moron." He answered bluntly, a look of annoyance crossing his face. "He comes by periodically looking for Haralson, but ends up attacking people at random. The first few times I've tried to reason with him and drive him off were nothing but failures, so I gave up trying and decided to beat his head in every time he comes by. The poor bastard's lost his mind...."

"He's pretty damn well persistant then." Soifon added, her somewhat hateful glare still eyeballing Jack. She clearly didn't like the statement that he'd made to her husband earlier, even if it was a joke. "...too persistant." Akisame tilted his head down somewhat and let out an extended sigh. "Well I guess since he's gone..."

Soifon placed her hand up, motioning Akisame not to say anything. "Hold on. Let me ask him a question." She let a slight smile crack her face on it's left side. "You're clearly a Soul Reaper, based on how you defeated that Arrancar. Since you're so experienced...I have to ask you." she leaned forward some. "Where did you learn to fight like that. Mr. Taylor?"

"Oh, boy...."

If it was one thing Jack learned, it was that when a woman suddenly transitions from a scowl to a smile, it was not a good thing for the person she was directing it to. A slightly unnerved look crossed his face before he realized it, and he suddenly found himself unwilling to answer. But if he remained silent, they would know he would be withholding too much information. Yet if he spoke, he didn't know if his words would indicate something about him he didn't want them to know.

He had to take the plunge.

"....before your time...." He admitted, frowning in slight apprehension of where this was going to lead. "When you were just a wee lassie and a possible rookie when it came to the Gotei 13... before the league of the Kenpachis rose... I was a senior Captain of the 11th Division." A smile slowly came to his face, nostalgia washing over him. "The best pack of fighters I've ever laid eyes on. Always got the job done, always did what they were supposed to, and always enjoyed their work. They served me well, they did."

His expression faded to a more curious, yet suspicious one. "Why do you ask, lassie?"

She leaned back and crossed her arms, still smiling. "Hm. Normally I would believe you right off of the bat...but..." she narrowed her eyes straight towards his own. "...You see, during my examinations to become Captain of the 2nd division, I had to memorize the names of all of the past Captains of the Gotei 13 that had came before the current ones." Her smile transformed into a grin. "I don't recall there being anyone by the name of Jack Taylor being the Captain of the 11th division, or any other division for that matter."

And from that instant, Jack's eyes widened and his pupils shrank as he heard her speak the words.

He had fallen straight into her trap, as easily as a mouse. In that instant, his blood chilled at the revelation, and he found himself cornered. A chill went down his spine, and he could only stare at the former 2nd Division Captain in a dumbfounded, amazed, and even shell-shocked expression. Despite the years, it was obvious that her mind had not faded at all, even without the influence of her division surrounding her. It was an impressive feat to keep hold of the position she had long ago abandoned for a family life.

To this, Jack smiled weakly, the shock fading and being replaced by mirth. "Only one question and an answer, and my little story comes crashing down seconds after it's built. All because someone's been doing their homework... and no big surprise, it's the woman that manages to find me out. Miss Soifon.... you are one scary girl, you know that?"

She laughed slightly. "Ah lesson often hard learned." she said, looking at her husband and then back to Jack. "You were foolish to underestimate me simply because of the time difference between now and my service years." Akisame then smiled back at her and turned his attention to Jack. "She's alot smarter than anyone would think at a first glance." He chuckled slightly. "Trust me, I found that out the hard way."

His face then became more serious. "Now." he said, leaning closer to the man. "Why don't you tell us the real story...Haralson?"

And Haralson allowed his facade to drop.

He looked back into Akisame's eyes, a serene gaze coming into his look once more. A neutral frown was made of his mouth. "Other than my name...." He spoke, his tone low. "I've told nothing but the real story, son. Charles was an abusive father to me, believe it or not, and I was driven to the edge of suicide more than once.... not something I'm proud of, but not something I'm ashamed to admit. Jack Taylor was not a previous Captain.... but Haralson... I.... was. My son and daughter were in the Gotei 13, and I truly don't know where they are now...."

His eyes shifted over to Soifon. "With your elephant memory, you should remember her...." He smiled darkly. "After all, she murdered several of the Punishment Force under your command before she fled that night...."

