The War of Four: Aftermath

A Moment of Rest, A Life of Peace
Only a couple of months had passed since the war with the Inner Circle, and Empresa seemed to have gone back to it's every day routine. A true testament to the technological capabilities of the Gotei 13's Research Division, the damage done by Aizen's forces had all but been completely rectified within just a couple of hours.

No one could be more happy for this than Coyote Starrk.

He lay calmly asleep on a bed in the Primera's quarters, his shoes on the floor beside it. Aside from the apparent memory loss that he had suffered while battling with Aizen, he appeared to have not changed in the slightest. For some this might be an annoyance, but surely for most, it couldn't have been any more preferable.

At the very least, the Primera herself was glad he could find the ability to rest.

Prior to this particular moment, she and her parents had to deal with unrest due to the monarch trio's sudden absence from Hueco Mundo. She, in particular, made a sincere apology announcement to the residents of the neighboring cities who had to deal with Aizen's forces by themselves, congratulated them for surviving and made a vow to never leave the side of her people again. It would put a damper on the next time the Soul Society wanted to pull an evacuation of Empresa. But she would gladly take that chance.

Over the couple of months, Casilda and Starrk had interacted with each other more closely. It had taken a while for them to get around. But eventually, they had gotten closer to one another. Eventually, the item that was the current Primera and the former Primera was quick to spread in the higher ranks. Although everyone kept quiet about it, the Espada didn't seem too keen on letting Casilda be. Nicolao teased her about it on occasion, Bernabe grumbled about her being unable to focus on her duties due to being distracted by the "lazy hobo", and Loly made it a necessity to taunt her with rather lewd jokes. Still, they tolerated the new relationship to varying degrees and didn't mind Starrk's influence.

In the last few weeks, however, the two had allowed themselves to become intimate as of recent... and in the recent days, Casilda had begun to show signs. Firstly, there was the fatigue, which wasn't helped by the amount of work she had to tend to. It got to the point where she had both Findorr and Bernabe take over active positions of leadership so that she could rest properly. Secondly, there were moments in where she found herself nauseous and even throwing up, and it wasn't uncommon for her to abruptly leave a meeting just so that she could relieve her stomach. When her subordinate heard of this, he insisted that she rest herself in the belief that there was some sort of illness. Even Casilda hadn't completely had an idea of what was happening just yet. But she was patient. She could wait it out until she got an opportunity to visit the doctors.

In the meantime, she would spend her time with Starrk.

"Note to self... don't do paperwork when you're about to collapse..." She muttered, walking quietly into her room. She was in her own sleep attire: a set of white floral pajamas designed with a subtle flair of elegance. As her bare feet treaded the floor, she took note of Starrk's sleeping form. Up to this point, she had been envying his ability to find sleep even in circumstances of recovery. But now, her road was clear and it was time for her to join him. A small smile crossed her face as she approached, and she resisted the urge to chuckle when she saw him roll on his side. He was such a heavy sleeper when he wanted to be, and like her, it was nearly impossible to wake him. It was a perfect scene for what she would do.

When she was close enough, she climbed onto the bed and lowered herself close. With the stealth and precision of a ninja, she slid herself underneath an arm with just enough contact to get his (unfocused) attention. Then, she slowly turned herself so that she was facing his chest, sliding an arm around his waist in a light hug. A soft sigh escaped her as she snuggled up to him, his warmth a pleasing relief to her from the day's stress.

A second or two after she had did this, Starrk's eye slowly cracked open and glanced down at the resting Casilda. He couldn't help but smile and let out a single chuckle at her precision and stealthiness, finding her way through his slumbering defenses without instantly waking him. The arm that she slid under slightly tightened to hold her closer to him in a comforting matter; he knew all too well that she hadn't been feeling good as of late, and while he often didn't show it to others outwardly, he was likely more concerned for her than any of the others.

''"Good to know I'm not the only lazy bum around here." ''he thought to himself light-heartidly. While he may have been considered an equal in the eyes of many, Starrk rarely did anything to contribute to the Espada Afilado and their cause. But what could he honestly do to assist them aside from combat situations? He felt as if he were seen more as an honored associate, a title that he certainly wasn't proud of, and used more of a symbol rather than a contributor. In his eyes, if this meant that he didn't have to do anything really exerting and could just spend time with the Primera (unless she personally required his aid), he wouldn't complain.

He exhaled lightly through his nose, calmly snuggling his chin on her head smoothly as he spoke. "Sounds like you had a good day... again."

