The War of Four: The Hunter and the Hunted

The Sting Operation! Time lapse from the Apocalypse
"Nnnnngh...mmmm...wh-what?" Hyōryū moaned aloud as she wearily opened her eyes as light began flooding the room from the window across her bed. It had been nearly three weeks since the earth shattering and quite surprising moment that caused her body and mind to go into shock as the recorded "Plinian Eruption" shocked the spiritual and living worlds to its very core. Y ūrei Ok ōku's war with the fanatical Red Sun Cult, the Ahijados, had all but a big sham to create the necessary blood needed for the Eruption that occured. However, as a chance of fate, one lone Lieutenant of the Soul Reapers gathered there had managed to dissuade the Hankami from their plans and officially gave them the chance to set things right. After the confirmed defeat of the accounted Hankami responsible for the Eruption, the world receded to its former state. But its scars were not forgotten upon the populace as a whole...

Regardless, Hyōryū had done the best of the V-14's femme half of the group in taking it in stride. After drinking herself to sleep for a week, she eventually adapted and had only lingering moments when she'd remember her body plastered to a organic nightmarish building that had been the result of the Eruption's temporary affects. Still, after it all went down, she and Anton had a serious victory "celebration" back at her apartment.

Speaking of which... Hyōryū looked around to spot her Russian nationality boyfriend, expecting him to be lying next to her under the covers or somewhere nearby.

He had disappeared from the bed.

But the sound of running water could be heard within her bathroom. Sometime or other, he had gotten out of bed in order to get himself prepared for the day. It was natural for him, being an early bird and always sleeping for the minimum limit, even after last night's activities. He just didn't know the meaning of the word "exhaustion".

"Antooooon!" Hyōryū moaned out to him, rolling off the bed with a thump, growling slightly before getting up and walking bare skinned, disregarding the fact her bed hair laid flowed with slight frizzed hairs here and there. Also the fact she was in the nude did not bother her in the least, as she-or rather they-have gotten accustomed to their fully exposed anatomies.

Opening the cracked door to the shower, she walked in with a frizzed blank look as she walked right into the shower, grabbing a hold of him with her arms from behind, a pouty look accompanied her face as she rested her cheek against his back, "You didn't bother to say good morning, meanie..."

"Oh, damn it, I knew she would do that."

Anton's eyes widened when he felt the woman suddenly take ahold on him, involuntarily leaning forward a little. However, his expression immediately turned to a frown and a slightly exasperated look. "I was going to do that when you woke up, you know..." He drawled, cocking a slight eyebrow. "...and when I got properly dressed." He rolled his eyes. "Don't act so melodramatic, it's so unlike you."

"Not...when I get woken up...in the morning," Hyōryū countered, groaning afterwards before leaning up and planting a kiss on the back of his neck, whispering to him, "you hurry up. I want to have some time with you before Shad ō wakes up and decides to interrupt. Again!"

SLAP!

Hyōryū lightly slapped Anton's hind quarters as she left the shower, grabbing one of the towels hanging on the rack, wrapping her body over her shoulders so her own body wouldn't be too obscured. As she shasayed her hips and legs out of the room, she turned her head briefly, her wet locks waving almost majestically across the bright lit air, biting her lip as she winked at him before disappearing out of the bathroom to get dressed herself.

"Pffft...."

Anton shook his head sagely at her antics. It was always direct and blunt when it came to the likes of her. By now, he had gotten used to how she acted when it came to him and her. It was a good thing he was raised to be a light-hearted and easy-going man, otherwise he would've never coped with it. He also had to roll his eyes again at the mention of "spending some time with him". If he knew she was going to tell him that, why did he even bother to get in the shower?

But as he continued to focus on the shower, his ears picked up a light knocking from the door leading into the woman's room. Was that Shadō? Or had Angelika and Oliver come early?

A faint clicking sound could be heard even over the drops of water in Anton's shower, as Hyōryū, clad in only a t-shirt and shorts, with her hair laid over her shoulders faintly wet as she moved towards the knocking on the door, aiming it at the object of annoyance.

"Oliver, you even think of interrupting his shower, I'll shoot your balls off where you stand. Capiche?" Hyōryū said briskly and to the point as she defended her boyfriend like a panther her young. Surprising side of herself in her own mind that she had become incredibly more protective of those she cared about since...the Eruption. Now, with life being as brief as Hyōryū as ever seeing it, her ideas and instincts changed ever so slightly in her character. Her antics, however, have not, unforunately for the rest of V-14.

"Do you seriously think Oliver would bother to knock?"

Interestingly enough, it wasn't the American-accented blonde that spoke, but rather the lax, German accent that only belonged to Angelika. "As soon as you are dressed, meet us downstairs. We have some things to discuss." With that being said, footsteps could be heard going back downstairs, effectively ending any counter Hyōryū would've had to her.

"He has, believe it or not," Hyōryū unapologetically retracted her gun and "holstered" it onto a open part of her shorts, knocking on the door connecting the bathroom, "hurry up, lover boy! You heard the boss."

"Yes, dear..."

With that sarcastic statement, Anton pushed the door open and stepped out. He was clad in his own common attire; a blue T-shirt with brown pants and black tennishoes. He had his hands shoved within his pockets, his head tilted slightly to the side. "Did she say what she wanted?" He questioned, cocking a slight eyebrow and frowning.

Wrapping a arm around his waist, she playfully nuzzled his arm as she walked with him down the hall and the stairs, halfheartedly shrugging, "Don't know...she said we have stuff to talk about. I think it might have something to do with what happened several weeks ago. We all kinda...didn't really resolve to change anything after it was over, so maybe she's got a game plan."

"Right..."

Anton spoke nothing further of it, allowing himself to walk with Hyōryū with his arm wrapped around her shoulders. He was pretty sure Oliver was going to tease him for what had developed between him and the woman. But, at this particular moment in time, he could not bring himself to care. The blonde would just have to cope with whatever attitude he had towards it.

As for Angelika, though...

When they had reached the downstairs level, Anton could immediately see the cross-legged-sitting figure of Angelika in one of the chairs. Oliver was messing around with a PSP he had brought with him, eyes concentrated on whatever game he was playing.

Hyōryū spotted Oliver, briefly twitching at the sight of him before saying, "Playstations are shit," before turning her smirk towards Angelika, "what's up boss?"

"I know." Oliver grumbled, his teeth gritted slightly as he turned the PSP this way and that. "I asked for an XBox, but the sons of bitches gave me this instead and said I couldn't get a refund... or return it for that matter! The only thing that kept me from smashing their faces in was the fact that they gave me this better-than-average racing game."

Anton put his free hand into his pocket, looking with a slightly interested eye towards Oliver. "What's it called?"

"Need for Spe--"

That was when Oliver looked up to look at Anton - and stopped at the sight of him and Hyōryū holding each other. His look changed from concentrating to completely shocked, his mouth formed into a small "o" shape.

A slightly amused smile crossed Angelika's face as she held up a cup of tea. "Looks like you lose the bet, Holmes." She said, not hiding her smugness. "Blink a few times, pinch yourself, and make sure to leave the money at my desk in an hour."

"Wait a minute, you?!" Oliver's shock was becoming more and more apparent. He pointed a finger at Hyōryū and then at Anton, continuing to speak. "With Laz-E-Boy over here?! You've got to be kidding!!"

Hyōryū smirked, leaning more into Anton's shoulder with her face as she replied, "This lazy boy over here is more a man than you ever can or will be, Olly."

"What's all the commotion about?" Shadō Kariudo asked as his form appeared out of the shadows near Oliver, his hair already hung against his cloaked and armored form, as he crossed his arms over his large chest, his tall intimidating form radiated uncertainty and...lathargy.

By now, Oliver was used to him popping up out of nowhere as he did. However, he continued to direct his speech towards the two, albeit having to ignore Anton's amused smirk. "I was expecting something with Sadass, of all people!" He scowled, throwing himself back into his seat and lowering his PSP. "Damn it... there goes a good part of my paycheck."

"Ah! There you are, Shadō...." Angelika's own smile faded away as she looked at the dark man. "Something wrong?" She could easily sense the uncertainty he was emanating from his person.

"Its nothing to worry about," Shadō deflected with a soft smile on his pale features, "just...still trying to get my meditations and sleep since that day happened. I'm still adjusting to it, but I'm more interested on what you wanted to discuss with us?"

Hyōryū twitched, ignoring the compulsion to shoot Oliver's balls with the gun halfway tucked into her shorts, but realized she still was in a comfortable position with Anton. Instead, she directed her terse tone to Angelika, "So...what's this job you want us to do? I mean...that's why you didn't knock and barge into my house again, right?"

"There's no job today..." Angelika closed her visible eye and lifted her head to lie back on her own seat. "I simply wanted to address a few things. One of them would be an update concerning our ranks. After doing some calls, I've managed to find people interested in joining our little organization. In a few days, we'll be acquainted with them. I've already formed their own four-man team as tradition to the V-14's workings, and they're in progress of finding their own HQ to set up in."

She opened her eyes, passing a slight glare towards the ones she knew had a habit of causing trouble. "So, once we meet them, don't cause any unnecessary trouble. That means you too, Holmes and Fusoku."

"Yes, ma'am..." Oliver drawled sarcastically, rolling his eyes and returning his eyes to his PSP game.

"No promises, boss," Hyōryū said with a pouty expression, "if they deserve it, I will certainly kick their balls."

"A new team? You found members in just three weeks?" Shadō inquired with a raise of his brow, as if he knew something about Angelika's procuring of another team to expand V-14's roster.

"I have my resources." Angelika answered simply, taking a sip of her tea. "Now, for the second concern..." She paused for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing. "This has yet to be confirmed, but there seems to be increased activity within the Rukongai made by Soul Society. I can only assume the potential attraction was courtesy of what happened with our last contract prior to the Eruption. If anything, I'd be surprised that they would be so quick as to act."

"That Captain Takuji is sure a piss-ant," Hyōryū said nonchalantly, waving her free arm for emphasis, "we mess up one job of his in one day when he had all week to take them out. Should've had a better info network if all he needed was the details of the stupid craps that made a f***tastic gun!"

Shadō sweatdropped, "We've been over this and yet you're still mourning over a gun? What exactly would you shoot with something of that scale?"

"Anything!" She shouted with glee, causing him to drop his head with dread, "why do you ask?"

Oliver allowed a small sneer to cross his face. "The more I hear her talk, the more sorry I feel for you, Ruso. Enjoy being an indiscriminate target whenever it's that time of the month. Can't say you didn't earn it!" His grin grew even wider when Anton shot him a dirty look and a scowl.

"I've already notified our new team of this." Angelika continued on. "That way, we can all be on the alert and effectively notify each other whenever something new comes up. However, there's no need to be alarmed. We just maintain a low profile and stay sharp."

C-CLICK, WHIRRRRRR!

Hyōryū swiftly pulled her gun out of her pants, cocking back the safety to its lowest setting and aimed it at Oliver's hind quarters, the priming of the weapon powering up could be heard in the room, "Keep talking, bub, and you'll have to buy a vowel at the end of this piece, saavy?"

Shadō sighed, before asking Angelika, "Should we take on individual jobs until the 10th Division's troops clear out, or should we still continue buisness, but with less...explosions?"

The moment that Hyōryū whipped out her pistol, Oliver had done the same.

Now, both of their barrels were pointed at each other, with Oliver still sporting the haughty smirk. "You wanna know what they say for people who automatically pull out their pistols as a retort to an insult?" He drawled, raising his one free hand up in a gesture of peace. "It means that they're admitting defeat and have to resort to violence. But let's not get carried away here. After all, if those samurai shitheads happen to come by and one of us has a limb blown off courtesy of friendly fire... then there's a higher chance of all of us being screwed."

"Business is still necessary..." Angelika closed her eye again, taking another sip of tea. "But we'll take up less missions that involve destruction. Of course, we really didn't have to blow up that cannon in the first place, and that option would've stayed had it not been for the intervention of that Arrancar." She was purposely turning a blind eye towards the two who had guns pointed at one another. As far as she was concerned, it was just another day.

"I can say the same for people who don't know how to shut up," Hyōryū said before retracing her own weapon with a grim nod of understanding, "but yeah, I'll holster it. For now..."

"Its unfortunate that we didn't get him identified with who he was working for," Shadō stroked his chin, while propping his elbow up as he spoke aloud in thought, "I'm concerned...that he was not working for the Ahijados but was leaning towards their way in the war. Or if it wasn't really for the Ahijados, then who would he bring it to? This all could be a elaborate front for everyone to believe the cultists were making it for the Ahijados rather than fantatics being used by a benefactor. I should investigate into this..."

"Whatever you feel is necessary...." Angelika said calmly. "But considering he was interested in the weapon instead of us... I don't think it would be too important to delve on it."

"Hopefully, we won't have to deal with him again... at the very least, as an enemy." Anton piped in, scratching his nose with his free hand.

"I don't think I would want him as an ally," Shadō said with a slight shudder, as his eyes closed, "feeling that spirit energy I absorbed...it was filled with the most detached apathy and malice I ever felt from a spiritual being. We should keep on our toes when dealing with an Arrancar like that again, to have singlehandedly fought all of us...I'd hate to see him fully release his power like Kenja Kodai had."

Suddenly, interrupting their musings was the immediate ringtone of Angelika's phone. Enrico was read as the caller of the phone, oddly, considering buisness hadn't been so hot lately with the 10th Division cracking down on all sides of the Rukon Districts.

Coolly, Angelika pulled the phone from her coat pocket, flipped it on, and pressed the talk button, placing it to her ear. "Enrico? Let me guess. The 10th Division's being a bit harsh on you, as well?" She questioned immediately, getting right to the point of things.

"Angelika! Oh thank spirit king you picked up! You have to get out of there, right NOW! I don't know how, but I just got word of 10th Division troops setting up a perimeter around your safehouse right now, and they're not doing a regular sweep. They're ready to take you out cause they're packing heat as well as their shiny blades!"

Shadō suddenly looked a little alert as he just now began picking up the presences around them, sniffing the air for their "scent". "We've got trouble," Shadō said as he directed his gaze to all of the team members, as he grabbed his hat off the coat rack as well as melding into the shadows, readying his gear out of sight.

That was enough to render Angelika on the alert.

She quickly downed her cup of tea before setting it on the table, quickly setting up and speaking to Enrico in a business-like and sharp tone. "How many of them are there, exactly? Can you estimate?" She asked, her eyes narrowing as she walked over to one of the nearby cabinets. It wasn't surprising to know that 10th Division members would find them with the crackdown. However, it was surprising that they had done it so quickly. Surely, they wouldn't have simply located the right house on their own in so little time...

Did Yashin inform them somehow?

"I don't know, but from the sound of all the Hell Butterfly messages, I'd reckon nearly half of the 10th Division. But there's something off about the distances they keep spouting...," Enrico spoke over the comm, as he himself began examining the notes he deciphered from the communique from the 10th Division.

Hyōryū growled, suddenly realizing what was up and began hurrying back to her room, slamming the door as she began outfitting herself with all the necessary weaponry she could. She smiled almost predatorially at the thought of using that against the 10th Division....

"Oh, fuck..."

