A Wolf's Decision

Beast Among Warriors
The wind howled in a manner similar to how a predator or of the sort roared out in anger. The silent yet stressful night has yet to reveal the climax of its conflicts, but there were already too many powerful beings that came into play: many captains of each Division had moved out and mobilized their troops alongside their lieutenants, some were angered to the point they decided to exert their prowess outwards, a couple of them even decided to pit against each other in the midst of the chaotic and confusing night. Some decided to stay calm and simply wait for orders. One particular captain however, whether he was consumed by his chaotic self or not is unbeknownst to himself, decided to deduce something out in favor of having one of his trusted subordinates follow him in his footsteps.

War. That was what the captain had in his tactical mind all along. War had always make its way through, consuming dozens of innocent lives and typically ending in the tyrant ruling supreme or one of the good guys becoming the one true tyrant, or at least that is what he believed in. And now, a war has begun, although this time, it was different. There were too many factors for him to estimate who would become the one true tyrant ruling supreme above all. Finally he stopped giving random thoughts about it. He decided that thinking about it any further would aggravate his mind, although what he didn't know is that his mind was already aggravated, and that chaos would soon lurk around him.

Kaisei Ryūren. That was his name; the captain, the leading figure of the Division known as the Fifth, the one that was left without guidance as its former leader became the tyrant that nearly brought the Soul Society to its knees, only to be succeeded by yet another tyrant that nearly brought the extinction of everything in existence, which included Soul Society itself. Captain Ryūren was there, expressed disbelief as both tyrants nearly ended everything in existence in favor of re-creating everything in accordance to their liking, yet expressed disbelief once more as both tyrants were defeated. But that was not the point. He was there, his gaze narrowed down toward the innocent lives that were consumed, similar to how his innocent siblings and parents were consumed. And there he was, being a leading figure accompanied by his belief that playing such an important role among the Gotei would allow him to protect the innocents of the worlds, only to be wronged by the same belief.

His gaze was set blindly onto the plains of fresh green grass that swarmed the lands. Then he snapped back into reality as a yell reached out to him. "Captain! Where are we going?"

He peered over his shoulders, his gaze met with the shining eyes of another Shinigami; his subordinate, the Third Seat of Fifth Division. Tyler Ryūdō has been captain Ryūren's right-hand-man since the latter's inauguration as a captain. Tyler was such a diligent subordinate. What's more is that he was still young and energetic, that he still has potential. Kaisei needed to know whether Tyler would follow him in his footsteps...or rebel against him. Of course, Kaisei wouldn't expect his subordinates to follow him; what he was planning to do would have end up in wanted posters for his head being put up around Soul Society, after all.

"Ryūdō-kun," the captain spoke. "What do you think of what the man said earlier?" From what is expressed all over Tyler's face, Kaisei could tell that Tyler didn't know what his captain was talking about. "About the errors that Soul Society has made over the years."

A tingling sense of enmity conquered Tyler's heart. It is as if his heart just skipped a beat. His instincts told him to reach for his Zanpakutō, yet his mind and heart told him to stop and hear what his captain would say. "What about it, captain?" Tyler did his best to not sound so hostile. He couldn't piece it together, but something was obviously off about his captain. Sure, captain Ryūren was the type of person to hide his true feelings and intentions, but something--something very ominous--had changed all that. Something ominous enough to change the attitude of someone such as captain Ryūren.

The captain finally turned around to face his subordinate. "I've been thinking," he said. "Gotei 13's duty. It's to protect the lives of the innocent, is it not?" To his satisfaction, Tyler nodded in agreement. "You know, I joined the Gotei 13 for a sole reason."

"And what kind of reason is that, captain?" Tyler could no longer hide the hostility in his voice.

"To protect the innocent, that's what keeping me here," the captain replied, his eyes began to darken. He then closed his eyes to recall the things he has done ever since he joined the Gotei 13, or, more specifically, since he became one of Soul Society's leading members. Images of what he has done recently flooded his mind, but then all clear up. There was one thing that still hung within his lost thoughts before he continued, "But all I have done up to this point, up to this very moment, was watching helplessly as the innocent gets wiped out."