Soifon's cocky expression disappeared in favor of a more angered one. She clutched her fists and gritted her teeth slightly. "Yeah, she was under my command during the incident. The little bitch..." Slowly but surely, her anger was getting the better of her. She recalled how she had once viewed Brina as an aspiring successor and how she was the closest thing to a friend that she ever had, besides her husband of course. And then she recalled her betrayal, and how she actually managed to defeat her in battle.

"She...she had just..." She then loosened herself up a little bit and her face became more relaxed as it stared into Haralson's, knowing what words were about to erupt. "I don't have to explain any of this to you. You're well informed of it anyway."

Akisame's face became more concerned as he put his hand on her shoulder. "Sophie...what happened?"

The word "bitch" did not suit well with Haralson, his eyes narrowing and a scowl forming on his face. However, he remained silent. Of course, his children would not be immune to insults and angry comments said by others. They were still his children.... but by now, they were young adults who could shrug off such harsh statements. Besides, he couldn't blame Soifon for being so riled up at that. The ones killed were her subordinates....

"I only know what my daughter told me, and that is pretty much one-sided." He said, making sure to speak only the truth. He folded his hands within his lap, eyes lightening up a little to a more serene gaze. "I'm left in the dark about the rest..."

Akisame held a more firm grasp on her shoulder. "Sophie. If you're hiding anything, you'd best tell us now."

She sighed and looked back at Akisame, guilt in her eyes. "Okay. Aki listen to me. I've...I've been keeping secrets from you for a long time. Secrets that I hoped would never surface again." She looked back at Haralson with a more sympatheitc expression, and gave a deep exhale before speaking.

"I knew from the beginning that Haralson McTavish was the former Captain of the 11th division. I also knew that his wife was the former Captain of the 8th division after Shunsei was killed." She looked back at Akisame. "That's what I was going to tell you earlier. But then we were interrupted." She resumed her gaze of Haralson, trying her best to be respectful to him. "Brina McTavish was my Vice Captain after the Commander successfully defeated Ultharon, whom of which had killed my former Vice Captain." She closed her eyes, thinking about her time with Brina. "She was...a very skilled warrior. As you said before, her skills almost rivaled that of my own. Even though I was strict with her during training sessions or assignments like all of the others, there was something about her that made me feel like she could be a worthy successor to my rank, certainly more appropriate than my other Vice Captain."

She then gritted her teeth again. "But then, one day, I..." She hesitated, knowing that what she was about to tell Haralson was surely going to strain her relationship with both him and her husband. "...I recieved orders from the newly formed Gotei 13 that the Captain of the 8th Division was a possible Red Sun spy. So...without any remorse, I decided to use this as a chance to test Brina's loyalty to her Division. I sent her and several others after the Captain, and she killed her. How I don't know, but she did it. And she wasn't happy about it." She closed her eyes, her fists clenching yet again.

"She was so grieved over what she had just done that she killed the other squad members that were with her. When I got word over what happened, I immediatley pursued her and confronted her over her crime." She reopened them again. "My duty obligated me to kill her for it, and I planned to do so without remorse." Her fists were bound up so tightly, that her nails began to dig into her palms, slightly drawing blood. "But the...odds...were against me in the fight, and I was beaten. Rather than kill me like she should have, she insulted me by sparing my life and fleeing." She then relaxed herself.

"That was the last that I had ever heard of her. Until now."

What she had said rendered Haralson silent for a moment. He had his bangs overshadowing his eyes and a neutral curve for his mouth. Idly, he started tossing his closed lighter up in the air repeatedly. "So...." He said, his voice somewhat dull. "With a single move, you destroyed what innocence my daughter had, you took the life of my mate away, and you attempted to end what you yourself created without remorse for your actions."

He caught the lighter again, flicking the lid. A tooty, dark, and sinister smile that would've mirrored that of his father came to his face. "Charles would've been proud to call you his daughter, eh, lassie?"

She immediatley stood up to defend her actions. "I had no choice! I was given an order and I followed it through!" she said as she raised her left fist to strike him, only to have her husband grab it and pull it down, gazing at her in a fashion that essentially told her that she had screwed up. But she ignored him, pulling her hand away from him and resuming her statement. "I was helping her for the future. It was a test to see if she was truly capable of being a Soul Reaper Captain." She folded her arms across her chest. "A Soul Reaper must be prepared to take lives for the sake of the innocent. Even if it means taking the lives of those you hold dearest." she kept her stern gaze upon him.

"It is the way of the Gotei 13. You of all people should know this."

"That is why I quit."