"Oh, you know me too well..." Casilda murmured, taking in a deep breath before sighing again. "You'd think that after everything that's happened, paperwork would be the last of my concerns. But Hana and I still had to make sure the terms of our Alliance are binding, and apparently there's no other way to set it in stone. Next time, I'm just going to have Calius do it..." She closed her eyes. "Right now, I just want to get some sleep while I still can."

To this, Starrk's arm pulled itself back slightly onto her hip, a physical indication to show her what he was referring to when he continued to speak. "Speaking of which... you're not feeling much better, are you?" he questioned with quiet concern. He knew what her problem was, but he did his best not to mention it to her for care of what it could do to her already high levels of stress. "You really do need to let Findor handle that office work stuff while you rest up. He's good at it, and it's not going to make things any easier for you if you just keep trying to do it on your own."

A groan of mild aggravation came from her. "Do you have to be such a nag?" She complained, her arm squeezing him momentarily. "Findorr's been breathing the same stuff down my back as it is. Nevertheless," She sighed, her breath gently gracing Starrk's chest. "You do have a point. I need to take time for myself, time to get it together. Though I'm going to have to go to see Nicolao, have the doctors figure out just why I've gotten around to feeling like dead weight recently..." She let out a soft whine, almost humorously nuzzling her capture's front. "Coyote, I feel awful~!"

''"Guess that answers that question." ''Starrk thought with humor, a sweatdrop appearing on the back of his head as Casilda buried her face into his chest. For him to see the usually stoic and proud Primera in such an adorably vulnerable and pitiful state was quite an honor for him, as he doubted that she normally let anybody else see her act in such a way. Humbled, he gently but playfully ruffled her hair, chuckling lightly. "There there queen bee; you're in the wolves den now. A little stomach growling won't kill ya..."

Casilda stopped nuzzling him, looking up at him with a pout. "Normally, hearing that would be the reason to keep a gun underneath the pillow." She said, before closing her eyes again. "But I guess you're right. I've been threatened by far worse. This is nothing I can't get over... at least, with the help of Nicolao. Now, sssh! I'm sleepin'." The last two sentences were said with a humorously stern tone.

"Fine, fine." Starrk relented with a humored scoff, continuing to hold her close in a compassionate manner. "Come to think of it... i could use some sleep too..."

Memories of Blood: The Prodigal Daughter Returns!
"...so we can agree that somewhere along the way, Buddha decided to give me the middle finger. Good, glad we've established that."

In a room within the barracks of the 2nd Division, Brina McTavish was sitting on her bed and giving a glare to the mirror facing her from a distance away. In replacement of the outfit she had worn while she was in the Inner Circle's care, she was back in the standard Punishment Force's uniform - something she had never expected herself to don again. There were a few difference from the standard one, as hers was sleeveless and sported a hood. But she also knew that she was going to have to get used to it. Soon after the war had officially ended, she had decided to stick with her master and the grandmaster of the Onmitsukidō rather than retreat to the depths of the Inner Circle. Her subordinate Kumiko took over for leadership, while she was reinstated into the 2nd Division. It was a surprising development, but one she could accept nonetheless due to the fact that it was a request from her former master. There was only one downside that had been hooked onto her ever since.

She was now at the position of 3rd Seat - the very same position she had repeatedly mocked Sazuke for.

Right now, she was directing her gripes to a bengal cat that was using her shoulders for a couch. "Not only am I a 3rd Seat," She ranted, glaring at the mirror and partially throwing her hands up. "But I'm also a 3rd Seat... under Tensai. Bet she's just sitting up in her room, laughing her steroid-drunk bum off! Oh, I can just hear her now." She did a mock impression of Sasuke's voice. "Hello, Brina! Or should I call you 3rd Seat? It's funny because you used to call me 3rd Seat all the time, even when I was a Captain! But who's laughing now, you lazy sack of swine crap?" She let out a loud groan, slapping her face to her palms. "A subordinate to her... and I'm not even a right-hand anymore. This bites more than a rabid dog..."

She sighed, lowering her hands to her lap and looking at her animal companion. "What do you think of all this, Cheshire? Surely, there's an opinion going on within that head of yours."

The said Cheshire said nothing, but looked around a few times before reaching over to place a paw on Brina's nose. In response, she scrunched up her face - something that only increased when the cat started pawing at it.

"No, stop it. I didn't say you could boop me. Chessy. Stahp it."

"...oh boy, you're looking a little too much like mom now."