Before his captain could finish, Tyler knew where this is going. After hearing what that man had said, Tyler's instincts triggered and has become very cautious of his surroundings. Of course he recognized the errors in Soul Society's ways as of recent, but he stood among the souls that have sworn to protect it. In the case of his captain, however, he wasn't sure. Tyler knew the man for quite some time, and truth be told he is quite fond of the captain's way of doing things, as well as his personality. But this...he just wasn't sure. What could his captain be planning?

"No more," Kaisei continued as Tyler paused his thoughts. "This time, I'll be the shield itself."

There was a sudden pause before Tyler's instincts urged him to unsheathe his Zanpakutō, then his heart began to beat rapidly. Faster. Faster than ever. It wasn't long before a glimmer of light shone brightly, forming a solid object. Tyler's sight blurred. What was he afraid of? Why did his actions suddenly came to a stop? It was then that he realized the object formed took the shape of a blade. A thin, short, silver curved blade...and it was aimed toward his face. Tyler was right to trust his instincts; if his reaction time had been slower, he would've been dead by now.

As if his hand had a mind of its own, his right hand clung to the hilt of his Zanpakutō so hard and, before he knew it, the long blade of his Zanpakutō shot out and thrust forward from the corner of his blurred sight with immeasurable speed. A swift and loud clang! broke the immediate silence that followed, and as his sight cleared up, Tyler's eyes widened in disbelief and began to question whether or not it was real. What he saw was...the blade of a wakizashi, and the one holding it against him was none other than captain Ryūren.

"I see now," said Kaisei. He needed to ask no longer. His analytical mind began to piece together the facts. "So you won't follow me."

Kaisei backed down and held his weapon behind him. Before him, Tyler eyed his captain furiously, seemingly unwilling to take his eyes off of his captain. His hands were trembling, his legs were shaking. A chill ran down his spine. He was furious, and yet, he was scared. Afraid. No matter how much he rejected it, his suspicions were confirmed at last. Truth be told, Tyler didn't know what to say. Some part of him was angry, so furious at the fact that his captain attacked him. Some part of him was...unwilling to accept that his captain just attacked him. He didn't want his captain to go away.

Tyler's eyes began to fill with anger. Hatred. And before he knew it, his furious gaze met with his captain's darkened eyes. They were...hollow. Soulless. As if the captain just saw something so horrible that it drained the color from his eyes. Of course, it wasn't the case. "I am going to the Human World," he said. His voice was proud and confident. He was ready to leave all of his friends and work behind. If his heart desired to do so, he will do it. "And since you are standing against me, I cannot allow you to stop me."

With all his might, his emotions mixed, his anger and fear taking control, Tyler replied. "That's the part where you're wrong."

The Herd
"How is this my life?" Shiemi Makinami mused as she moved through the dark terrain with practiced ease, using the handle of her Zanpakuto to move branches or twigs out of her way.

She had been more than just slightly surprised to see the Third Seat from the Fifth dash through Seireitei like a bat out of Hell a few hours earlier and, given her knack for poking her nose into affairs concerning those she considered friends, it had been an easy choice to leave what she had been collecting in a store and instead head straight after the man.

"Are you sure that this is wise? The boy's reiatsu wasn't exactly calm when you saw him. He might not want you poking your nose in where it doesn't belong," her Zanpakuto voiced with uncertainty but Shiemi's eyes gained a determined gleam.

"Of course it's wise!" she growled, "Tyler-kun is a good friend, and colleague, of mine so of course I can be worried about him!"

...

"And I don't poke my nose in where it doesn't belong!" she snapped at her sword as she increased her speed, burying the unwanted uncertainty and fear that her Zakpakuto had planted in her mind.

Just what would she find at the end of the road?

A Roar and a Howl
The night just grew intense. Mixed emotions and feelings were brought into battle, even though they were not needed as much. After a few moments of silence, Kaisei began to move through the woods. No longer in the clear meadow of plentiful fresh grass, both persons, who were once comrades, allies in battles, chose the woods where branches are thick and trees are abundant as the proper location for their fight. Who wouldn't? It would make the fight a little more interesting.