Oliver, prompted by Angelika's call, took to sneaking a look out the window... and was nearly floored by what he saw. His eyes widened, and he immediately took a step back from the venation blinds. He turned towards the group in entirety, complete shock and surprise on his face. "Their captain must've been on his fucking period or something. I'm seeing a whole damn battalion right outside!!" He exclaimed.

Anton immediately ran over to his side, placing his hand on the wall beside the window and closing his eyes. "What the hell did we do to piss them off to the extent that they'd have half their army centered at one location...?" He whispered audibly, confusion clear in his tone. "More importantly, wouldn't this be a waste of resources... just for the sake of five individuals?"

"It may be the threat we unintentionally caused when Anton-san used that technique to obliterate that neighbourhood and absorb the Kido they tried to ensare us with," Shadō said as he appeared from the shadows, fully equipped and his Zanpakuto visibly sheathed across his backside, hidden behind his bodily covering cloak.

"You'd think they'd forget about that once that f'ing Eruption plastered our bodies to our f'ing beds!" Hyōryū said as she walked out, carrying the case holding that weapon that left a psychological imprint on their minds whenever she used it, causing Shadō to sweatdrop at seeing it.

"Huh..."

Oliver frowned, tilting his head to the side and placing his hands into his pockets. "You know..." He muttered, lowering his head for a moment in thought. "Normally by now, they'd be yelling at us some big announcement that they have us surrounded and that we should surrender while we're still breathing." He raised his head once he finished his sentence, revealing a cocked eyebrow and a skeptical frown. "Wonder why they're not doing that?"

"So they're probably after me in particular..." Anton grumbled, letting out a heavy sigh and bumping his head lightly against the wall. "Chto za huy, I feel so wanted..."

"They're after all of us, Pinko!" Oliver said in annoyance, shifting his head to his partner in order to glare at him. "Don't try and flatter yourself here!"

"You got anything else for me, Enrico?" Angelika questioned, finally holding up what she was looking for. It was her HCA-50 pistol, kept safe and sound. "If you do, keep talking to me. I need to know everything possible."

"Waitaminute, señora," Enrico said as he heard some whispered chatters and suddenly the chatters almost all but stopped, as Enrico took a audible gulp, almost whispering, "Angelika...if you're going to leave...now's as good as time as any-"

"V-14!" A voice shouted, augmented by a Hell butterfly fluttering next to his head, his white Haori flowering over his overcoat with no arms sleeved in them. His arms crossed, his eyes narrowed and his mouth moved in a calm, yet threatening gesture, "we know you are in there! This is Captain Shindo Takuji of the 10th Division of the Gotei 13! Surrender yourselves peacefully, or we will come in with force. Resist, and we will kill you! You have 20 seconds to comply!"

The War Begins: The Line Between Good and Evil
Hyōryū's eyes widened with excitement, as she looked out the window Oliver was moments ago, and saw why the company of men were distanced so much. The Captain himself was standing out before the house, with Zanpakuto drawn, staring right at the house, "Oh shiiiit! The Captain himself is out there shouting at us to come with our hands up! Hehehe!" She rushed over like a girl on Christmas Morning, sliding to her knees as she began unbuckling the locks on her case before revealing a very large, artillery-grade Kido rifle with one name that earned its name from all foes and comrades alike. The Executor.

She unloaded it and began arming it with the essential attachments as well as the VERY large ammo magazine into it, causing Shadō to nervously raise a hand in protest.

"Please don't tell me you're going to shoot that thing, are you?" Shadō began to say, before earning a gleaming star-filled eye stare at him while priming the weapon, "you are aren't you?"

"Desyatʹ sekund do oruzhiya zagruntovatʹ," the weapon announced much to a girl squeal from Hyōryū, saying to Anton with a almost girly tone, "I translated my baby to speak Russian, that way, I can remember you every time I start and fire this loveable thing."

"For that particular weapon?" Anton turned his head to meet her eyes in surprise, before half-lidding them and putting on an amused, yet mirthful grin. "Dear, you flatter me far too much."

"EUGH, gag!" Oliver opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue in an expression of disgust and disdain, even as his hands reached and whipped out his trademark dual pistols from their holsters. "I thought love and romance was supposed to be kept out of warfare. Don't you know how fuckin' creepy that is? That's the first signs of a stalker, sister."

"We'll be taking the front door, Enrico..." Angelika said smoothly, already getting into position and taking cover behind the walls. "I'll call you back after we're done in the next several minutes." She raised her free hand in order to motion to the others. "We fire when he counts down to three. Make sure you're in your positions."

"Oruzhie Gruntovka," the Executor chimed in, causing Hyōryū to smile back gleefully, before playfully turning the priming weapon's barrel at Oliver, saying, "You obviously never been in bed with me to know a good piece when you see it." She began taking position at the end of the living room, activating her scope, "You obviously haven't seen Anton's sword either. This thing, isn't nearly as good as he his in bed."

Shadō groaned as he placed his hand over his face even as he stepped into the shadows, "Please...giving it a voice is going to make me want to run for cover even more..."

Tamenkyome! "Ten seconds, V-14!" Shindō spoke as his eyes flashed into its ocular Kidō state, allowing him to see the individual spiritual auras of each of the V-14 members. From what he sees, he already knew from intel. The one he saw activate that Kidō initiated that took apart an entire neighbourhood as well as a good portion of the plantlife there within the outskirts of the Northeastern Rukon District was the most bright one within his eyes. Another one that was "bright" in its own regards was the man holding the Zanpakuto and a menacing aura within himself. The other three were the respective members with respectable Spiritual auras of their own, but nothing to be concerned of.

However he delayed his count as he saw a resonance coming from what appeared to be a particular weapon being bore upon them. He could only wonder what scale of destruction it had, and began resuming count, "7 seconds!"

"Vybor tselevoyu dlya vypolneniya," the Executor spoke once more as she aimed her target, asking briefly to Angelika, "shoot to kill or to piss their pants? Or both?"

A smile came across Angelika's face, her eyes narrowing. "The Captain needs to know the consequences for crossing the V-14. Both will do." She spoke calmly, her tone expressing nothing more than tranquil malice. She shut the phone off, slipping it back into her coat pocket.

"Perfect," the tomboy weaponsmaster all but smiled as she took aim for the bulk of the force facing the house.

Shindō roared out again over his Hell butterfly augmented voice amplifier, "3 seconds!-"

KRACK-BOOM!

The safehouse on which they were in, crackled in air pressure from the sheer power behind the shot, only moving Hyōryū surprisingly as a orange bordered white center bolt flew from the end of the Executor, leaving out the hole of the worn, ramshackle excuse of a window towards its target, unintentionally taking the wall of the house with it.

As the bolt screamed with indescriable speed, Shindō's eyes could only widen as he saw a huge amount of condensed spiritual energy, ready to be released upon impact. Swiftly, he began to shout out, "Incoming!-"

BOOOOOOOOM!

As soon as the bolt hit squarely in front of a building the men were gathered in the alleys and in front of it, the concussive force was enough to shatter it to pieces, before a bright orange glow enveloped the whole area, roaring around as it exploded with enough force to take out half of the battalion that stood in front of them, horrifying Shindō as he saw his men die within a instant just yonder.

This...was the second time, Shindō gave pause as he examined the mushroom cloud in exhaust of the faded orange energy that left view of all those within bird's eye distance.

"Tselevaya vypolneny," the Executor announced, much to a hair windblown gleefully smiling Hyōryū, sighing in a sense somewhere close to ecstacy, "that was...awesome! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

That was when all Hell cut loose.

Anton vs Shindō: Vengeance Match
'BANG! BANG BANG!'

BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM!

Angelika and Oliver opened fire immediately, shooting with terrifying accuracy and precision. Every shot connected with at least one part of their targets' bodies. As they fired, they moved outward into the street through the hole that Hyōryū made. They would probably be the only three who needed to utilize cover and not jump into the fray directly.

"You all just signed your death warrants!!!" Oliver jeered, as he continued to unleash suppressing fire on their position. "NO one crosses the V-14 and lives!!!"

"Damn right!!!" Anton gloated.

WOOSH!

While Angelika and Oliver were attacking from a distance, Anton used the moment in order to jump into the fray directly, his Kiriken swords summoned in each hand. Unlike them, he could handle himself in the middle of a warzone and could get up close and personal with his enemies. It was only natural for him to fight head-on while his comrades flanked his outside.

"Give them my love, baby!" Hyōryū said as she moved to the other side of the house, now aiming at the other frantic and confused half of the batallion of Soul Reapers, squeezing the grenade launcher attachment. With several squeezes, a rain of enflamed metalic shrapnel ripped apart the buildings while igniting them, as well as slaughtering a good portion of the troops there who didn't take proper action.

Shindō on the other hand began clenching his jaw, and balling his fists while clenching his sword handle. "You...dare...," his voice grew loud, as he unintentionally let his Hell butterfly in range of his voice, his eyes suddenly picked up the moving form of Anton, watching him land and begin personally attacking his men, "to kill...my men?!"

VRRRRRRRRCRRRRACK!

Shindō's body radiated with a blue, electric aura as wrath and fury broke the dirt earth and air, his sword became awakened without voice command, as a sheen veil of blue electricity coated it, "You've signed your death warrant, V-14!!!"

WOOSH, CRACK-CLANG!

Shindō then moved towards Anton first, already determining him as the first threat. His lightning coated sword clashed against his Kiriken blades crackling and blazing violently, his Tamenkyome eyes glared with killing intent as his spiritual pressure coated his body, "You're first...Anton Semenov!"

It was enough to send a chill down Anton's spine.

He wasn't afraid. But Shindō's rage and hatred seemed to wash over him like bad blood. A bead of sweat fell down his face, and his grin slowly grew at the other man's challenge. It wasn't out of anger, or insanity... but rather, it was simple anticipation. He knew he was going to be in for one hell of a fight, and that the Captain would hold nothing back. There was no reason to, after all. "Am I?" He shot back, fighting against his opponent's strength. "Then I'm going to enjoy every bit of this... not as much as I enjoy company with my girlfriend, mind you... but very close to it."

With that, he executed a swift parry and threw himself at Shindō, the blades swinging in a flurry of fast, fluid, and ferocious attacks. On top of that, he mixed in kicks along with his swings in order to keep the other man on his toes.

"Oh, great!!" Oliver snapped, pausing briefly and taking cover to reload behind a building. "Pinko's decided to take the Captain by himself. What a fuckin' show-off!!"

Shindō simply smiled back with predatorial enjoyment. His body matched Anton's move for move, his slightly shorter stature was given no sight of a disadvantage as twirled his lightning infused Zanpakuto to crackle and clash with that of Oliver's pair of Kido-summoned swords. He even switched hands to block and kick back at Oliver, flipping his cloaked form around without dropping his Haori, showing the depth of skill he retained.

As Shindō used Flash Step away, he reappeared behind Anton, stabbing into the ground, "I got you!" The sounds of thousands of birds chirping along with crackling volts of lightning suddenly ran along the ground before rising indefinitely high into the air, as several miniature pyres of electricity soared into the air while flowing across the air and taking out several walls of proximate buildings.

"Wanna bet?!"

In response, Anton briefly dispelled the Kiriken swords in order to boost himself several feet off the ground with a Flash Step. He turned his attention below him to see the arcs of electricity come his way, extending his hands out.

"Danku!"

The electricity streams hit and were halted by the Kidō shield that had been timely summoned by the Russian, keeping him safe from harm.

Shindō's eyes narrowed at the transparent, two story tall shield that repelled his lightning attacks with ease. As he pulled his Zanpakuto out of the blackened earth, he focused on the timing and what was left of the high level Kido barrier. He began twirling his Zanpakuto in front of him, letting it hover as he prepared his counterattack, asking aloud, "That is a Kido spell reserved for only the most elite and skilled Soul Reapers of the Gotei 13. For you to effortlessly cast it while retaining its full power, means you have skills within the arts of a Soul Reaper. Who trained you?!"

As he finished spinning his Zanpakuto, he held it inverted with the blade pointing down, uttering aloud, "Hado # 58, Tenran!" Discharging a widening tornado towards the fading transparent shield, before inhaling air before exhaling out, "Hado # 8, Shōbō Sasu!" Within moments, a giant tornado of flames discharged, causing a blazing inferno to crack through the fading shield and explode into the sky with a crack of the air pressure.

"Wouldn't you like to know..." Anton taunted, slapping his palms together and taking in a deep breath. His head tilted back, and his cheeks puffing up as the blazing inferno came closer and closer to him. It took only seconds for them to reach him. But at that moment...

"Nenshō!"

When he exhaled, he unleashed a massive wall of flames from his mouth and hit the opposing attack head on in order to blow it back. The point-blank intensity forced the focus of the struggle away from him and to the middle. During this, the heat from the flames singed the entire area, to the point where the V-14 members on the ground would feel it.

Angelika used this moment to whip out her phone again, quickly dialing up Enrico once she was sure the coast was clear. "I'm here again, Enrico. We just dealt with the major threat, and now one of my men's engaging the Captain directly. For the moment, our situation's stable."

Shindō's eyes narrowed as he heard the words and saw a impressive gust of flames towards his own pillar of fire. The waves of heat did nothing to perturb the ruthless young Captain, as he took time to pinpoint his target's spirit energy through the wafting inferno that blazed relentlessly in front and around them. With a sudden raise of his Zanpakuto, his Zanpakuto crackled before discharging a solid lightning that appeared as elongated sword. It would be mere instants when it would reach through the geyser of flames the two combatants created and would attempt to squewer him through his sternum and out his back.

"Rakurai Yari!" (落雷槍 Rakurai yari ; Lit Translation, "Lightning Spear.")

"Señora, I'm glad you managed to turn the tables on them! However, I did miscount...that was only a fourth of the 10th Division's goons. The rest of them are pulling back and regrouping...there's something fast heading your way, Angelika. Please be careful," Enrico implored.

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH!

A shadow on the battlefield began moving towards the gun toting V-14 members, heading primarily towards Angelika, avoiding almost all visible contact before appearing mere meters away from the Head of V-14. Her dark violet hair swirled around her majestically as she finally stopped before her, thrusting out two palm with connected wrists towards her midsection.

Even though Angelika would be able to be out of reach the air pressure from the power of the strike sent a punch of condensed air the size of a basketball towards Angelika. The result would cause some of the ground and landscape to crack, and would most undoubtedly hurtle the leader through the alleyway she currently resided.

"Forgive me, but you are a danger that must be purged," she said softly, standing upright with her black Shikhakusho fluttering around her shapely, accentuated body as her hair flowed like water within the air and around her face, her pale eyes penetrating towards the leader of the criminal organizations with near as much vigor and determination as her Captain, but with no bloodlust attached. But more of Honor and Duty that powered her resolve.

Oliver's eyes widened completely. "BOSS!! LOOK OUT--!!"

And she was quick to act.

BOOSH!

With an outstretch of her free hand, Angelika blocked off the pressurized air attack and prevented it from hitting her body. She had to dig in her feet, which slightly slid backwards. All-in-all, however, she had remained unscatched from the attack. She narrowed her lone eye, scowling at the sight of the pale-eyed woman. She pointed her HCA-Kidō pistol at the head of the woman, keeping a calm, but resentful tone in her voice as she spoke.