Crouched inside the still of Brina's window was a young girl, appearing to be in her early to mid teens. She was wearing a special punishment corps outfit, with some features befitting that of a samurai, such as armor plates on her chest, shoulders and legs. She had black hair and fair black eyes, the former of which was kept in a light ponytail. Her expression was one of curiosity, but also one of slight worry, as implied by her previous sentence. "Next thing I know, you're gonna be building friggin' shrines to that cutie and calling it senpai."

"!"

Needless to say, Brina had not expected the likes of a visitor to appear.

She jolted up a little, causing the cat to stop "booping" her and look over at the "intruder". However, it didn't take her long for her to come down from her surprise, as she realized just who it was. To be fair, she had only heard of the girl through reports from the Inner Circle and never actually met her in person. But at least she knew enough to have a bit of ground. The girl's name was Bei-Feng, and she just happened to be the daughter of her master and the apprentice of Sazuke. Much to her amusement, the girl was also the new Lieutenant of the 2nd Division, meaning that she was her second superior to deal with. At the very least, they were just meeting one another in recent times. So there wasn't much history to worry about as far as personal relations went. She could get along with the girl better than Sazuke, at least.

She gave a humored scoff as she looked over at Bei-Fēng, with Cheshire sliding off of her shoulders and onto the bed. "What, does she actually do that?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow in genuine wonder.

"You've no idea." the girl responded with a deadpan stare and tone. "I've gotten to where hearing 'Yoruichi-sama' is like one of those things where you hear a really annoying song that gets stuck in your head; it sucks."

She glanced down at the floor briefly before sliding onto it's surface with her feet, fluidly moving her shoes off of her feet and wearing just her socks, before calmly sitting on the bed across from Brina. She crossed her legs and placed her arms on her knees, staring over at Brina in an almost analytical fashion. Her expression, while being what one might consider staring too much, was actually one of genuine curiosity; she didn't seem to have any sort of negative feelings towards Brina at this point, but it'd be safe to say that she wanted to hear about one of her mother's darkest individuals from none other than Brina herself.

"So... you're the one mom and Sazuke told me so much about." she quipped, finishing her deduction and leaning back slightly. "Brina McTavish, right?"

A smile crossed Brina's face at the revelation of her identity. She folded her arms across her chest, tilting her head to the side in a slight gesture of playfulness. "The one and only." She answered, taking a moment to look over the younger girl. "And from what sources tell me, you must be Bei-Fēng... the beloved daughter of Master and apprentice of 3rd Sea--" She caught herself before she finished the jab towards Sazuke, once again reminded of her own position. The memory slightly soured her expression and tone, and she corrected herself with contained irritation. "The Captain."

"Heh, I guess irony really can be a bitch sometimes, huh?" Bei-Feng giggled with amusement. She knew Brina's history, of course, but it became a rather amusing twist to Brina's fate that she and Sazuke had almost entirely swapped places since her great defection. Although she was doing her best not to sound offensive when she giggled, the impression would be faint enough just for one such as Brina to catch onto. "Well I guess since you know who I am... there isn't really much point in me giving you an "official" greeting into the Stealth Force... and that's especially true since you were a part of it way before me..."

Despite her irritation, Brina still managed a smirk in her direction. "And yet you're the Lieutenant now, the Captain's right hand." She commented. Although her tone was jocular, there was also a subtle dose of compliment within. "I guess that in terms of relationship, that's fair. I don't think she'd live if she had me as her assistant." Her smirk changed to a pleased and mischievous smile. "Not to say that her life isn't going to be a living Hell with that closed gap, anyway. She thinks I was insubordinate under Master's rule? Oh, I hope she learns to savor the taste of her own words soon enough."

At this point, Cheshire had moved towards Bei-Feng and began the notion of rubbing up against her back, continuously purring as it did so. Its owner continued talking, idly taking notice of the pet's actions. "But enough about me. What brings you to my humble abode, ma'am?"

"Ma'am? Heh, that's a first."

Bei-Feng smiled at hearing her honorific, even if it was just a jocular one. Since her ascension to Vice Captain, she had never really received such a title from any of the officers under her or Sazuke's command. Maybe they didn't feel she was yet worthy of the title, or maybe they just didn't feel the need to do so at all; she had only gotten the position a few days ago. Regardless, it was a pleasant thing for her young ears to hear, especially from one she had heard so much about.

"Heh, you don't have to call me that you know..." she began, a slight tint of pink in her cheeks as she went on. "I'd like to at least make one other friend aside from Sazuke. Everyone else here tries to just avoid me, though I don't think it's out of neglect, more like caution... and that really sucks for a newbie in the VC spot, you know what I mean?"