As much as Kaisei loved to fulfill his resolve to protect the innocent, he also loved playing as an antagonist...especially a former protagonist whom had turned to the evil side. Nevertheless, his role as an antagonist right now only served to fulfill his resolve, after all. If being hunted by the Shinigami of Soul Society with wanted posters of himself hung upon each wall he encountered is what it took to fulfill his resolve, then he will do it. With all his heart and might.

He bounced and flashed from one branch to another with extreme swiftness. From the corner of his eyes, he could see his subordinate flashing, hoping to reach his captain. It was a lost cause, Kaisei concluded. A Shinigami at Tyler's level could never keep up with him. And Kaisei wasn't being haughty or arrogant; it was a fact. He glanced behind him and saw Tyler bouncing over another thick branch. Then he chuckled before disappearing into the blackness.

As long as Tyler could remember, the night was as dark as it can get, and coupled with the tons of leaves and branches blocking the moon's glorious beam of light from entering the battlefield, it was almost pitch-black in here. Anything could move and struck him from behind right now. That was before a light bulb flashed above him and gave him a great idea.

"Storm the world," he muttered in total silence, unable to hear anything other than his own voice and the slight sound of shaking branches that surrounded him. "Sakushū!" His voice was now audible as his left hand ran along the long blade of the nodachi held by his other hand. It was then that a light emerged and conquered the darkness that surrounded Tyler. A beam of glimmering light and glittering sparkles that turned the blade of Tyler's Zanpakutō into the very definition of light...and there it was: Tyler's passionate behavior and strong trust in justice, manifested into his very own power. And Tyler knew that if he was unable to fight against his captain, at least wielding his most-trusted companion in battle would give him a better chance of holding out against someone at his captain's level.

"Show yourself!" Tyler yelled, his voice was proud and strong now as his body took a defensive stance, ready to defend against whatever is headed his way. In all honesty, Tyler couldn't still figure out what he was feeling about. His passion had longed for a fight like this, even against someone as strong as his captain. Part of him was still scared; was he really going against his captain? Would he hold out against his captain? Then there was his strong trust and belief in justice, where his anger came from. If someone would ever betray Soul Society, then he was there to stop them, even if it means arresting the very man who worked under.

Then Tyler spotted a figure just below him; he couldn't place it, but somehow the figure was small and...definitely not his captain. Was someone else in this forest? If there was someone there, how come Tyler didn't detect whoever was that person's reiatsu? As his heart began to beat rapidly, Tyler decided to find out once and for all.

Squeaking in surprise when the sudden beam of light shot up in the middle of the forest, Shiemi came to an abrupt halt. She shielded her eyes to the best of her abilities before lowering the appendage and looking for whoever had initiated the ability, but what she found shocked her to her core.

Despite the stark darkness around them, Shiemi was easily able to distinguish just who had created that light; the ability was one she knew well from the war against the Quincys, and its owner was one she knew even better.

"Tyler-kun..." she muttered in surprise as she stared up at her friend, taking in his somewhat disheveled appearance.

He looked... different, if that was the correct word for it in Shiemi's mind.

His eyes were dilated, his hair was mussed—probably from the fast speeds he had traveled by—and his breathing seemed, from where she stood, to be more than just slightly erratic.

Shiemi knew Tyler, and he wouldn't be in a state like this unless something was wrong; Hell, whatever it was that had caused him to be like this was probably going to reduce her to a stuttering mess, should she encounter it as well.

"Tyler-kun, just what is going on here?" she called out to her friend, clutching Shirokage's handle even tighter as she stared up at the heavily breathing Shinigami.

Staring down at his friend, Tyler sighed to express relief. He was lucky: he didn't know what could happen if he ran into his captain like this. "Makinami-san...," his voice trailed off. His left hand reached for his chest as he began to pant wildly, partly because of the chase a little while ago.