"Seems like the Captain's pet has decided she wants my head... I'll call back later."

With that, she switched off the phone and placed it back into her coat pocket, all the meanwhile keeping her narrowed eye glaring coldly at the woman. "Cute..." She said dryly. "The puppy thinks she can bite off more than her mouth lets her."

"Are all of you 10th Division shits this stupid?!" Oliver jeered, promptly pointing his own pistols at her. "Coming at all of us at once and think you can take us on?! You must have some sort of suicidal god complex, little girl."

"Woah!"

Immediately, Anton stopped the flow of flames and jerked to the side just in time to avoid the bolt of lightning headed his way. However, he didn't stop his movements there, falling down to earth in order to land on one of the buildings nearby.... the one that hadn't been destroyed in Hyōryū's earlier attack.

Shindō smirked, amused that Anton thought he could avoid the blade he created that easily. WIth a mere twitch his hand, he turned the elongated blade with a lightning speed, as he caught sight of him and swung the elongated blade towards him, cutting through the building that he landed on with ease as it bore to slice him into pieces.

"You're mistaken if numbers win battles," Sakura said as her pale eyes looked unphased by the show of weapons, "or if you're the only ones with shiny toys."

Bip-Bip-Bip, BLEEEEEEEEP!

Sakura managed to subtely toss a pair of bead sized spheres onto the ground, suddenly blinking red before discharging a array of blinding light into the air, making it night impossible for accurate fire. In that moment, Sakura bent down deftly into a crouch while reaching her hands up in the air to clap onto the weapon, sending a jolt of spirit energy enough to disarm the weapon. Following that, she clasped her hands together while uttering lowly, heading towards Oliver's direction within a few zig-zag motions, not even using Flash Step as she approached him, "Bakudo # 30, Shitotsu Sansen!"

BRAK-BRAK-BRAK!

Three yellow beaks of energy discharged towards the american nationality gunman, aiming to incapacitate him and jam him against a nearby landscape or rubble more aptly.

Oliver hadn't seen it.

Angelika had - and that allowed herself to react before he did.

FLASH!

She managed to shield her eyes just as Oliver let out a pained yell, his sight rendered useless by the flashing light. So when the three beaks of energy shot towards him.

WHAM!

He was slammed against the nearest building, helplessly bound to it courtesy of the energy beams. "Damn it...!!" He hissed, gritting his teeth and trying to physically force himself out of the trap, but to no avail. "It's always the stun and gun technique with these bastards!!"

It seemed that guns would not do... and this had been one of her favorites.

Disdainfully, Angelika tossed the useless weapon aside and turned to face the Lieutenant. She closed her lone eye, folding her arms across her chest. It certainly had been a while since she had fought, and she never actually intended to do so. But her strongest fighters were busy... at the very least, Anton was. What was Hyōryū and Shadō doing on their end, anyway?

On Anton's end, his eyes widened when he saw the elongated blade maintain its form. With a flip and a Flash Step, he managed to land himself back on the ground and avoid the blade once more, summoning his Kiriken blades back to his hands once more. This time, he threw himself at Shindō, using another Flash Step to quicken the distance and lessen the time his opponent had to react to the attack. "Tearing apart the very place you're hoping to protect, Captain?" He taunted. "I don't even know what to say..."

Hyōryū on the otherhand, had been running and gunning the remaining 10th Division officers trying to box them in, her large rifle cradled in her arms looked ridiculous for someone of her stature. A wide sadistic gleam endowed her face as she leaped from building corner to building corner, taking aim as a number of Soul Reapers took a few potshots before she aimed her miniature Kido rail gun, obliterating the foundation of building corners as she did so, "HAHAHAHAHA! That's it! Keep running! It makes the hunt all the more enjoyable!"

"You've done that yourself, Semenov!" Shindō spoke back quickly, shortening the blade back to its original size as he rounded his body to intercept his opponent's blades again, but not before uttering lowly, "those who live outside the law of the Soul Society are deemed the worst of criminals, who only think of their own selfish desires and care nothing for the damage done to those around them! Your powers belong to that of those who serve loyally to the Gotei 13, and I know you have Soul Reaper powers! Show me your powers," his blade suddenly crackled as electricity was absorbed from the very air and energy from the rubble before discharging in a vibrant blast of lightning, "if you want to live, traitor!!!"

Sakura unsheathed her Zanpakuto as she rushed towards Angelika, aiming to cut her quickly as she initiated her Flash Step, rapidly closing the distance within a second, whispering, "Your days of terrorism is over, Angelika Hartman!"

The blade connected.

SPLURCH!

However, it wouldn't be with the designated target.

With a swift, cold movement, Angelika reached out and caught the cutting edge of the blade. The force cut her hand, spilling blood out onto the blade. She, however, did not seem to care, keeping the amused smirk on her face. "Attacking an unarmed opponent with the intent on cutting them down? I just don't know what to say, puppy..." She mocked. "I always assumed the Soul Society was full of heroes... not cut-throats like you."

Then, she tightened her grip on her opponent's blade, pulled it aside, and threw a punch to the other woman's face.

"Grr...!!!"

Anton was forced back, the electricity pushing against him violently. However, he kept his swords in a defensive position to keep him from getting overwhelemed. With a burst of his spiritual energy, he forcefully dispelled the attack and readied his swords once more. "Don't go making empty threats, Captain, I think we're both above that..." He said bluntly, maintaining a level gaze. "And from the way you make it sound, you seem to believe that I was once a part of the Gotei 13 myself. Then again, I'm not surprised... the Soul Society of Japan was never new at living under rocks when the situation didn't call for it."

Sakura deftly grabbed Angelika's fist, springing a shocking bolt of spirit energy to disable the nerves within her arm, child's play to her before she wrenched her sword back into her grasp, "I'm not going to kill you, Angelika Hartman! If you died, then there would be no one we could set an example of for producing nothing but havoc and death. You," she brought her sword back to swing back at her chest, "are nothing but a lowly, dirt-rat of a cr-GAK!"

Sakura's sword was suddenly interrupted by a blade...coming right out of her shadow with a metalic clang before a hand reached out of the ground before swiftly to her throat, as the full intimidating form of Shadō himself, his eyes glaring hotly and his aura itself made him more like a demon than Shadō himself. He voiced a threat that confirmed the prior into Sakura's mind, "You dare challenge powers you cannot comprehend? You lowly Soul Reaper...you have no idea what you're getting into!" With a mighty throw, Shadō threw the Lieutenant into a wall of a building across the street, causing a large billow of smoke and rocks to uproar from the force he used to execute the maneuver.

"Forgive my tardiness, Herr Angelika," Shadō spoke regretfully, as he held his bloodied blade in his hand as he turned towards her momentarily, "the enemies seemed to be plotting something, so I...asked them what was going on."

Shindō growled, his body began to glow silver as his Spiritual Pressure crackled in the air once more, raising a open palm towards Anton, "Disappear and cease your insults, terrorist! Raikōhō!"

CRACK-BOOM!

As the yellow orb of energy gathered briefly before the Captain's palm, a crackle of electric energy blasted before encompassing the area Anton stood, before creating a thunderous blast of yellow energy, exploding and creating a large pillar of energy into the air, reducing the remaining structures around him into dust and rubble.

"I owe you greatly for your intervention, Herr Kariudo..."

Angelika exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding, clutching her disabled arm that hung lifelessly at her side. But it wasn't out of fear of death - that boat had already sailed. "That woman's able to disable the movements of one's motor functions as well as technology through physical contact..." She reported. "That is, if you were planning to take her on... other than that... did they tell you anything? I couldn't get much from Enrico..."

"Hey, Shades!!" Oliver called out. "You mind getting me off of this wall while you explain?!"

"He said the 10th Division troops are pulling back...but something seems off," Shadō spoke as he raised his sword towards where Sakura was, "these men looked like they were serious about taking us down, but why did they bother taking the time to alert us? They had enough combined firepower to reduce our safehouse and then some without us being prepared to counterattack. So...the only question is," Shadō raised his blade above his head before slashing it to the side, "is who are they waiting for?"

Shadō looked over to Oliver after saying this to Angelika, before briefly using his Flash Step to reach him, sighing, "You know I'm not into this kind of kinky stuff, Oliver-san," before he grasped each of the beaks, draining the energy into himself before flexing it appreciatively, "thanks for the snack."

"Kiss my ass." Oliver grumbled, dropping onto his feet and massaging his wrists.

As he checked himself out, Angelika looked over in the direction that Shindō had thrown Sakura and subsequently followed up with the sword slash. "Considering the sudden appearance of the Inner Circle..." She said calmly, thinking of what had happened. "I'd say it would have something to do with the scum that they sent us a while back. How else would anyone have figured out where we were? I wouldn't put it past us that he managed to inform them somehow."

Through the blast that Shindō had unleashed, a mildly scathed Anton could be seen emerging from the ruins. He had utilized a defensive spell in order to keep himself from getting incinerated from the blast, moments before it could hit him. Even as he walked towards Shindō, he continued to prod at him. "It's been so many years, and yet you all live like you're still in the feudal era. You might as well be criminals like us, and the only difference is that your crimes hold dominance over all of us. You've done nasty deeds just like we have, and for what? For upholding your so-called justice? I don't think you have the right to be calling me out as a terrorist, Captain..."

Shindō gritted his teeth, feeling more and more pissed off as he heard this ridiculous rhetoric from this man who had Soul Reaper powers. He should've known he was from another spiritual society, but right now, he could care less which one he's from. He's here and part of a Seireitei top priority issue and he's here to stop him. Even if he has to destroy the entire District he evacuated only hours before this showdown.

"Your cheap talk is boring me, Anton," Shindō spoke with a growling as lightning began dancing from the air, his sword raised high as clouds began to form in the sky, "your taunts are finally paying off, you lowly scum. You pissed me off into going serious with you. If you ever, for a instant, think you're on the same level as me...you're dead wrong!!!"

CRACK BOOM, CRACK BOOM!

High in the sky, lightning began to thunder and crackle within the heavens above, as Shindō's power over the lightning within the atmosphere reached an all-time high, his red-black eyes stared menacingly at Anton, "Begone, menace!"

A sudden series of lightning bolts came down relentlessly, smashing into the ground with incredible force as well with instaneous speed as it struck over half a hundred attacks that aimed to pulverize him, "Sandā Gakudan!" (サンダー楽団 Sandaa gakudan ; Lit Translation, "Thunder Orchestra.")

That was when Anton's calm demeanor broke, raw shock crossing his face for the first time in the battle.

WOOSH!

Immediately, he kicked into a Flash Step, barely avoiding bolt after bolt as they crashed down behind him. Even as he was hovering off the area, he could feel the very earth shake under the power. As he avoided the bursts, sweat was dropping down his face at a vicious rate. "Damn it..." He thought to himself. "At this rate, I really am going to get killed!!" Truly, he was dealing with a frightening and formidable opponent if he could unleash such ferocious attacks from the sky. He didn't think he could counter-attack without being blocked off by the lightening.

And at this rate... everyone would get killed....

His mind drifted to Hyōryū, his teeth gritting slightly in frustration. She was a formidable fighter. But Shindō was in a league of his own. He could handle avoiding the attacks like this. But if she happened to get caught in the attack, she would certainly die! He couldn't bear to live with himself if that happened...

But that was the least of his worries.

As he allowed himself to drift into his thoughts, he had unconsciously slowed himself down for just a second.... a fatal second.

Time stopped.

He realized his mistake too late, pupils dilating as he heard what was to be the last lightning strike. All he could do was tilt his head up to see it coming towards him.

BOOM!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

His blood-chilling, gut-wrenching scream could be heard when the lightning bolt hit him full-force.

Hyōryū suddenly heard and felt the series of thunder strikes above, forcing her to take cover in one of the half-ruined structures, looking at the epicenter of where a collosal battle was taking place. She suddenly realized with horror that the Captain was showing off his true power, controlling the lightning within the very atmosphere. All the previous attacks he had been dishing out were mere stalling tactics while his Spiritual Power reached into the heavens and began forming the thunderheads above. But her heart stopped when she head a familiar voice give a gut-wrenching scream in the air, and she actually saw the silhouette of the electrocuting her lover.

"ANTOOOOOOON!!!!" Hyōryū screamed out to him, running off into a dashing sprint, carrying the Executor while priming it for firing. She didn't care if it would kill her, she would blast that devil of a man to Hell if she had anything to say about it.

Shadō heard his partners' scream and had seen the following magnanomious display of power the Captain showed. His eyes narrowed and he smelled the air, gripping his Zanpakuto with trepidation, "Herr Angelika, I'm afraid I'll have to leave your side for the moment," his body began to meld with the shadows she created, continuing to say, "there's something coming that's evil and we must escape this annoyance before it reaches us."

A ready nod was Angelika's response. She watched as Shadō faded into the shadows, leaning against the leveled wall and cursing slightly under her breath. "Scheiss..." She hissed, clutching her disabled arm and sinking down to a sitting position. "This is going to take at least a few hours to recover from."

"What'd she do to you?" Oliver questioned, walking over to kneel down beside her.

"She disabled the nerves in my arm. She didn't damage them, but simply flipped them to an "off" mode. So my injuries are minimal at best..." Angelika explained coolly, closing her eye for a moment. "But, for Anton..."

Oliver turned his own head in order to look at the scene. However, even as he saw Anton being electrocuted and Hyōryū running out in order to stop the process, a smug grin crossed his face. "He may be a bastard..." He commented. "But he's a tough bastard. One measly lightning bolt's not going to stop him..."

"Tozanshō!"

On cue, Anton managed to summon the next Kidō spell after struggling through the agony of being electrocuted. Relief washed over him when the pyramid-shaped barrier was summoned around him, cutting off the current. The jolts that were still coursing through his body caused him to jerk erratically. But he managed to hold his ground, slamming his palms together and calling out the next words.

"Rikujōkōrō! Bankin!"

The next two spells were executed swiftly and without haste, as he sensed Hyōryū priming her weapon. They were meant to restrain him quickly so that his teammate could deliver the finishing blow. He would've gladly done so himself, but now that the woman had threw herself into the crossfire, he might as well give her the opportunity to.

Shindō's eyes widened as he heard and saw the spells being formulated and thrown hastily towards him. The 360 angle shots of six rods moved to slam into his body, giving way to be ensared by an even more powerful Kido. To use them all so flawlessly without incantation...Shindō either considered him a fool or a genius. For the moment, he considered him both.

His body shimmered at lightning speed, leaving his Haori behind to be ensared by the six golden rods, leaving it inert and useless against him. As the black wrapping with a several weights came towards him, his eyes narrowed, slicing upwards through the wrappings with his lightning coated blade, as a thunderous joining of both a lightning strike from the sky and from his sword broke the binds in two, turning the rest of it into ash. Shindō turned his wrathful gaze to aim his Zanpakuto at him, but a thunderous, close sound caused him to give pause and turn in alarm.

KRACK-BOOM!

A familiar, haunting yellow projectile shot from a gleaming Hyōryū as her body was rocked back from the force used to fire the weapon. It screamed in the air as it bore towards Shindō's form, aiming to wipe him off from the face of the Soul Society.