"They avoid you?" Brina repeated, her smile fading from subdued incredulity. "Well, that's a bit of surprising information. I mean, they have more reason to avoid me than you, all things considering. I mean, you seem like a nice enough girl to easily make pals. But if that's the case, it can't be helped." With a carefree motion, she flopped herself down onto her bed and folded her hands behind her head. "From here on out, we are officially friends!" With a satisfied and almost devilish smile, she raised a finger to point at the younger girl. "And if you are capable of messing with Tensai at least on occasion just for kicks, then you'll receive a special promotion to biffles."

While at first she blinked with quiet confusion at Brina's sudden willingness to be friends, she had to smile as well at the same time. "That quickly huh?" she continued, happily petting Cheshire's head and back. "I guess you really do know all there is about me if you think we're so compatible right off of the bat..." Her attention was quipped further when Brina mentioned messing with Sazuke, before she donned a similarly devilish expression in return. "Oh, trust me, I have her already on the ropes about what she wears around me. One time she was in that skin tight uniform she likes wearing and I accidentally said 'I'd tap that', as soon as I saw her. She made me run for the rest of the day." she finished with a sweat drop on the back of her head.

Brina did a double-take, her eyes widened to entertained surprise. "Oh my Spirit King, are you joking?!" She exclaimed, the biggest grin on her face as she looked at Bei-Feng. She couldn't keep the laughter from seeping into her voice. "You actually said that?! Oh, how I would have loved to see the expression on her face when you said that!" Her hands moved up to her face, covering her eyes and keeping her smile. "But trust me, that's nothing compared to what happened when I said it - and purposefully, I might add. She clotheslined me off the top of Sokyoku Hill and into the forest below. That was when we were on opposite sides of the spectrum in the war, mind you."

"Somehow I feel the reaction would be worse if you did it now as opposed to then." Bei-Feng giggled, covering her mouth slightly as she did so. While she was still trying to contain herself, she also took the chance to look around at the room Brina occupied. "Oh boy... I can already tell that you and me are gonna get along just fine... you'll be calling me biffles in no time." she finished with a chuckle.

"Good to hear." The brown-haired woman said, sliding her hands behind her head and crossing her legs. She idly took notice of Cheshire as she moved towards her, climbing onto her and laying on her stomach. "Anything else you'd like me to hear? Updates, recent issues, some punk that needs to get quelled in the Maggot's Nest?"

"Nah, not really. I mean, there are plenty down there that could use a little beating, but it'd be pointless for the time being." Bei-Feng responded, popping her neck into place slightly. "I just wanted to check and see how the new third seat is doing; I had a feeling coming back here after all that had... happened, before would be awkward and you could use a friendly face. But you seem to have it down pad."

Here was where a flicker of bitterness flashed within those blue eyes of Brina's.

Although there was still humor in her chuckle, there was also a subtle hint of sourness that could be picked up. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to face the sky. "Oh, how I wish that were the case." She said softly. "You just caught me by my lone self. Outside of that, it hasn't been so nice. Thanks to the method of "resignation" I used before, just about each and every Onmitsukidō underling's been glaring holes into me from day in to day out. Not that I wasn't expecting it, but it doesn't exactly make things more comfortable. In addition, I've been doing some thinking about earlier interactions, and... let's just say I'm not a big fan of Boss Lady Yoruichi now."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Bei-Feng asked in response, blinking a couple of times. "You don't have to worry about offending me or anything like that; I'm no where nearly as infatuated with her as mom is, so you can tell me what's up if you want."

Brina remained silent for only a brief moment, letting out a heavy sigh and giving herself a moment to conjure up her thoughts. What had come into question was a sensitive subject for her, especially considering it involved her at one of her weakest moments. By telling this girl, she would be entrusting a part of herself to her. Although she seemed friendly enough, she was still the Captain's Lieutenant and could take anything said here back to their mutual superior. She would be making a risk, and only Izanami knew what the consequences were. Slowly, she allowed herself to sit up, with the cat hopping back onto the bed again. Her gaze was firm and serious as it looked over at the Lieutenant, matching the tone of her voice. "I'll tell you," She said, raising a palm towards the balcony. With a concentrated use of energy, the balcony doors were sealed shut and the curtains swooped to keep the inside from being viewed. "But you have to promise not to tell anyone else, especially to none of the higher-ups. That includes Yoruichi and Master."