The dark smile faded from Haralson's face, and his look became much more bitter and weary. The tone he spoke with was similar to that of a shell-shocked veteran who had just come out from a war. "My seeds... they both were victims of the system, puppets of nothing more than conspirators wishing for total control. I tried to persuade them not to become immersed, but they were so eager and patriotic.... my words fell upon deaf ears, and they ended up digging their own graves. Now, we're all seperate from each other, existing as the thorns in the side of the corrupt."

He closed his eyes, folding his hands and pressing them to his lowered forehead. "I want... to hate you.... for what you did to me...." He whispered. "But I can't. I'm a tired, weary old man ready to die. So I'll spend my last days on this dying earth protecting the ones who are just like me... the ones who reside in this small town safe from the influence of the sinful. Maybe before I die, the paradise Red Sun has promised us will come, and the cycle will break...but until then, I'm stuck where I am."

Akisame then looked back at him. "And that Arrancar...you said he's been looking for you as well." he leaned forward. "Why?"

"I honestly cannot say." Haralson said, opening his eyes and lifting his pupils to look at Akisame again. "De Soto was used as a tool to help me get stronger through the threatening of my life....daily. However, one day he was sealed and cast out of our lives. I don't know what he wants, now that my old man's dead. But I can guess... he wants to see if the training he put me through paid off or not. Today's supposed to be the day that one of us dies."

His eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Well..." He then gave a low sigh and looked towards the wooden floor. "I think it's best that we..." He looked over to his wife with a stern gaze. "...I think it would be best if my wife and I leave. I think we've done too much to you already."

"Don't be too hard on her, laddie...." Haralson said, a mixture of his weariness and slightest pleading. "She was only following orders, after all."

Akisame simply nodded, while Soifon crossed her arms and scoffed, looking away from Haralson. "Thanks for telling us what we needed to know." he turned to leave the house, his wife following. Before stepping out the doorway he turned and held up his two right fingers. "Peace."

This made Haralson smile a little. In response, he raised his left hand and pointed two fingers right back at him - a gesture similar to that of a revolver. "You, as well...." He answered back. "Try not to meet the Arrancar on the way out, all right?"

And with that, he smiled a little bit and then they both left the house, gently shutting the door behind them. When they got outside, Soifon tried to speak. "Aki...listen I..." She was cut off when he held his left hand up near her face. "You don't have to say a word." He turned to face her, a gentle expression crossed his surprisingly mild face. "You told the truth, and that's all you needed to do." With that, Soifon smiled and held Akisame's hand as they both walked back to the town.

He Who Brings the Night
De Soto had crashed nearly two miles away from the secluded town that he had been propelled out of. He landed in an oddly clear and flat area, a giant meadow in the middle of the great forest. The snowy mountains seemed to reach up to the heavens themselves as they kept their gaze on the wounded Arrancar, who was struggling to pick himself up.

"So...Son of a...bitch."

While his chest wound was still healing, courtesy of his specially designed suit by Charles McTavish, the blast that Haralson had used on him was far more powerful than he'd anticipated. His body ached from the burns that he'd sustained, fragments of his black mask were falling off like glass, revealing some of his facial expressions. Despite his grave condition, he was still managing to crack a smile for some reason. He managed to sit himself up using his sword, sweat pouring out of his hair.

"Little Harry isn't so little anymore." He said in a fashion that would make one think that he was speaking to someone else. His smile then turned into a slight frown as he looked upward somewhat. "Getting the fragment isn't going to be as easy as we thought."

He slowly turned his head behind him, looking at his shadow. He then watched it slowly rise from the ground in the shape of a human, and then it manifested itself in the form of a being that he knew all too well.

"Hi boss." he said in a jokingly depressed tone.

Sure enough, the being was the Prophet. His arms were crossed and his face was dissapointed. "Had I known that this would be so difficult for you, I would have killed you when you were found and used someone else to do the work." He casually walked around to where he was facing De Soto, who was acting like a dog that had just been punished, trying to annoy his "boss" further.

"It looks like you took one hell of a beating. Perhaps Haralson is far too much of a challenge for you." He then pulled out a solid black cutlass out of the sheathe on his left hip, and then pointed it at De Soto's neck. "I think it's safe to say that you are of no longer of use to me."