Shindō closed his eyes momentarily, knowing normal Kidō would not be enough to stop it, and he didn't have time to simple dodge it unscathed. With a silent breath, his eyes opened as his eyes swirled and changed in shape, his secondary Ocular Kidō's form came into form as a wrathful violet aura bathed his body as the bolt struck his area.

The following explosion was so close, it muted sound and blazed significantly upwards, decimating any form of structures nearby, knocking back Hyōryū from the distance she fired it, sending her sprawing head over heels before she smashed the butt of her rifle into the ground, using it as an anchor to steady herself over the blazing heat and wind caused by the shot. This made Hyōryū tense and grit her teeth as she tried to peer into the glowing fire that was made, as something violet was hidden behind it.

That's when the winds let up and Hyōryū fell on her midriff, her eyes wide open in shock and her body filled with dread at the feeling of the Spiritual Pressure coming from Shindō that seemed to warp the very air she breathed. "No way...just no...f'ing...way," Hyōryū said aloud in a hoarse, shaking voice as what was revealed behind the mushroom cloud was a skeletal avatar which permeated a violet energy that crackled and smoked the area around it. With only the torso and up visible, Shindō's black cloaked form flourished dramatically as his glowing black-red eyes shined maliciously at Hyōryū, as the skeletal Kidō construct clenched its fists as "skin" slowly began to work its way up its right hand and over its left, nearly half of the arm was gone and part of the "ribs" had been shattered by the attack, but Shindō himself looked unharmed relatively from the attack. The name of this this Kidō...is Bunkō-shin!

"So," Shindō spoke with a dark, hungry tone as he clenched his Zanpakuto, forming a violet glowing blade within the avatar's right hand, "you're the one who killed half of my men with a single shot, did you? I'm going to enjoy using this Kidō, considering its been awhile since the Pride of the Takuji Clan's power can truly destroy something worthy!"

"You didn't forget about me so easily, did you?"

With a Flash Step, Anton was in front of Hyōryū in a crouched position, breathing heavily as he spoke the words. "Our fight still isn't over, Captain..." He whispered, slowly raising himself up and clenching his fists. "You can bring out all the Kidō in the world... but I'll be damned if you decide to run from me now..." Despite the apprehension he was feeling as well, he continued to stand and glare down his opponent in complete defiance.

Hyōryū stared at the back of Anton, gulping down some air and trying to hold back tears, "A-Anton?"

Shindō stared dispassionately at Anton, almost as if he lost enthusiasm in fighting him, saying aloud, "You're barely able to stand, aren't you? Its to be expected...using all those Kido without incantations will take a toll on anyone who's less than masterful. That, and your already considerable wounds. Fighting you in this state would almost be pointless," he raised his katana slightly, the avatar raised its blade above his head, "but killing you will be most satisfying-"

BLINK

Shindō suddenly had his eyes open wide and suddenly began talking into his comm, "-What the hell did you just say?! You found him?!....Yes...yes I understand. I'll be there at once," within a release of his Zanpakuto, he turned around in the air, walking as he began to sheathe his weapon, the violet aura disappeared as well as the powerful Ocular Kido eyes, "I'll have the Punishment Force deal with you. It was a mistake sending in a military force against a band of powerful criminals. But mark my words, I will not be deterred the next time," Shindō looked back at Anton with a cool, unwavering gait, "and I will kill you."

WOOOSH!

And Shindō vanished, along with any remnant forces the 10th Division had within that area.

He left a silence behind him, aside from Anton's heavy breathing.

Inwardly, Anton knew that he would've been most likely done for, had the Captain continued with his attack. Sweat was falling down his face at a numerous, rapid rate. While one arm was folded across his chest, another clutched his upper face as his head hung down. He was surprised that he had not gone into a coma... that usually happened when he used too much big spells at one time.

As he struggled to regain his breath, Angelika and Oliver quickly approached them. Slowly, he turned towards them, letting out a yelp as he nearly fell over.

"Woah, there, pal, don't pass out on us yet!" Oliver warned him, already at his side. "Though, now you can probably be the first man ever to say "Hey! I got hit by a lightning bolt and lived to tell about it!" A cheeky grin crossed his face when the Russian scowled and opened his mouth as if to say something. But because of the weakness in his body, nothing would come out immediately.

And the effort ended up causing his body to revolt against him. He abruptly collapsed on his stomach, letting out a grunt as he hit the ground. "I...I knew I shouldn't have started pulling out the big spells early on..." He muttered, managing a weak grin. "Sorry, comrades... I was acting careless...."

Hyōryū growled at Oliver, but fell on her belly right across from Anton from all the adrenaline running out of her, flailing her arms around almost childishly as she said, "Hey! I did some work too! If it wasn't for those spells distracting him, I wouldn't have been able to take a shot without him dodging...not like it mattered! Since when do Captains have skeleton Kidos that repel that monstrous destruction my baby dished out?! Urgh!" She then stared into Anton's eyes, a small smile lit up her face as she looked at him with a knowing look, merely touching her forehead against his, whispering gently, "Thank you, Anton."

Looming Threat...Predator from the Void!
Oliver rolled his eyes, but said nothing more than that.

"You can have your touching reunion later. Right now, we need to get moving. I don't know about the status of the Lieutenant, and I'm for certain that Captain Takuji didn't say those words in an attempt to intimidate us." Angelika said bluntly, a cool gaze looking down on both of them as she held her arm. "Can you stand and move?"

Hyōryū grinned toothily, as she began pushing herselt to her hands and knees, before struggling slightly to stand on her feet while lifting Anton to his own with her as support, "I may be tired, but it'd take a hell alot more than stupid Soul Reaper goons to slow me down!"

"Angelika, its Shadō! CZKRKan yRKZ read CRZK?!" Came over the private communique within her ear piece, used only during joint military operations V-14 uses.

"At the worst possible moment..." Angelika grumbled, immediately reaching up with her good arm in order to click the earpiece microphone on. "Read you loud and clear, Shadō. What's your status?"

"CRSKZZZZ! I...CRZKZZZan into YasZRSKKKVT! I'm holding him BRZKZSJS...get everyone to the secondZRSS!! Its our only YARRRGHSZKLZZZ!!!" Within the distance, a loud explosion was heard, followed by a foreboding cold almost void sensation that crawled over everyone within the wind. It was not something you'd feel from an ordinary opponent or adversary. It was the feeling almost akin to that of a black hole...ready to swallow you whole, while not even touching the atmosphere its feeling was having an affect on everything within its slowly growing vincinity.

The feedback was loud enough so that everyone present could hear it. Oliver and Anton both cocked slight eyebrows, showing little emotion despite the obviously tense situation there partner was in. "Um..." The blonde stated flatly - the subtle way to ask what exactly was going on.

"The 10th Division isn't the only one who's aiming to clean house..." Angelika said darkly, clicking off her earpiece. "It seems that Yashin's decided to make our deaths a top priority, as well. Shadō ran into him, and now they're engaged in their own little scuffle."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!!" Oliver snapped, throwing his hands up in the air. "First Shindō, and now that demonic fuck?! What's with the sudden interest in us, all of a sudden?!"

"The Inner Circle as well as the Soul Society..." Anton muttered grimly, leaning against Hyōryū as she supported him. "Somehow, I know this is going to end in a bloody and messy fashion. All we can hope is not to get caught up in the canter, if we're not already..."

"Shit..." Oliver, gritting his teeth, whipped out his two pieces and held them in a holstered position at his sides. "I was in a real good mood 'till everyone decided they wanted to ride our dicks!! Where're we supposed to go from here, boss?! Sword punks, dogs, whatever, I'm cuttin' down anything that's getting in our way!!"

"Shit, I knew it was trouble getting involved with that demon possessing fucker!" Hyōryū said as she pulled out one of her Jackals, arming it to the lowest setting for maximum speed of attack.

Another series of explosions rocked the earth and ruined battlefield, as the battle Shadō and Yashin came closer to the others.

"We need to move to the second warehouse before we get caught in the middle of their fight." Angelika said briskly. "Come on!" With that, she held her arm again and led the way, with Oliver following close behind. Of course, they weren't as fast due to the fact that they had two exhausted foot mobiles with them as well as a disabled one, but they couldn't let it slow them down.

Hyōryū moved along with everyone as best as she could. Despite being tired from firing her Executor on foot for so long she, like Oliver, were the least injured of the group. While Angelika only had a disabled arm, the two parallel similar gun-fighters were probably the best line of defense against any threat Yashin throws at them...or any more oncoming threats to not expect.

"Dammit," Hyōryū growled, looking to Angelika with a knowing false hope, "can't we get the jeep? I mean...on foot we have less than a 50/50 chance of making it there without a fight..."

"At this point in time, it would simply waste more time..." Angelika said simply. "We'll just have to work with what we can..." Her tone was slightly resentful at her own words, but firm. She knew they didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

The explosions seem to be drawing closer, and less frequent, as if the fight was drawing to a close. Hyōryū clenched her jaw and her eyes shut, whispering to herself lowly, "Dammit...Shadō you better not die on me! Not by a longshot, I won't let you be Hankami chow even if I have to pull you back from the abyss!"

"He's a tough bastard, he'll make it!" Oliver re-assured, still keeping his eye trained on any potential hostiles. However, he was inwardly doubtful. None of them knew how tough Yashin was or what he was truly capable of. For all they knew, he probably had the power to wipe them out with a wave of his hand. That possibility made him all the more apprehensive, even as he kept a stable stance. If they fought him in their condition, they would certainly get killed.

He just had to hope.

"Hankami...?" Anton asked weakly, lowering his head as he tried to move as quickly as he could in order to keep himself from slowing Hyōryū down. "By the gods of the Red Sun, I hope that's just an assumption of what he is...because if it's not, then we might as well be dead already..."

"Shadō has never been...forthcoming about his dark side, even when he gave his introduction to us when he first joined up with V-14, remember? His...demonic nature has always unsettled me, but he's always been so polite and quiet," Hyōryū bowed her own head, gritting her teeth, "I never talked to him much, thinking he always needed time to meditate and keep to himself. But...what if he needed someone more by his side? Dammit!" Hyōryū hissed, now thin trickles of tears began falling down her cheeks as her eyes watered.

"Don't die on me, Shadō," she finally whispered out, before a deafening sound that knocked her onto her hindquarters, unintentionally taking Anton with her.

KABOOOM!

This explosion detonated right in front of the group, as a house's front foundations collapsed and a battle-worn, tattered figure emerged from the dust, holding his Zanpakuto's released form in one hand while heaving heavily, with blood running down his brow and his hat missing as sweat matted his forehead. Shadō was here, and he looked like he was losing.

"Forgive me...my comrades...I've stalled him the best I could...but in the end," he didn't take his eyes off the dust cloud as a dark blue haired man with dark clothing and a unmistakeable red eye emered from the dust cloud, his form taking a menacing aura, "he directed the battle purposely to your direction...!"

Of course, the explosion knocked more than just Hyōryū and Anton off-balance.

Oliver and Angelika immediately fell onto their backs, letting out respective grunts as the shockwave hit them. The German was quick to get up from the ground, her immobile arm doing little to hinder her movements. Oliver, however, opted to stay prostrate and instead lifted his two guns to point at the oncoming figure. Upon hearing those words, it was made very clear to them that their only exit was blocked off.

"Son of a bitch..." Oliver seethed. "Of all the worst times...!!"

"There's no prey here, Yashin..." Angelika said calmly, giving a dispassionate stare into the eyes of her newly found enemy. "Get out of here before you get lost." She seemed to be the only one maintaining a calm and serene attitude in the face of death, despite the situation that they were in.

"Presumptious as always, Angelika Hartman," Yashin spoke in a knowing way, that in any casual case, would almost be like he had known her at one point in time, but his red eye cast a hidden menace while bore a casual false smile, "but you're in no position to tell me what prey is mine or not. The fact that the 10th Division Captain hunted you down and fought you, shows you are more certainly prey, though of what kind are you? Well, apparently your the type that doesn't know when to accept generous offers...or when to stop being thorns in our proverbial sides," his tone took a almost droll tone, as if he had to educate the leader of V-14 why he was doing what he was doing.

Shadō gripped his long, claymore sized Zanpakuto with both hands, growling at him gutturally, "Stay away from them! This fight is between us! Keep them out of it!"

Hyōryū began drawing her Jackal, aiming it at Yashin but was uncertain if she should fire now or when he made a move. Forcing him to act could be the whole team's downfall, and all she could do is watch as her withdrawn comrade showed more compassion for the team now than he ever did before. She felt her stomach tear into knots seeing him like this...she didn't know what was wrong with her!

"A generous offer?" Angelika repeated. "You attempted to use us to clean up your mess. I do not take kindly to being used by anyone, even if it is from the likes of a high-ranked individual such as yourself. We are not the Inner Circle's nannies."

"You got that right..." Oliver growled, pulling himself up into a crouched position while still having his guns pointed towards his target. However, he was in the same boat as Hyōryū, not willing to risk completely provoking Yashin into attacking them. "Someone who can do a job themselves shouldn't have to come crawling to us for help, prissy boy!"

"Hyōryū..."

Anton was the only one who could see the turmoil and confliction appear on his carrier's face. Based from her reaction to Shadō, it was obviously because of him in some way. But what could he do?

Yashin gave way to a throaty chuckle, before he smiled with a hint of his pearly, disconcerting white teeth towards them while his eyes narrowed on them, "You wretched fools. You're the infamous criminal organization, V-14. Ruthless and merciless to a fault, you do dirty deeds as a way to pay rent. I find it odd that you would think I was using you to clean up a mess of mine when I simply gave you a task. Assassinate a high priority target causing havoc to me and then get paid. Its that simple," Yashin then turned to Shadō barely heeding his words before continuing, "but of course those who cling to human nature, no matter if its in life or death, always have to complicate things. For that reason, you must cease to exist."

Shadō growled, lunging at him swinging his blade at Yashin's neck, "Damn you, DEMON!"

"Interesting," Yashin spoke even as the blade moved, somehow missing him entirely as if Shadō was hitting something else entirely, "considering you made a deal with one, that you would judge me as one of their ilk."

Yashin's palm then clasped onto his chest, releasing a rune made of foreign energy before he stepped around him, snapping his fingers, "I'm done playing with you, Shadō Kariudo."

BZZZZZRRRRRRKKK!!!

"GRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Shadō began to feel his own insides rebel against him, his skin burning from what he felt was his own spirit energy overloading and boiling to the surface of his body...and electrocuting him. The scene became a blood red crimson pillar of lightning, with Shadō's erratic spasms forming within before he fell to the ground still, and the thunderous display of effortless power ceased.

Hyōryū then reacted, her eyes widened with a furious, vengeful gaze, "DAMN YOU!!!!!"

BRACK BRACK BRACK BRACK!!!

Hyōryū opened fire with a number of yellow bolts, making it supposedly difficult for her target to miss. She didn't care if she was playing into his hands. Having that...monster rip her partner apart flipped a switch she didn't know she had. She wanted pay back, and Yashin became the target between her crosshairs.

BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM!!!

Oliver didn't hesitate to fire, as well, unleashing several of his own blue bolts at the target with the high accuracy he was known for. His teeth were gritted, and his eyes were narrowed into slits. Under normal conditions, the target surely would have been shredded completely by their combined efforts. However, Oliver knew that this was no normal circumstance. In front of them was someone who could kill with a natural and almost effortless flair.