He took a closer look at his friend; Shiemi Makinami. Memories of their past meetings abruptly flooded his clouded mind. In all honesty, Tyler regarded her as more than a friend. She was more like a caring sister to him and she was, in fact, the one whom had given him hope to live and it was thanks to her that to this day Tyler became a Shinigami. After he caught his breath, he was ready to answer her question, remembering every single moment of the event he just went through. It was then that Tyler realized something.

"Makinami-san?" he said with a puzzled expression, then he blinked twice to make sure whether or not he was seeing reality. It was a rough night, the roughest Tyler has ever been through, and who knows; it may as well be a trick that his captain pulled off. "You're...aren't you...," said Tyler, having trouble to piece his own words together. "Aren't you supposed to be in the Human World?"

Shiemi froze at Tyler's words and looked down at her feet, embarrassment making the tips of her ears burn a bright red.

"I... I received a Hell Butterfly about..." she trailed off, a burst of pain flaring within her chest as she was forced to once more realize what she had been informed about.

Should she tell him?

Tyler wasn't a healer; sure he was a kind man, but he wasn't a healer and that was exactly what Shiemi needed at the moment.

"Naomi's sickness took a turn for the worse," she finally said, still keeping her eyes plastered to the ground instead of looking straight up at her friend, "My sister's life is on the line, and I received a Butterfly about it but... I didn't even think about it when I rushed back here."

Blinking rapidly to try to contain the few tears that threatened to spill from her eyes Shiemi instead rose her head to look up at Tyler, "The better question here is what you're doing out here, Tyler-kun! You look as if you're being chased by a demon!"

Tyler reassured himself that it was no trick and, with a burdened heart, felt bad for Shiemi. Tyler wanted to express sympathy for her and make her feel better; for all she has done for him, he could never repay her. It was never the time to do such things, however. By standing around and talking, they have left themselves open and vulnerable. Too vulnerable.

"Makinami-san," said Tyler, his voice was definitely trembling. His emotions screamed out to him; stress, fear, and the sympathy he felt for her. "I'm very sorry to hear that," he said quick and fast. "But you're not safe here. We're not safe here."

Tyler took a quick glance around them both as his left hand clenched down Shiemi's shoulder to make sure she wasn't out of his range. Somehow he got the strange feeling that he was being watched. But from which direction? His left? His right? Above? Front? Back? Tyler was pretty sure that the glare he felt came from all the direction he could think of.

"Makinami-san," he spoke. "MOVE!"

With such swift motion a rigid beam of light cut through the woods with speed unlike anything both officers have ever seen before, blasting through the branches and leaves that hid them from their threat with sheer force and power. With all his might, Tyler pushed himself and Shiemi away from the beam that managed to obliterate almost anything in sight that he could see.

"What the He—?!" Shiemi screeched when her friend had pushed her out of the way, only to immediately quiet down when she saw the sheer destruction before her. She immediately tensed, her hands sneaking down towards her Zanpakuto 's handle, causing one of the small bells she had stitched into her sash to jingle softly.

She winced shortly at the quiet sound, knowing that whatever was attacking them possibly could have heard the sound as well.

"Just what is going on here?!" she snapped at Tyler, sending his a scalding look for a few seconds before her eyes darted around in an attempt to locate the threat in the area, "Tyler-kun, what did you do?!"

Tyler didn't respond immediately. The sudden attack had taken a lot out of him, and who knows when the next one would come. He was unwilling to let go of reality. This wasn't some random games he would play on a daily basis; it was a life-and-death situation!

With extreme swiftness Tyler held out his Zanpakutō toward the direction from which the beam of light had came from. "Neon Beam!" He shouted.

A ball of light that comprised all the color of the world was concentrated on the tip of his silvery blade, its glittering beauty lighting up the area around them. From the tip, the ball then burst forward, becoming an array of light beams of every color. Tyler didn't have time to make sure that his attack got through the one whom had attacked them. But he was sure of one thing: it would at least occupy their attacker for a moment.

"Makinami-san," Tyler said as he gazed upon the opposite direction. "Please follow me. I'll explain along the way." Then he began to disappear into the darkness, only to appear again a few feet away. The light of his Zanpakutō blinked every time he flashed forward; it was never a good sign, the enemy could spot him very easily. But nevertheless it was also a good sign for Shiemi to follow through the woods.