De Soto simply chuckled, turning his gaze slightly to the left, towards the tree line. "Hey boss, you sure you wanna kill me where our company can see us?" He then pointed his left hand towards the direction that he was looking in. The Prophet at first believed that the Arrancar was using this as a means of escape, but he couldn't help but glance in the same direction. Sure enough, the two villains weren't alone after all...

"Ah, you caught me already? I must've been more relaxed than I thought..."

A British-accented female voice of a young woman came from behind one of the trees. Following that relaxed statement, the girl who had spoken to them stepped out to reveal herself to them, leaning against the tree after walking around it. One leg was shifted over the other, and her arms were folded across her chest. She had long, brown hair and was wearing a Shinigami uniform, but sported nothing that would mark her as one of the Gotei 13 soldiers.

But the most notable thing was her polite gaze and a moderate smile, even as she faced down what was apparently dangerous criminals.

De Soto chuckled some more, his lazy voice still present. "Heh, hey boss I think i'm in love."

The Prophet kept his interested expression on his face as he turned to meet the figure, sheathing his sword. "I think it would be best for your own safety if you came out here to us." he said to the young woman. "Talking while in shadow hardly ever boads well for those that speak to me." De Soto decided to add on, waving his left hand at her. "Hey don't worry, we don't bite that much."

"Of course...."

Pushing herself off of the tree, the brown-haired girl began to walk over to them in a slow, deliberate manner. Her gaze focused itself on the two as she spoke. "I happened to be passing by the Appalachian Mountains today when I picked up the signatures of battle, and I was just in time to see the light show. Pardon if I seemed to be eavesdropping, but curiosity is too much of a disease when it comes to me."

The Prophet gave a light chuckle. "It is perfectly fine. Curiosity is a sure sign of potential." De Soto simply scoffed, using his sword as a crutch to pick himself up. His black mask began to slowly dissappear. "Yeah...light show she calls it." The Prophet then stood himself straight up, putting his left hand on his chest and then bowing slightly. "You may call me Prophet, this is my...partner, De Soto." The Arrancar cracked a strange smile and waved his right hand in a rapid manner, pretending to be a six year old. "And to whom do we owe this pleasure?" the Prophet kindly said.

"The name's Brina, sir...."

Once the girl stopped walking towards them and stood with enough distance to keep a lock on both of them, she took a light bow. When she caught De Soto's waving, she giggled mirthfully and placed a hand to her mouth. She couldn't help it - such behavior was rather cute.... in a weird sort of way.

De Soto nudged the Prophet's shoulder in a "hey buddy" kind of manner. "Heh, boss I like her, can we keep her please?" The Prophet then comically shoved De Soto to the ground with his left hand, ignoring his plea. "Brina eh?" He then placed both hands between his back and his cape. "So tell us Brina, what would you ask of us?"

"A role."

The girl cleared her throat, looking at each of them with a level gaze that kept its serene nature. The smile faded from her face temporarily. "You see, your plans co-exist with my own, even if we are not aiming for the same thing." She said, using one of her hands to gesture and emphasize. "As yours is with an object, mine is with the people who carry it. We're in a perfect position to help each other, by where I'm standing."

The Prophet's gaze became more interested, using his left hand to brush his beard. "Plans? My my, you are certainly well informed." De Soto, picking himself up, also became more interested, albeit slightly confused. "Who exactly is it that you're looking for?" he asked in a nervously curious manner.

"The woman that you would've killed, had it not been for timely intervention." The smile returned to Brina's face. "She is the former 2nd Division Captain and former Commander of the Gotei 13's Stealth Force." Her gaze turned towards De Soto as she spoke the next words. "I have to commend you for having enough power to easily overtake the likes of her. You certainly have been taught by the hands of professionals, eh?"

De Soto looked downwards and gave a sinister chuckle. "Yeah...you could say that."

The Prophet's interested gaze became less intense. "I'm afraid that you have us confused with someone else. We do not seek this retired Captain that you speak of. Rather, we seek the one that had saved her." He then lowered his head, giving the young woman a tense stare. "We are trying to get a certain...item from the one known as Haralson McTavish."

"That is why I said our plans to co-exist, while not having the same objective in mind." Brina's eyes squinted into the upside-down U shapes, though not to a comical extent. "I give you the chance to obtain what you said before to be a "fragment".... and you give me the chance to kill her. All I will ask of you is a role you would like me to play....

Despite the pleasant tone that she was taking with them, the nature of her words created a sinister aura around her.

"...nothing more."