But it didn't stop him from shooting.

Yashin's body seemed to be hit over and over, with satisfying dry cracking sounds before his body became blown to pieces after attempting to dodge the initial barrage. With a wet crunch on the ground, it seemed all was over, making Hyōryū visibly relax, before she heard a faint rasping cough from Shadō.

"Don't...trust...your senses...!"

Hyōryū's eyes widened as she felt a completely overwhelming sensation as what she saw wasn't there anymore. The shots that were spot on, perfectly targeted and in sync with her gun-toting partner. When did he...?!

"The moment I entered your realm of sensory," Yashin spoke lowly as he raised a hand towards their backsides as he was a safe distance away from any proximate attack, "is the moment I controlled your senses, like a artist controls a piece of art."

As energy began to darken and crackle within the palm of his hand, a soft clapping sound could be heard of sandles, as a violet haired Soul Reaper leaped high into the air. Her body flourished across her defined, lithe form as she retracted her right hand, blue energy fizzed and crackled as she aimed a right handed palm heel attack towards him, yelling out, "HAAA!"

SMASH!

Though Yashin deftly leaped out of the way, a large indentation was left into the ground where Sakura Keikai, Lieutenant of the 10th Division struck, as she raised her eyes towards him, settling into a fighting stance, "You're not taking their lives, foul creature!"

"Hooo? What have we here?" Yashin said with a amused smile, his cloak blew dramatically across his body as he eyed her up and down, "Lieutenant of the 10th Division...how interesting."

It was safe to say that nearly all heads turned to see the intervention of the first Lieutenant.

"All right, sword girl..." Oliver drawled, having one pistol pointed towards his previous target and the other pointed straight at Sakura's head. His scowl was now accompanied by a raised eyebrow, and he switched his gaze from Yashin to the Lieutenant in order to keep his eyes on both of them. "What the hell're you trying to play at here?"

Though Angelika remained silent, her lone eye widened in clear disbelief and surprise. It was shocking enough to see her alive after Shadō's earlier assault on her. But it was even more shocking to see her openly aiding the criminal organization she had been ordered to capture. Perhaps she was trying to do so on her own? Or was she somehow interested in their escape...?

"Nnngh...." Anton allowed himself to finally stand to his feet, not interested in being akin to a log in such a tense situation. He was surprised as well by the sudden appearance by the Lieutenant, but chose not to question it. If they had help, then they might as well accept it... even if it was from their enemy.

"My intention was never to kill you, V-14," Sakura spoke honestly, the area around her brows and eyes pulsated thickly with veins as she fed spiritual energy into her eyes in preparation for her technique, "I am going to bring you in, but if I let something so...evil destroy you, then you must be more important than my Captain originally believed. So," Sakura skidded back with both arms in a fighting stance, the appearance more that of a graceful art than that of a sheer physical combatant would be, "I will protect you!"

Yashin narrowed both of his eyes, his smile widened as he spoke again, "So...that's how it is. Well then," he raised a gloved hand, with a "come on" gesture to it, as he goaded her, "at least make my trip out here in person more enjoyable than taking down a few souls like these."

Hyōryū flipped over, not even bothering to raise her gun towards him again. With that weird...illusion trick he pulled on all of them, anything they could be seeing would be a total lie or a close resembled fabrication of what's really happening. It also could impede any action on their part, possibly conjuring a fake person to "save" them...Hyōryū began banging her head against the dirt road, her mind hurting from trying to figure it out.

This made Anton sweatdrop, looking down on her with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. "Um... please don't start losing your head now, Hyōryū. We still need you." It was true, considering that he had exhausted himself completely still and she and Oliver were the only ones that could fight properly.

Her statement made Angelika narrow her eyebrows, and her mind drifted into thought. It occurred to her that her perception might be warped, and Yashin could be simply playing with their senses. What she saw in front of her could easily be an apparition conjured up out of some sadistic pleasure of mind-screwing them. If that was the case, then there was virtually nowhere for them to run, unless they found someway to defeat him and his illusions.

A hand went to her eyepatch, her lone eye wavering for a moment as she touched it.

"I...I can't use that. Not with my colleagues in the area..."

Hyōryū smiled weakly at Anton, "Sorry...that mindf**er is getting to me without even trying...I'm sorry I'm no help right now..."

Sakura lunged forward, floating through the air like water as she swung her hands and arms like an extension of her will, with no malicious intent other than defeating him. Yashin began his duel with the young Lieutenant, starting by simply side-stepping and moving his head to and fro, avoiding the attacks with ease. Then, as the Lieutenant picked up speed, he began using his right hand to block her strikes, then as she moved faster, Yashin actually had to use both of them.

She disappeared within a flash, reappearing while throwing a kick coated in blue static energy, aiming to take him off at the head, for which he moved to the side to avoid. It appeared the two combatants so far didn't show tiring, and Yashin appeared to be enjoying himself, "So this is the Hakuda prodigy that's being polished by our dear Captain Takuji? Your ocular prowess is allowing you to see through illusions as well as give you a nigh panoramic view around your body for long distances allows you to fight at a unparalleled plane compared to most martial artists and physical fighters..."

"Don't talk like you know me," she spoke in a high-raised, yet stoic tone as she spun around and jabbed at high speeds, all of which were being easily stopped by Yashin, "because I don't know you!"

During this exchange, Angelika quickly moved over to Shadō, kneeling over his form. She reached out in order to check for a pulse. From the looks of things, he was clearly in bad condition. She only hoped that it wasn't too bad. She didn't think Anton had enough energy to heal him thanks to the fight with the Captain...

But fortunately for them, they weren't the only ones within the area.

A lone figure sat on the rubble, a folded umbrella on his shoulders. Crimson eyes stared down both the Lieutenant and the Dragon as they fought it out against one another, looking on with serenity and almost cold indifference. His spiritual pressure was hidden so that he wouldn't be detected by them. So if he wanted to, he could easily attack either one of them without having to worry about potential counter-attack.

He raised a finger to his ear-piece, clicking it on. "Sakamoto? I'm in position. Just give the word..."

Shadō was breathing, but he was unconscious, his eyes winced and grimaced as he felt pain while not even able to register it properly within his mind.

As Sakura gathered great chaotic energies around her hands, she then honed and purified it, yelling out as her Spiritual Pressure filled the air, "This finishes it," Sakura yelled out as she leaped towards Yashin's form, surging the two lion headed, electric spirit energies at him, "Tsuinshokku-Jū Ken!"

Yashin's red eye suddenly, subtly changed shape as the kanji symbol that originally read for "Human" switched to "Demon" within an instant. Holding out his hand, a black sphere formed within a moment before he applied it to the combined attacks of Tsuinshokku-Jū Ken, ultimately...backfiring them.

(Eng Lit Translation, "Reverse Singularity,")"Novis Singularitas," Yashin uttered in response to her own technique while it was absorbed and thrown back at her within a blink of an eye.

"AAAAAIEEEEEE!" She felt her whole body shocked from her own technique, something that shouldn't have been possible as she felt all forms of movement and spirit control lost as her body wracked within the many "volts" coursing through her form. Yashin didn't even bother finishing her as she fell limply to the ground, barely uttering a confused, "h-how...did you know about...my technique...?"

"Silly Soul Reaper," he chuckled as he glanced down at her, his red eye glowed maliciously while his smile taunted her, "I've already seen that technique...as well as your ocular Kido before."

"N-no...," she uttered before she couldn't speak anymore, letting her head fall onto the ground.

Yashin turned around, sniffing the air, oddly he arched a brow before his hand emanated a dark black-violet mist around his right hand, manifesting a black handled silver bladed trident. Letting it rest on the ground, he turned his gaze slightly upwards, not bothering to raise his head, which gaze a menacing diagonal look from his eyes to the onlooker, "I'd rather not have my entertainment be interrupted. Why don't you show yourself before I decide to drag you from there..."

And he did.

With quite a spectacular entrance.

Anton's eyes widened when he saw the figure suddenly appear behind Yashin, the umbrella raised over his head with one hand. There was no sound of the WOOSH that the Flash Step made. Yet he still managed to move with such terrifying speed. It was a remarkable feat, being able to disappear and re-appear so quickly without the use of a locomotive technique.

But that wasn't all.

When he swung the umbrella down to Yashin's head...

BOOSH!

The resulting collision caused a geyser of dirt to erupt violently around the two, a shockwave generated from that one blow. Anton, Oliver, and Angelika found themselves having to hold their ground against the pressure, for fear that they would have been knocked aside otherwise. The winds still continued to blow against them, and Oliver in particular had to shield his face with his arm in order to keep the air from blinding him.

"Jesus Christ, who is that?!" He shouted, taken completely aback by the new arrival.

Angelika, however, noticed and recognized him immediately, a small smile crossing her face. "So...I suppose that she sent help, after all..." She thought to herself, inwardly relieved by the sudden change of events.

"What the fuuuuuu-?!" Hyōryū exclaimed comically, flailing her arms before clinging to Anton for dear life, "who the hell is that?!?!?!"

Yashin was not a fool for goading a potential threat. After it had lunged, he merely tapped the pommel of his trident onto the ground, emanating a inverted triangle formation on the blade before wide-spreading it over his form with rapid speed, meeting the collision with incredible timing. Yashin inwardly was thankful for not taking him lightly, for any less might've actually broken through.

A smile graced his face with predatorial anticipation as his red eye gleamed menacingly at the oncomer, "Who are you, strong warrior?" The inverted, violet-lined triangle shield cracked against the umbrella, showing just how much pressure the warrior put into his attack.

"Interesting...if that's what he can do with just an umbrella...I wonder what he can do with a real weapon?" Yashin pondered with intrigue.

The crimson-eyed stranger met Yashin's gaze. There was no defiance, yet there was no submission seen within his stare. For a moment, he pitted his strength against the demon's own, his parasol fighting against the trident for dominance. Yet there was no expression on his face that conveyed that he was putting effort into it, despite the tension of his body.

There was only cold serenity.

He simply allowed him to say five words.

"Shinji Konno. A friend of your enemy, and one of many..."

VOOM!

The umbrella opened up briefly, and the air current generated was enough to blow Yashin back a considerable distance. The stranger, in turn, straightened up and closed it back before lowering it to his side. He kept his pose ready in a manner that showed that he was willing to continue battle. But from the way he stood, it was also clear that he was trying to force Yashin into a retreat.

"Tsk, tsk, rather touchy are we?" Yashin asked aloud, as the soles of his feet skid across the ground straight into the side of a building, cracking it due to the force. He walked forward as if he had merely been pushed by a breeze, contrary upon what everyone saw.

"Let's play, shall we?" He raised his trident towards him, a violet-black aura took upon the weapon, the Spiritual Pressure from his Gate of the Demon could be felt, shaking and quaking the earth around him, crackling energies as a smile danced on his nonchalant face, with the predatorial desire within his red-lettered eye while his blue one dialated.

Three arcane circles appeared on each edge of his trident, forming a upright triangle formation as he spoke rapidly, "Triplicem vis, Obscura tonitribus hastae!" (Eng Lit Translation, "Triple Force, Dark Thunder Spears.")

CRRRAAAACK-BOOOM!

As the arcane symbols spun and crackled violently, three violet-black lightning bolts threw themselves with immense force at Shinji, enough so if struck directly it would slice through him while pummeling him into the ground that would shake the ground and air around.

The crimson-eyed opponent reacted accordingly.

Once again, he opened up his umbrella and used it as a shield against the oncoming projectiles. With a violent clap of thunder, the lightning bolts struck the folds full-force. However, it did nothing to harm the young man behind the makeshift shield, and the umbrella only recieved minor scratches to it. Pulling the arm that held his weapon back, Shinji thrust it forward, but kept the umbrella open.

The result was another burst of wind. However, this blast was concentrated and unleashed like a pressurized torrent. Aside from potentially crushing Yashin's body if he didn't move, it would also destroy the entire lower level of the building behind him and force it to collapse.

Anton, now on the sidelines, could only watch with surprise. From the way the man fought, he was definitely no Shinigami. He sensed no energy from the umbrella, so it couldn't possibly be a Zanpakutō. However, he was showing himself capable of holding his own against Yashin when even Shadō had gotten beaten, even though it was just early on in the fight. It was so amazing. Just who was he?

Within the slow folds of time, Yashin's mind began to work and percieve all he knew about this newcomer. The way he used his umbrella was both an extension of his monstrous strength as well as his manipulation of the obvious element of wind. By opening the clasp of his umbrella he was able to both absorb the force and fury of Obscura tonitribus hastae, while also summoning a condensed or concentrated force of wind back at his targets. He didn't feel Spiritual Pressure from the umbrella, so it might be just a tool to manipulate elemental energy of sorts, so Yashin decided to play the guessing game as he used his wide array of knowledge on all things involving unique spiritual power.

Yashin smiled as he held out his left hand, whispering aloud, "Novis Singularitas," the violet cracking black orb of arcane power absorbed the entire pressurized gust of wind. Within a moment, Yashin opened his plam wider, turning the black orb into a violet sphere, releasing a micro burst of equal force towards at the bandaged man.

"Are you one of the few who follow the old arcane element magics, like the Shiba Clan?" Yashin probed with a curious tone, his smile retained its usual flair as he held his trident diagonally in front of his form, turning into a sideways stance as he grabbed the other end of trident, readying for a counterattack.

If he hadn't been addressed, Shinji would've attacked immediately.

Once again, Shinji opened up his umbrella and dug his feet in, pointing it at the blast. It slammed into his barrier, forcing him skidding back a few inches. However, it did not move him much from his spot, and it didn't shake the stubborn, stone-wall foundation he had built around himself. He lowered his umbrella, closing it again in order to look at Yashin.

"...I do hope you're joking." He said bluntly, his eyes narrowing. "Magic and tricks mean nothing to a soul of the Rukongai."

"And they certainly means nothing to the likes of the V-14..."

Another voice, familiar to only Angelika, cut through the brief silence that had ensued between the two.

To the side of Yashin, the feminine figure of a woman stepped into view, a spear in her hands. Though it seemed like she was nothing more than a Rukongai soul at first glance, the professional stance she was taking with the spear said otherwise. That, as well as her casual demeanor towards Yashin, made it all too clear that she was not what she seemed to be on the outside.

"But someone like you just wouldn't understand that..." She continued calmly, keeping the spear tip pointed at Yashin's direction. "Would you?"

Hyōryū's eyes were dialated as she watched the sheer...madness unfolding before her. This was the team Angelika talked about? They were...incredibly strong! The guy with the umbrella, Shinji Konno, was holding his own against Yashin, with just an umbrella!!! And the other woman...sounded like Angelika, but who was she?! Again, Hyōryū found herself banging her head against the ground, "I'm sorry, Anton! I don't think my mind can keep up with the craziness here!"

Above the confrontation, thunder crackled and rumbled above, a byproduct of Captain Takuji's earlier doing. The flashes of lightning illuminated and cast dangerous shadows upon the standing combatants, Yashin in particular cast a interested gaze back at the woman while turning to meet her halfway, keeping his posture perpindicular to either of their horizontal stances, so he could engage both of them at once if he had to.