Shiemi immediately took after her friend, easily keeping up with him while keeping her senses on high alert, but the only sounds she could hear were the soft whispers every time that a new flash of light appeared where Tyler's blade was positioned.

"Tyler-kun, just... please, tell me what's going on here?"

"It's captain Ryūren!" Tyler finally snapped. "He...he...," his voice began to trail off. He glanced back at Shiemi, who seemed concerned. Very concerned. "There was a guy, I don't know who, but we all know he was very powerful. At par with the head-captain himself, I think," he explained. "Then the captain began to act strangely, and before I knew it, he suddenly attacked me and now this," he said, not realizing that he had skipped some parts.

Tyler could feel every single branch brushing against his face, chest and arms. The burning pain in his chest and the throbbing in his head ripped him apart. But he kept moving forward, flashing from one branch on to another, hoping they would be out of this mess very soon. The idea of having a chase around the woods in the middle of the night didn't sound so pleasing anymore. In fact, it sounded ridiculous, pointless.

There was no way out. They could run and run and run but who knows they could still be running in circles. They could jump high in the air but the enemy would just hunt them down easier. They were trapped. And before he knew it, there was another assault.

Lucky that his shining blade was powerful enough to counteract the energy projectile that had bounced its way onto Tyler, and lucky that his reflexes were sharp, sharp enough to notice even the slightest of movements.

There was another one, however. And it was directed toward Shiemi.

Having seen the stray projectile as well, Shiemi whipped out Shirokage from its sheath immediately and winced at the horrible screech of metal scraping against something. She was forced back in midair by the shock of impact and hurled towards the ground as she felt twigs and branches snap under the pressure of her body obeying gravity.

"Ow!" Shiemi groaned as she slowly sat up from the small dent in the ground her impact had made. She rubbed the back of her hand against her temple, wincing when she felt something wet and sticky on her skin, before taking a look at the smeared blood spread across her hand.

She located Shirokage just out of reach to her right and leaned over to snatch up her sword before she shakily got on her feet once more with the helping support of a nearby tree.

"Alright, if that's how it's going to be," she grumbled softly as she held out her Zanpakuto in front of her, her mouth reduced to a thin line and her eyes gleaming with concentration.

This was Alvin-taicho they were up against, and Shiemi wasn't stupid enough to believe that something like this could be solved if the three of them simply sat down tea to discuss the matter. No, this would require some brute force, and she had just the skill for that particular requirement.

"Bend, Shirokage!"

Shiemi was enveloped by a soft lilac glow as her Zanpakuto stretched in her hands, the soft fabric that was tucked around the handle slowly wrapping itself around Shiemi's wrists as the many marbles and sequins hanging from the tsuba grew in size.

"I am not going down without a fight, Alvin-taicho!" Shiemi snapped at the eerily silent air around her as she glanced at the dark treetops above her.

But what came down from above was something else...or rather, someone else. The sound of tree branches clashing against each other broke the silence, followed by a loud thud. Tyler had fallen down from the branches above him; his stature suggested that he didn't fall because of gravity that pulled Shiemi down. The light from his Zanpakutō flickered.

There was a long pause before Tyler got up and released himself from the awkward position he had fallen with. His sword began to stop flickering and glowed brightly, piercing into the dead of night once more.

Tyler exchanged a glance with Shiemi, still figuring out what they should do next. Or should they just wait until the next attack? He decided the latter option was better than running around searching for a way out that didn't exist.

But there was little time for them to wait for the next attack. This one came like a flash, and for the worse, it was beams of light. Beams of light, shooting from every direction Tyler could think of.

"MOVE!" He yelled as he dodged another beam. Up, down, left right, front, back. From everywhere. The beams pierced through the branches easily and they were relentless. Tyler didn't need to be hit by them to make sure they were painful.

Then it happened: Tyler was struck by two beams, one to his left shoulder. The other was critical. It had struck him in the leg. Even so, the beams kept firing. It was overwhelming...and overpowering.