"Souls of Rukonagi?" Yashin asked aloud, as if tasting the words for the first time in his expansive vocabulary. He stared her in the eyes, realizing veterancy and experience was with her, probably as long as Angelika Hartman. Then, he saw the familiarity, and began to chuckle, "I see. Won't tell me will you? I guess despite my knowledge of V-14, there are still some secrets to be ferreted out...like why Angelika Hartman's mentor has come to her aid and has formed another team of V-14. Truly remarkable. However,"

Yashin narrowed his crimson eye, glowing menacingly as his body became coated in a demonic feeling aura, shaking the air and space around him, warping emotions and sensations as he lifted his free hand towards her, "if you think you can crush a Dragon with mere words, you are blinded by your own mediocre power. Come then, Hartman's mentor, Shinji Konno. Your memories and strength will soon be forgotten...and become MINE!"

With a slamming motion of his trident's pommel, a snaking motion of black-violet hue flames flew towards the feet of both the spear armed woman and Shinji, simultaneously. (Eng Lit Translation, "Dark Dragon Crawl,") "Obscura Draco Reptant!" With a swift blink of an eye initiation, two violet edged black dragon heads formed, discharging insanely hot flames in their direction, aiming to incinerate them both with the explosive pyrotechnic force.

Anton raised his head up just as the dragon heads were unleashed upon their respective opponents, who readied themselves in unison. The heat from the flames caused him to sweat once again, and he had to shield his face in order to keep it from being singed. "You know what?! I think I can sympathize with you on this one..." He managed to speak to her over the roar of the flames. "All I hope is that they survive to give us a remedy to it!!"

Shinji, on his end, closed his umbrella, raised it over his head, and swung it in order to beat back the flames. The wind collided with the fire, averting it to scatter in nearly all directions, like a shotgun's pellets spreading out. Fortunately, the wounded V-14 members were kept safe from the fire as it spread outwards. The heat from the flames lit up the area and caused Shinji to sweat as much as Anton was, but other than that, he remained stable.

On the woman's end, she simply settled into a stance, the spear pointed directly into the flames. Then she allowed herself to speak.

"Tamashī no Sonshitsu..."

VOOSH!

From a visual distance, the flames seemed to consume her whole. However, in reality, they had been separated into two walls which soared past her. She shivered, feeling the heat singe her skin as well as the pink kimono she was wearing. But she kept a smile on her face, one that didn't hold any malice... but rather, it held confidence and faith in what she was doing.

This would be with a reason.

As the spear tip cut through the flames, Yashin would feel a searing pain tear through his entire body. No wound would appear on the outside. But on the inside, he would feel as though the very spear the woman held was tearing through his body as slowly and painfully as it was tearing through the fire.

"What is this...sensation?" Yashin twitched and clenched at his chest, feeling the pain cut into his nerves without any physical contact. He reached into the depths of his mind to analyze and answer the situation that just occured. He then smiled, snaking his tongue out and licked the edges of his mouth as he asked in a predatorially delighted tone, "what sword style did you just use, woman?"

He reached out with his trident towards her, while snapping a finger with his left, errecting a tall wall of transparent violet-black energy, named Obscura Vacansque Muro. (Eng Lit Translation, "Dark Void Wall.")

"I want to play with you now, swordwoman," he said as he stepped closer with one footstep after the other, as his aura came back with full pressure, his trident lit up with blazing black-violet energy as his crimson eye bore upon her, "I want you to do that delicious trick on me again. Show me your secrets!"

"My, my..." The woman's eyes squinted out of slight disbelief, her smile fading to a frown. "You just don't know when to quit, do you?" Nevertheless, she readied herself into a stable stance, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "If you wish, I shall cut you up into as many pieces as you like..."

She tightened her grip as the man came closer to her, her body filled with apprehension but her stance firm.

"I will not give myself... or my comrades... to the likes of you, demon!"

It seemed that for the time being, the heat was taken off of Shinji, and he didn't waste his time in order to utilize it to full effect. With another swing, he blew the flames from his path and calmly walked towards the wounded V-14 group, his crimson gaze locking on to all of them. As he approached, he clicked his personal earpiece again with his free hand while balancing the umbrella on his shoulder with the other. "Saruwatari, G-T-L has engaged the target and has cleared the pathway for you. I have at least two wounded, over."

"Roger wilco, good buddy!" A young, mirthful male voice spoke on the other end. "Rika and I'll be there as soon as we can, over!"

"Affirmative. Konno out."

With that, he clicked off the earpiece, and was now standing in the midst of the V-14 group. He was sure all of their eyes were on him now, but he kept his gaze locked onto Angelika. "It seems that you have earned yourself a great deal of trouble, my lady..." He commented, looking around to the others. "I suppose that the constant fighting you had to endure finally broke your defenses...."

"Tch!" Oliver scoffed, lifting himself up to his feet and dusting himself off. "For the rest of these guys, maybe. I'm still locked and loaded!"

"Idiot! I'm fully loaded and have the bigger guns, bastard!" Hyōryū growled, taking her bruised face off the ground and glared at Oliver.

"Demon? Such a generic, limited point of view could only label those they can't understand with horrifying command over the darkest of power," Yashin spoke with a humored, unimpressed tone as he walked towards her with not the bit least fear towards the masterful swordswoman, "that's what seperates you humans from true gods. Those who understand and don't. I have near total understanding of this world and the one prior to this one. You,"

He leaped forward with incredible speed, it was only a mere heartbeat before he appeared before her slashing a diagonal arc with his trident, sending a cutting stream of black-violet spiritual energy towards her, that would reduce the landscape for several dozen meters into a precise, incinerated cut, "will just be my foothold into claiming one more piece of understanding the universe, Dark Angel!"

"Yeah, well, you're also clinging to your boyfriend there." Oliver taunted, fixing a glare right back at Hyōryū. "Oh, and might I mention the fact that your mind is so full of fuck right now, as you've clearly been telling all of us for the last few minutes? You're better off just giving me that gun and letting me shoot it for a while!"

This immediately caused Shinji to turn his eyes away from them and back to Angelika, clearly not interested in such petty arguments. His eyes, however, caught the attention of something that remained out of place even in the war-torn setting - the prostrate form of Sakura. "A Lieutenant without her Captain...?" He muttered to himself, walking over to her and kneeling beside her. "10th Division... I suppose that she fulfilled her purpose if her Captain callously left her here in the hands of her enemies."

Slowly, he extended his arms out and scooped her up bridal style, walking towards Angelika once more. Once he stopped in front of her, he bent down to place her beside the form of Shadō. "V-14 knows no mortal enemies..." He spoke quietly, closing his eyes. "Shall I have her healed, as well?"

This got Angelika thinking about it, her eyes furrowed slightly. Despite the obvious disdain she had for Soul Society, it provided no excuse for her to break her rule of "no mortal enemies". And she had gone out of her way to protect them when they were in trouble... so in return, this could be sufficient payment until they crossed paths once again.

"If she is injured..." Angelika finally allowed herself to say. "Then have her healed. She can go back to the Seireitei where she belongs... if Shindō bothered to pay attention to her presence at all..."

On the woman's end, a slight gasp came from her when Yashin reappeared in front of her.

However, she was ready.

BING!

With a swing of the spear's staff, she connected with his blade. The energy unleashed by him rippled all around her, the winds blowing against her viciously. But she held her ground, keeping her weapon locked with his in a struggle. "You want to lecture me about power, my friend?" She spoke, frowning in slight disdain. "Then allow me to tell you this. Your power, no matter how much you attempt to exert it on me, will never have any effect. As far as I'm concerned, you are the one who doesn't understand!"

Then, she pushed even harder as the energy continued to flow violently from his sword. This time, Yashin would experience the sensation of his body slowly being crushed inward. The more the woman exerted her physical strength, the more horrendous the pain would be.

C-CLICK!

"Just think about touching him, and I'll shoot your balls off, saavy?" Hyōryū aimed her Jackal at Oliver's parts, her eyes narrowed and threatening, the thought of anyone handling the Executor other than her own two hands made her quite protective and enraged.

"So...I see you have either a blade that sends a invisible cutting force that directs it past the opponent's attack and into their very nerve receptors," Yashin spoke without pause, his blade keeping her back while his brows twitched and his lips quivered with a near to unknown thrilling sensation, "or your directing sheer empath energy into me that affects my nervous system through my spiritual energy itself. Either case being," he raised his left hand up, a arcane rune emerged from beneath her feet, "Obscura Vacansque Prisma!"

A pillar of dark spiritual energy discharged around her, solidifying within seconds as it hardened into a crystalline prism made of binding energy, threatening to immobilize her thoroughly.

"With this I can properly examine her body, energy and mind. All the secrets of this universe will be mine, after all. One more soul will help me reach that, as well as quell this annoyance, V-14!..."

"Oh..." Oliver grinned widely, even as she had her gun aimed towards his parts. "So now it's a him? Anton, I think she's cheatin' on you with her own guns!!" At that, he exploded into laughter, holding his gut and promptly falling over due to the heartiness of his chortles. This caused Anton to sweatdrop, shaking his head sagely.

"Only you would have a gun pointed towards your jewels and laugh like a lunatic, Holmes... only you..."

"He can solidify his energy?!"

The woman's eyes widened in surprise as the energy solidified around her, and she only had a moment to pull her spear away and thrust the tip into the ground before it enveloped her completely within its hold. Her expression was frozen, and so was the rest of her body. The binding spell had trapped her completely within its hold, and she was rendered completely vulnerable to him.

Or, so it seemed.

It would be the moment where the pain and agony would be at its limit.

A burning sensation would sweep through Yashin's body, and the very fabric of his being would feel like it would be torn apart. Through the frozen energy, the woman held a glare towards the man, narrowed eyes staring directly into his face. "You can make all the guesses you want... but it still doesn't mean that you're correct..." She said coolly. "You'll only destroy yourself trying..."

Hyōryū cocked her gun, not backing down even as he laughed, looking over to Anton with puppy eyes, "Can I kill his children? Its only fair considering he threatened to take our baby, and I don't want him touching him without my hands holding him. Can I please?"

Anton sighed heavily, shaking his head sagely once more and folding his arms across his chest. "No, you can't kill his children. They might take a turn away from their father and actually grow up to be productive members of society." He answered dryly. Thankfully, his voice was low enough not to be heard by the laughing Oliver.

Yashin eyes twitched and widened, as his left palm grasped his face, the prism shattered and dissipated into nothingness. At first, it sounded like Yashin was actually suffering, as long breathed grunts and hisses emanated his mouth. However, it turned to be all a facade as those hisses turned into a low throated filled chuckle, raising back up to his full height with his trident held aloft, no longer looking as if he'd attack immediately.

Yashin glowed all over a bright crimson, as his eye studied her ferviously before he closed his eyes chuckling to himself, "That ability...of yours is truly frightening. Turning any aggressive force of an enemy back onto them with a simple cut of your blade in the form a form of pain overload. You don't even need to be mobile in order to send that kind of attack at me. However," his body sent a wave of crimson smoke from his pores before his longcoat flourished with his tie and hair in a dramatic fashion, as stopped quivering and showed no more signs of being affected by the pain waves, "if I nullify all foreign matter within my body's senses, then no pain will touch me. You however," his eye switched from "Demon" to "Nightmare" the kanji numerical letter for One, appeared, as he whispered almost vehemently evil, "I can make your senses so distraught you will feel like you're in a universal nightmare for eternity within only a matter of seconds!"

Everything outside the woman's field of vision, taste, touch, smell, and hearing suddenly disappeared within a void, as Yashin's blazing red eye suddenly consumed the entire background of her senses. She would feel the most horrifying sensations wrack her body as her worst fears and failures would be dragged up, distorted, and twisted to make this psychological nightmare further break her. Its a technique that Yashin would turn the psyche of his opponent against him, much in the same manner of a body's immune system's white blood cells attacking the red blood cells, her own subconscious will begin destroying and eating away at her mind. Yashin called it, Visio Nocturna de Vacansque, the Nightmare of the Void.

"How does it feel knowing that everything you held secret being probed and twisted against you...Asuka Sakamato?" His voice rang within her nightmare realm, to her would feel like echoing within a few weeks while it only took a few second sfor him to say it.

Within the distance however, someone had managed to past through the barrier of Non-Sensory and began moving at a high speed. His armor clinked, his muscles pulsed, and his soles crackled at the movement he created to gain speed upon the battle within the Soul Society. Though his true purpose...was currently unknown, the sword sheathed to his backside showed he meant to fight. And fight he will...!

In the illusion that was created, the said Asuka had been hit full-force.

Her eyes dilated completely, and she found herself falling down on her knees. Sweat was falling down her face at a rapid rate, and she found her body shaking uncontrollably. She gritted her teeth and shut her eyes, tears flowing out of them involuntarily at the immense agony she was feeling. She gripped her spear tightly in her shaking hands, the illusion clearly having its effect on her. Her breaths became ragged, and she found it harder and harder to maintain her calm composure. She knew that if she had anything else in her arsenal, this certainly would've broken her.

But now, she had him.

Slowly, she stood up, her bangs overshadowing her eyes that continued to cry. Her arms slowly pulled the spear back behind her, both hands gripping the staff like a bat. Her heart was racing madly within her chest, and her nerves had been rattled to the point of her wondering whether or not she could actually follow through with the movement. He had literally invaded her with his powers... but that, as far as her sword style was concerned, put him at a fatal disadvantage. Maybe with this strike, she would allow him to understand her powers firsthand.

She took in a deep, shaky breath...

...and then she swung her spear.

WOOSH!

"If you're eager for knowledge... then I shall tell you. My sword style was specifically meant to combat opponents like you. Every time you use an offensive ability like you just did.... every time you release your energy in order to kill me... you exert your "influence" as well as a part of yourself on me. The more powerful your influence grows, the more vulnerable you allow yourself to become to my sword. My technique allows me to cut that part of you that you extend over me. That's what this ability is... and now that you've forcefully exerted yourself over my mind..."

Her eyes slowly opened up.

"I can kill you..."

SPLURCH!

This time, instead of just a sensation, a wound actually appeared on Yashin. A gash severed halfway through his waist, and could've easily cut him into two pieces.

"Gak-!" Yashin's mouth splurted blood from his throat, as a look of surprise took hold of facial features, sweating and twitching. Then, he laughed as if he had nothing holding him back, "thank you for that information. But there's one problem with your sword style against me..."

His form suddenly bled and exploded in front of her in a horrific manner, before swallowing her in a ocean of blood as his voice penetrated into her mind and soul, "This is your subconscious' actions, not mine. All I did was send some distortions within your mind through my influence to make your mind attack yourself. Making all forms of counterattack...irrelevent, when you're mind is tricking you one way to another."

Yashin watched humored from the side as he circled around the delusioned Asuka, seeing that for once the blade did not cut his body nor caused him pain. He dared not underestimate her, so he kept all outside foreign senses to a minimum while he observed her with fascination. "To think Angelika Hartman would have such a fierce, rare woman as a mentor. I'll enjoy swaying you to my rule when your mind has crushed your spirit and body entirely."

"!!!"

That almost caused Asuka's heart to stop beating.

It was confirmed now. She was effectively trapped into a corner, and now the tables had turned. If she knew that he would've unleashed such a tactical maneuver, then she would have finished the fight earlier. A weak smile crossed her face, even as she kept her form faced towards him. She would have to find another way to break the illusion placed on her mind before he could unleash his full power on her.

So far, she saw nothing but a monster. Her blows should've incapacitated him or even killed him already at that point. But somehow, he was still standing. This was certainly no normal opponent she had faced before. It was certainly a scary thought, being faced with an entity that didn't match up to your expectations or knowledge. Maybe he was right in what he had said earlier...

And on top of that, his eyes constantly on her form was somewhat unnerving. It was like a vulture circling her prey... a street rat circling a potential rape victim... and it was a perfect simile for the situation at hand.

"I take back what I said before about you..." She muttered hoarsely. "You're not a demon. You're a monster..."

Yashin chuckled as he raised his trident to tip her chin up towards him, despite her conscious mind having no ability to discern his current location or form, he enjoyed tormenting his prey in this manner. He rubbed a cold, black leather glover over her face as he whispered, "Monsters are merely spouted in fairy tales to conjur nightmares. I am a living nightmare, so monsters, are merely my foot steps echoing in your mind. Now then," he then raised his palm towards her head, a crimson crackle began to give light, "let's see how much you like your nerve endings exceeding their limits and paralyzing you, from the inside out."

Then, as the thunder crackled and boomed above in the sky, a figure leaped towards Yashin while dive bombing. A yellow thunderous wave of energy came down, collecting the lightning bolt that happen to cross paths with him as he roared aloud, slicing downwards where Yashin's form was, forming a pillar of thunderous yellow energy.

Yashin had barely moved out of the way, as his red eye changed subtly to the Gate of the "Human" as his body moved with incredible speed and agility out of the path of intimidating attack. As his red eye glowed menacingly towards his direction, a amused smile danced on his face as more thunder and lightning illuminated his body, casting menacing shadows.

"Kenja Kodai," he spoke with a delighted, low tone, waving his free hand with emphasis, "so nice for you to make an appearance."

Kenja's form was encased in crackling spiritual energy, his spiritual pressure rippled through the air as his face crossed between rage and bloodlust, the lightning cast equally fiercesome illuminations and shadows as his two eyes glowed yellow with a intimidating fashion, "Yashin!!!"

"Wow... so many people arriving on scene all for one measly group of mercenaries? I do believe you've hit some sort of record, boss lady."

Had the new voice not interrupted them, the V-14 members would've shown their full reaction towards the arrival of their old target.

Instead, all eyes shifted towards the form of the new figure and his companion, who was slinking behind the male as he walked. In contrast to that, the male had a mirthful smile on his face, his hands folded behind his back. He was approaching the scene as if there wasn't a raging fire all around them, as if he wasn't approaching a battlefield with the battle in progress. It was quite an amazing sight to see, considering the youthful appearance he had.

"And here comes the next contestants, ladies and gentlemen!" Oliver howled, mimicking a ring wrestling announcer who was...well... announcing the names and titles of the combatants involved. "In that corner, weighing in about a pathetic 90 pounds-- oh, fuck it!" He abruptly stopped himself, folding his arms across his chest and rolling his eyes. "Now, I'm not going to be surprised if everyone and their grandmother started coming to this very location..."

"Yusuke, I need you to heal these individuals." Shinji lifted a finger to point at the bodies of Shadō, Sakura, Anton, and even Angelika as he spoke. "Make sure they're stable and check for any possible anomalies within their systems."

"Yes, sir, ma'am, sir!" With a quick mock salute, Yusuke quickly kneeled over the forms of Shadō and Sakura with his palms raised over each of them. He closed his eyes, bowing his head and focusing his energy. His hands gave off a blue glow, which spread to their unconscious forms.

"Well..." Anton took in a heavy breath, dusting himself off. "We might as well get acquainted while the heat's off us for the time being." He turned towards Hyōryū, smiling a little while offering her his hand so that he could pull her up onto her feet. "Shall we?"

Hyōryū smiled, warily looking towards their ex-target and Yashin's direction before taking his hand, letting herself be pulled up and halfway into his embrace, "Yes...I'd like that," she said with a soft smile, something that was uncharacteristic of her, yet refreshing.

Yashin stood up, looking directly at Kenja before taking a look at new arrivals, "Problematic...drawing a crowd will only cause trouble. I don't know if I can keep this quiet any longer," he spoke nonchalantly, sighing in a resigned form before looking at the enraged Kenja, saying, "it would've been fun...to play with you again, seeing how much stronger you've become. But, I'm afraid we've run out of time."

Swish, swish, swish, swish, clap!

Yashin made several hand signs, having kept his trident in hand while doing so before slamming the pommel into the ground, as a blue tear of flames opened up and showed a rolling flaming pit below him. It was a portal of transportation, guided through Hell!

"Let's catch up some time, hmmm?" Yashin said before he fell threw the hole he created, not before Kenja roared out, lunging after him and slamming a pillar of yellow energy where he once stood.

"COME BACK, COWARD!!!" Kenja roared, out into the air, his sword held aloft as another striking thunderclap lit up the air before a sheet of rain began to pelt the ground, wettening and clicking upon Kenja's Fullbring and body, as well as the rest of the accounted for individuals.

Meet the team! Reunions and New Faces
"And finally he retreats..." Oliver muttered, allowing himself to stand up and dust himself off. He shut his eyes and raised his arm up instinctively when the rain fell upon him. The cold feeling sent a shiver down his spine, and he shook his head a little in order to get rid of the feeling. "Only took about a dozen reinforcements to make him do so!" A scowl crossed his face, and he walked just as Hyōryū and Anton were passing by him in order to approach the newcomers.

On Asuka's end, she had fallen to her knees, one of her hands clutching at her face. She was breathing hard, her body still shivering from the effects of the psychological torture he had inflicted on her. It was a wonder how she had come out with her rationality and sanity still intact... maybe if she were a lesser being, she would've been worse off... but, at the very last, Yashin had been driven off, even if it wasn't by her hand personally.

Now, she had to worry about recovering.

As she stayed to recompose herself, Shinji looked over at the approaching trio and calmly stepped out of the way to make room for them, so that they could see the sitting form of Angelika as well as the prostrate forms of Sakura and Shadō. The medic, in turn, looked up from his work in order to eye the two of them out of curiosity. It lasted only for a brief moment, however, before the cheery smile came back to his face again.

"Sorry it took so long to get here..." He said. "I hope it wasn't too bad for you all."

Angelika cleared her throat before speaking up. "This was certainly most unexpected..." She began, her voice firm. "I wasn't expecting you for a week or so. Why the early appearance?"

"We managed to sight out the destruction from our location..." Shinji explained. "Rika pinpointed it and deduced that it was where Beta Team's safehouse was at. All we had to do was ready ourselves and come here."

Hyōryū arched a brow and looked to Shinji, holding onto Anton's waist as she found him almost...intriguing. His appearance was even more standoffish than Shadō's, being bandaged and having a pair of red crimson eyes, while speaking in a matter-of-fact tone. She decided to play nice, as she waved over to Shinji, "I'm just glad you came when you did. You're a helluva fighter, Shinji with that umbrella! How did you get so strong? My name's Hyōryū Fūsoku, by the way...."

"Hyōryū Fusoku, hm?"

Shinji's eyes drifted towards her with an almost mechanical movement. "I was informed that Alpha and Beta Team were home to some of the most skilled gunmen in existence. Yet I see that you've somehow managed to bite off more than you could chew. Apparently, you're nothing more than a hyped-up disappointment."

C-CLICK, WHIRRRRRR!

"Don't make me use my baby on you just cause of an petty insult, Shinji!" Hyōryū glared darkly as she swung with ease the large Executor towards Shinji's chest, the cold metal rested against his chest as the rain pelted its metalic surface.

Had it been anyone else, Shinji would've flinched.

However, he didn't even bat an eyelash towards the gun that would've split him apart at point-blank range. Even as the cold metal graced his skin, he continued to stare into Hyōryū's eyes with a cold serenity. It was clear that the threat of death did not phase him any, if that was what his ally was trying to use on him. All of that could be conveyed within those next few seconds.

Until...

"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute!" Anton immediately raised his free hand up in a signal to stop both of them, a sheepish smile crossing his face. "Let's not start pointing guns at each other right after we've dealt with such a tough enemy! I mean, these are the new guys, after all!"

"Quite..." Angelika spoke calmly. "Besides, there are obviously the unregistered elements to take care of." She nodded towards Sakura and Kenja in order to make that particular point clear.

"Tch!" Hyōryū hissed, raising the behemoth rifle away from Shinji to rest on her shoulder, squeezing Anton's waist semi-appreciatively, "it'd be a waste to shoot such a small target anyways..."

Kenja looked to Angelika, heaving his large sword onto his shoulder with a metalic clank as the rain pelted his face and armor. He walked over with a grim, neutral disposition on his face as he walked to the leader of Angelika. He simply said in a knowing tone, "You were hit hard...both by the Inner Circle and the Soul Society, huh, Angelika?"

A slow smile crossed Angelika's face, her lone eye drifting towards the man as he came closer. "I knew there was a benefit for sparing you..." She said coolly, turning away from him and keeping her eyes locked on the two bodies in front of her. "Though I can only assume your reason for coming wasn't pulling us out of harm's way..."

"Yeah, what exactly are you here for, Cleaver?" Oliver questioned, folding his arms across his chest and cocking an eyebrow. "Just suddenly decided that it was a good time to make a big and heroic entrance?"

Kenja arched her brow, retorting back, "I see you're still the sharp one of the bunch. Not like those bark with toothless mouths around you," Kenja sneered slightly at Oliver before continuing, "the Inner Circle has been making some interesting...movements within the past few days. I thought with E-Day affecting nearly every living thing in both planes of existence, the Inner Circle would give some pause. But," he turned to the wreckage around him, as well as gazing upon the two bodies in front of him that were being healed, "there are two major players that are taking major steps in acquiring their objectives and goals. Yashin being one of them and the other goes by the alias, the Mist Eye. Both, are what the Inner Circle call Dragons, the lieutenants of the Four Horsemen of which I have yet to identify personally."

"All right, that settles for these two..."

Yusuke stopped the flow of healing energy, moving over so that he was positioned on Angelika's injured side. "Next, your arm, boss lady..." He said, raising his hands out towards her and placing his palms on her. Once again, his hands began to glow with the light blue energy as he worked.

"So there is a worse person behind the mind of an already manipulative bastard..." Anton summarized, giving a heavy sigh and slapping a palm to his face. "Just super, just when we thought our day couldn't get any worse..."

"Add the fact that there are other people beside him who like to turn plots into a game of chess, and we've got the cherry on the very top this shit-sundae..." Oliver added with a calm, mild irritation, reaching out to scratch his nose. "Suddenly, I'm starting to hate this so-called Inner Circle even more than I thought I would..."

Angelika remained silent, her eyes closed and her head lowered slightly.

Hyōryū looked over at Angelika's arm that was being healed, saying in a bitter knowing tone, "That, and the Soul Society has had enough of our dealings to the point where they're condoning full-scale military operations within their own city. One more reason why I hate this f'ing place, damn them all..."

Kenja sheathed his sword with a fluid motion as the rain continued to pour down on them, he crossed his arms while looking around them, "I hate to make things turn sour, but when Yashin entered this area he put up a sensory shield that blanketed the 12th Division's information network as well as any other countermeasures they have up. It will be going down within a few minutes, and I'd hate to see you guys take on any more fights with how relentless the Gotei 13 are...I'll help you get to whatever HQ you have and share intel that I've gathered on the Inner Circle, for one condition."

Everything always had a condition to them.

"And that would be?" Angelika questioned, not bothering to look up as Yusuke continued to heal her arm. Her ear perked up when she heard Asuka slowly pick herself off of the ground and walk towards them, the pattern of her footsteps mildly unsteady.

"Food & Board, that's all I ask," Kenja asked with a blank look on his face, as the question came out more comical than expected.

Hyōryū mildly remembered that the place he was eating when they took the contract on his life. It was the equivalent of a soup kitchen, in one of the more dirt poor regions of Rukonagi. Then again, all sectors of Rukonagi was near to dead poor. It was only people like V-14 that thrived off the underworld and scum that collects within the misfortunate and broken.

The question was enough to make Anton and Oliver nearly face-fault on the ground.

"W-wait a minute!!" Oliver stammered, managing to recover quickly from nearly falling over in order to stare in disbelief and shock at the man. "With the records we've read about you and all the shit you've been doing, you should be getting paid big time by someone!! I mean..." He threw his hands up in the air. "You're going up against the Inner Circle, of all organizations, man!! You can't seriously be telling me that you're doing that much without getting paid at all!!"

Anton managed an amused smile. "Good deeds may go unpunished, but they can also go unrewarded, it seems..." He said lightly. "But I was under the assumption that his demand was going to be something a lot more taxing-- huh?" His weary expression gained a bit of surprise when he saw Yusuke re-appear beside him, flexing his gloved fingers.

"Oi, Boobies..." He drawled casually, his tone directed towards Hyōryū. "You mind dropping him so I can finish up my business here? You can have him back after I'm done."

"...please don't let go of me, Hyōryū. I beg of you..."

The demand made Angelika opened her lone eye to a half-lidded position, and she turned towards him with a quirk of her eyebrow. She thought about it for a moment more. Because of their wealthy status, the V-14 didn't really have a problem with housing multiple personnel within a home. Considering that they were going to a warehouse, it was a worry that she could throw to the back of her mind without hesitation.

"Well--"

"Of course!"

Angelika was promptly interrupted by Asuka as she finally made it to their location. One of the elder woman's arms wrapped around Kenja's neck and playfully pulled him closer to her. The woman herself had her eyes squinted shut and a cheery smile on her face. "Not one of us would deny someone who's gone out of their way to help us out. Illegal mercenaries we may be, but heartless monsters we are not."

Sakura's eyes opened faintly, the dampness and cold moist texture of her clothing, that hugged and revealed curves to her body that would be eye candy for anyone to look upon her ragged beaten appearance. She felt the affects of her Tsuinshokku-Jū Ken were lost and she had felt someone else's spirit energy faintly, residually within hers. She blinked and looked over at the one responsible, easily deducing which one was the medic. However...as a result, she also felt every muscle and tendon in her body creak and groan in resistance of movement. She hissed faintly as she tried to stand upright, barely managing to sit up before clenching onto her torso and arms, "Ooooohhhh..."

Hyōryū narrowed her eyes to a dangerous squint, as a target reticle formed in her mind over multiple locations on his form. She felt her trigger finger twitch at the name call, feeling the need to unload her Jackals on her newfound, irritating comrade. But, she held Anton close, saying a deadpan, "No. Thank. You. Saavy?"

Kenja twitched at being glomped so suddenly, his eyes briefly buggered out owlishly before locking onto the garishly colorful wearing woman who acted so playfully with him. Though, in that brief contact, something sparked across her clothed form and into his skin, causing him to shudder. With a slight knowing look, he cleared his throat as he tried to peel her arm off his shoulders, "Yes well...thank you...I guess...as for the reason I'm doing this," he bowed his head, a slight shadow cast over his eyes as he spoke darkly, with a slight mournful undertone within his speech, "its much more personal than actual profitable venture I'm doing this for."

Yusuke shrugged. "Okey dokey lokey, Boobies. Have it your way--"

However, his speech was interrupted and all eyes immediately turned towards Sakura as she woke up, with varying degrees of surprise and wariness evident. Angelika shifted her position so that she would be kneeling on one knee, her lone eye observing Sakura as she woke up.

"Did you have a good nap, little puppy...?" The woman said, not hiding the mockery within her calm and composed tone or the amusement she held towards the aches that the Lieutenant was feeling right now.

Sakura turned to see her benefactor's leader, briefly wincing and grimacing at her position. Then she slowly turned around and got onto her hands and knees, bowing her head before Angelika, "I humbly thank you for healing me and caring for me. If you'd allow me, I will return to my Captain and never speak of what has happened to him."

Hyōryū arched her brow at Sakura, ignoring the rude comment from the medic compatriot, leaning into Anton as she spoke, "Just like that? We forget the fact you and your Captain led a military raid on our safehouse just because you got your ass owned by a common enemy? I say we dump her ass at the 10th Division's barracks with a nasty note of how much we love 10th Division hospitality."

"No shit..." Oliver growled, quick-drawing a pistol up to point at the back of Sakura's head once again. "We let you go, and you're just going to chase us again in order to capture us. We kill you, and we'll have one less person off our backs. I think your odds are looking pretty shitty, don't you agree? You should've just went back with your Captain, sweet-heart." After the way she had immobilized him on the wall, he was more than ready to deliver swift retribution to her for it.

"Kenja was certainly an exception..." Anton said, a scowl coming to his face as he fixed a glare at Sakura as well. "But what's the point of letting an enemy free if she's just going to come back to bite us later on? We'd be better off killing you and be done with you. Your heroism, brave as it is, just doesn't have a place in the likes of those who strive to survi--"

WHAM!

Hhe was immediately interrupted by the sound of Angelika's hand delivering a swift karate chop to the back of Sakura's neck, knocking her unconscious. "You're right..." She said coolly, standing back up and dusting herself off. "Things won't change no matter what we do. We're still going to be hunted. So, at the very best, we should take advantage of a good situation while we still have it." She turned her attention to Shinji. "Shinji. Carry this girl. From this point forth, she's going to be our little prisoner..."

"Yes, ma'am." With a quick bow, Shinji quickly moved to pick up Sakura once again and slung her over his shoulders like a sack of flour.

Kenja looked slightly disinterested at the situation, caring less what would happen to a dog of the Seireitei's military, considering so many were at odds with him. But as he heard Angelika's word "prisoner" he gritted his teeth before taking a swift step forward and placed a vice grip on Shinji's shoulder, one of the few people present that could stop him physically.

"Angelika, I've decided to add another term for my stay at your little headquarters," he cocked his head to the side, giving her a impassive stoic stare at her, saying lowly, "make sure not to abuse her body and keep her fed within a acceptable parameter. That's all, I don't care what other restraints or state the prison you use."

Hyōryū growled, pointing a finger at him demandingly, "Oi, Bastard! Since when do you make demands to us-?!"

"Of course."

Though slightly disdainful, Angelika readily agreed and cut off Hyōryū before she could exclaim her defiance. As much as she resented the girl personally, it wasn't enough to consider outright torture. She would keep the woman restrained to the point of being unable to fight or escape, but other than that, she would bring no harm. After all, if she was to be returned in severely injured condition, it would enrage Takuji even further than he probably was. And it already was apparent that brute force would not be enough to stop him.

Shinji let out an annoyed growl, clearly not liking the fact that Kenja had been courageous enough to place his hands on him. With a rough tug, he pulled himself away from him and shifted the umbrella underneath one of his arms. In order to assure Kenja and Angelika, he scooped her up bridal style and nodded to all of them - a clear sign that he was ready.

"Oliver." Angelika ordered immediately, pointing over towards the blonde as he re-sheathed his gun. "You take care of Shadō."

"Mhm..." The blonde grunted, the annoyance fading away immediately as he moved towards the body in order to sling the unconscious man over his shoulders.

Kenja briefly glared at Shinji as he released his hand, flexing it as though he felt something else when he touched the shoulder and clothing of Shinji. He then nodded his head thankfully to Angelika before taking quick flat look at Hyōryū, causing her to grind her teeth.

"Anton," Hyōryū whispered as they began trotting to Team Gamma's headquarters, "after we get rested...do me a favor and actually kick someone's ass this time."

"...eeyup..." Anton grumbled, too annoyed to make much of a response back to her. He didn't like the fact that they would now have to spend his moments with someone he would personally see dead. But he would respect Angelika's decision of allowing her to live as a prisoner.

"To the newcomers..." Angelika spoke, hands in her pockets as she walked. "I do apologize for the rough start for your newfound career. But I hope you'll find that in time, things will grow to be better. Once we're at the warehouse, we can become fully acquainted with one another and settle in."

"I want a donut." Yusuke deadpanned.

"I second that! And some roast beef stew! And some ramen...ah heck, anything you have in the fridge I'll devour!" Kenja began comically drooling as his stomach began to growl above the pattering of the rain that soaked all those who were present. He laughed sheepishly, "Sorry...being a powerful Fullbringer means I have to keep in shape as well as eat a lot."

Hyōryū eyed him up and down, gulping slightly, "Just...how good in shape are you?"

"Huh?" Kenja cocked his head to the side with query.

"Nothing, forget it!" She began blushing hotly before letting her bangs cover her eyes as she kept walking with Anton, purposely dragging his worn form away from Kenja as far ahead as she could.

Unfortunately, her boyfriend saw the blush on her face.

And from that point on, he silently vowed to find the way to kill Kenja one-hundred different ways.

Getting Settled In
"My, my, Angel-chan... you've certainly gotten a bit softer over the years, haven't you? Had it been any other situation, I would've been right in saying you took no prisoners."

Asuka was sitting cross-legged in a soft seat, sipping a cup of warm, green tea as she spoke. She, as well as the majority of the V-14, had situated themselves in the main room of the warehouse sub-rooms. Despite its nature, Gamma Team seemed to have made a home out of it. Everything looked just like something from a natural home, with furniture, television, and even decoration wallpapers covering the entirety of the walls. Everyone could easily get situated.

Among the people missing were Oliver, Yusuke, Shinji, Shadō, Anton, and Sakura. The latter of the three had been absent for various and obvious reasons. Anton and Shadō would need their rest in the medical wing, while Sakura had to be checked to make sure that she was properly contained. She would not be kept in a prison, but she would be inhibited, and it took the medic-nin's skills to see to that much.

"...please don't call me that..." Angelika closed her eyes, one of them twitching out of annoyance at her master's nickname. She herself was sitting in a chair opposite from Asuka. "You may have mentored me, but it doesn't mean you're free to do as you please. You're still my subordinate, after all..."

"Oh! That's right, I apologize." Despite her tone and expression, it was clear that Asuka was anything but apologetic. "It's become a habit of mine, I forgot how sensitive you get when you're being called that in front of your workers..."

"My my, ladies," Kenja said with a low whistle as his loud footsteps, now absent of the usual clanking of his Fullbring form, as he was now garbed in a hooded full-body black cloak, with black gloves and boots to boot, his personalized belt the only thing he kept from his original appearance, "you sure know how to set-up shop. Its a shame that you lost your other one."

"I had nothing to do with the set-up of these quarters..." Angelika answered readily, closing her eyes and resting her elbows on the arms of her chair. Her hands were folded in front of her face. "All the credit goes to Gamma Team."

While they spoke, there was another figure who had remained silent the whole trip. She sat farthest away from the group in total, her hands folded in her lap and her hair hiding the right side of her face. Clearly, she was trying to avoid talking to anyone and simply hope that she wouldn't be noticed.

"I see," Kenja grinned, with apparent praise in his eyes as he spoke to Asuka, "I heard you're the mentor of V-14's illustrious leader. The fact you were able to goad Yashin to take you seriously is...considerable. Usually he either toys with people or ignores them, usually a bit of both. Glad I got there in time to make him think twice," he said with a thankful, yet grim tone, crossing his arms as he looked over to the corner. He vaguely noticed the girl that was trying to keep to herself and isolate her location from everybody.

"Who's the wall flower over there?" Kenja asked rather bluntly, but made so in a purely inquisitive manner showing that he meant no offense to the girl shying away from them.

"Oh, her?"

Asuka put on a slight smile when she saw the girl immediately turn away, a slight blush on her face. "Oh, you're referring to Rika-chan?" She asked, her smile growing wider when she looked at Kenja. "Do not try to mind it much. She's not very vocal when it comes to... well... being vocal. But it's not because of something bad. She's just shy."

Kenja put on a wide grin as he looked at Rika, seeing her blush just made her seem more adorable. He could see from her attire and the way she looked she has a very beautiful, if not stunning looks. The dress complimented her in every way, and her long violet hair...Kenja looked back to Asuka, asking in a hushed tone, "Is she single? Or does she go for humans?"

If anything, Asuka's smile turned a bit mischievous, and she couldn't help but giggle in amusement. "Yes. She is single, if you really want to know..." She whispered back. "Though... you look quite older than her, Kenja-san... I didn't know you were one that went for the young ones, dirty old man..." She followed up this teasing statement with a closing of one of her eyes.

"Hey now," Kenja raised hands almost defensively, "I'm not that old, y'know. And here I thought all you people are like incredible long-lived. Wouldn't that make her like, older than what she really is?" Kenja tried to reason it out, as if there was some loophole for anyone to go after someone young-looking.

"Oh, you don't have to be so defensive about it..." Asuka answered readily, chuckling. "I really don't mind. It's not like I'm an overprotective mother looking after her daughter. If you wish, you're free to do whatever as you like... of course, if you can get past her shyness."

"Hehe, that's the trick, now isn't it?" Kenja said, looking over at Rika before winking at her.

"But...," Kenja looked back to Asuke and Angelika respectively, taking a seat across from both of them, leaning a muscular black wrapped arm, "I did come here for a reason. I came here to talk about Yashin and the Inner Circle, seeing as despite your knowledge of them, they seem to know more about you than you realize."

"I figured as much..." Angelika muttered grimly, a disdainful scowl crossing over her face. "Names, background, history we've had and relations we have with other organizations. Thanks to that demonic pest, our bodies are exposed for the prodding and the dissecting. It's a sickening side effect of the popularity we've gained in the criminal syndicate..."

Kenja leaned back on his chair, thrumming his fingers along the table as he heard her out, "Yashin is one of the most devious, if not most intelligent of the Inner Circle. Although I've never met the organization's leaders, the Four Horsemen, thankfully, if they want something done right they usually go to Yashin. So far he's eluded the entire Soul Society's military and intelligence operations for centuries, and his existence from what I've been able to dig up goes even farther back," Kenja pulled out a number of file folders with dates and places marked. Most of them being in the World of the Living.

"He's been interested in gaining knowledge of the universe as a whole. His methods for extending his network of agents, assassins, and enforcers is disturbingly effective and his means of executing or using other criminal organizations as he sees fit. No doubt, he paid you a visit indirectly when he called on your audience. Its best to presume the worst. He knows nearly every part of your past, your weaknesses, your relationships...the more he interacts with you, the more he finds out about your very being. He's a dangerous, sickening bastard who corrupts all that he touches. If anyone within the Inner Circle represents evil, its that man."

"Yes, that much we already understand..." Angelika allowed her gaze to drift forth to him when she spoke. "I had been watching the fight between him and my master and I saw the effects of the technique she used. That should've been enough to drive him away... but instead, it seemed to spur him on. Pain meant nothing to him."

Asuka sighed heavily, frowning. "I'm sorry... that was possibly my fault. I had a chance to deliver real wounds instead of just stimulation before he could use his illusionary powers on me, but I guess I was holding back too much. Nevertheless, you're right, Kenja. An immensely powerful being with a refusal to die, an insatiable hunger for knowledge, and the ability to shroud one's mind with the wave of his hand. Sounds to me like he was spawned straight from the depths of Hell..."

"Um... if I could interject...?"

The quiet voice of Rika finally spoke up, surprising Asuka and gaining her attention immediately.

Hearing the melodious, if not subtle voice tickling his ears Kenja turned around with a smile, he waved his hand in emphasis to the shy girl, "By all means. Speak freely, Rika."

"Well... for Yashin..." Rika suddenly found her head tilted downwards while she looked at all of them. "Prior to the fight he had with Asuka-dono, he seemed to have held no knowledge of her. It was the same for Shinji. But as the fight with Asuka progressed, he seemed to act as if he knew everything about her, particularly when he had used his illusions on her. I could see it within the shift in his movements and actions..."

"Its how he extends his control over others," Kenja said with grimace, but still held a admiring spark in his eyes towards the girl, as he emphasized to Rika as well as the two feminine leaders of V-14, "I felt it at first when I first met him. Its like his own emotions and desires flow into your being, slowly drowning and drugging you to the point where all that matters is his ideals and his will. Its not even something he as to do on purpose...because by being near him, he also takes on your very essence, the thoughts within your mind and the feelings within your soul. He can even trace the scars of your psyche back to its origins without trying. Its not really mind reading...its more like he's reading the book of your life by just extending his power over you. There is only one sure fire way of rejecting his will and brainwashed garbage he throws at you..."

"Yes...?" Asuka pressured, furrowing her eyebrows. "If you're going to tell us, don't bother to pause!"

Kenja wiggled his brows at her, saying, "You're cute when you're angry, but to the point, that's the only way to keep his influence from corrupting you. Rage, near utter blind anger, it totally keeps people from being warped by his presence."

This was something that kicked all minds into gear.

It was something so simple that it was overlooked by the deeper and more complex thoughts. Just allow yourself to get furious and fight? It sounded so easy in concept. But who knew what Yashin was past the illusions? It was true that at least Asuka had seen a part of it... but that was just it - only a part. If they wanted to make sure that nothing would go wrong, they would have to try and gain knowledge about their opponent.

"Shinji would be a perfect candidate..." Asuka said coolly, raising the side of her bent index finger to the underside of her lips in a thoughtful gesture. "But of course, that would be only in the brawn department. Not only is he immensely powerful, but he's also extremely intelligent."

"He's not the only person capable of making a chess game out of a battle zone..." Angelika said coldly, closing her lone eye. "Destroying his world piece by piece will do as much as personally seeing to his demise. If your man is capable of doing his job, then I can focus on opening up the innards of the very organization he works for."

That made Asuka's eyes widen, and she looked to Angelika with clear surprise at the brutal way her student was speaking. On top of that, Rika had regressed back into herself, wincing a little when Angelika made her speech. But both of them remained silent.

"But that's just part of it," Kenja spoke out, after a thoughtful nod, "Despite my raw anger and prowess in combat, he's been keeping me running after him for years without any real success in actually cornering him. As you saw, he's a cautious creature, and he wouldn't be left open to defeat, let alone interrogation so easily. In fact, did you know what happens to the average Inner Circle agent when captured? They have miniature explosives within their dental cavities with enough power to detonate an entire room. The Inner Circle is paranoid about revealing evidence of their existence, and the higher up you get in the ranks, is no exception."