Bei-Feng simply nodded her head in response, acknowledging the closing of the window and doors. "I'm all ears and no talk."

"All right..."

With a somewhat heavier heart and a sudden desire to have a sake cup in hand, Brina told her story. "It was in the midst of war, a time not too long after Yoruichi revealed to both Sazuke and I she was alive and well. The three of us were in a tent discussing how to deal with the remaining enemy forces... or at least, we tried to. It didn't help that prior to our meeting, there was a scuffle between me and the Captain... which she sadly interrupted." She averted her gaze away from her Lieutenant. "Sore as I am about that, it isn't the reason. I was trying to be the nice girl, trying to lighten up the mood and get them to relax. But it seemed like Tensai was on her period. Every other word to me was either a hostile or smart-aleck remark. She wasn't even trying to get over herself. So eventually, I got fed up and tried to shoot back at her..."

The fingers on her lap tightened, and her expression tensed with anger. "And that was when Boss jumped in. Despite every scathing insult that came from Sazuke, she did nothing. Yet here I was trying to defend myself, and she goes about and threatens me for it! All the meanwhile, Sazuke was still handing out jabs! It was as if Yoruichi had suddenly turned deaf towards her or something! For a grandmaster of the Onmitsukidō, she seemed real insistent on coddling that condescending pig!" The last words of her sentences were said with a particularly vicious tone, and by the time she had finished, her hands were quivering slightly out of her fury.

"Huh..."

This was Bei-Feng's only response, at least for the first few seconds tha followed after some silence. For all she knew, this could have simply been a petty attempt at self defense on Brina's part; she had heard a much different point of view from her Captain, and her mother rarely talked of it too. And aside from her mother's stories and teachings, she hadn't made any notable contact with Yoruichi since the war... but hearing Brina's angered retelling of events clearly did more than just cause her to ponder the true nature of the event.

"... well, that certainly sounds like Sazuke." she finally let out, exhaling slightly and crossing her arms, staring up at the ceiling as she was still in thought. "Dedicated but unwilling to let things go... you would think after the war things would lighten up and bridges could be rebuilt and all that..." she closed her eyes and turned her head back down to face Brina's direction. "Have things between you and her, Yoruichi included, soothed out any?"

Brina closed her eyes and let out a harsh sigh through the nose, trying to calm herself down. "I don't really know about me and Yoruichi." She muttered. "She doesn't exactly know how thoughtful I've been of that encounter. But as for Tensai?" She gave a derisive snort. "Hah. As if that would ever happen. The only thing I'd get from her is the usual, just as I've always gotten from her. She's gotten a kick out of spitting on me so much, it's like second nature to her. Hell would rise to the surface before we'd patch things up."

"Well, y'never know." Bei-Feng responded with a nervous, yet light-hearted smile. "Time can heal a lot of wounds... I mean, look at-" before she would go on, however, she would cut herself off. She was dangerously close to mentioning the old conflict between Brina and Sui-Feng that happened all those years ago. For now, she had already delved too far into the past that the mood was somewhat uncomfortable as it was, so she knew it'd be best to not go any further. "In any case, I'm glad to see that you're settling in alright."

"Although it's not to the level of "alright" I would go for," The brown-haired woman replied, closing her eyes and once again flopping on the bed with her back. Her arms were folded across her chest, and her gaze was towards the sky. "I guess I have to count my blessings. But thanks for your appreciation." She tilted her head to the side so that she could look over at the Lieutenant, her hair scattered around her. "Sure I'm not needed for any official business? Maybe one of the higher-ups requested me for something you happened to forget about?"

"Nah." The Vice Captain replied casually, shifting forward and backwards idly as she continued. "Even if there was something I forgot about, Sazuke would just do it anyway, and twice as fast too. I'm a bit of a lazy-wart sometimes..." finally she got up to her feet and began to walk back towards the window, slipping her shoes back on as she did so. "It's been nice catching up with you Brin-Brin." she said with a smile, putting her legs outside of the window and sitting on the sill again before looking back at her. "Can't wait to hang out with you more~!" she finished before hopping outside of the window and into the barracks below.

"A charming kid."

As she retreated out from the window, Brina allowed herself to chuckle. In contrast to Sazuke, she believed that she would get along with the Lieutenant just fine. Of course, there may be the possibility that the Captain could accuse her of polluting the young girl's mind. But she would just have to cross that bridge when she came to it. For now, she would allow herself to relax as much as she could while no one found reason to bother her. She hoped Bei-Feng's visits came often; now that she found herself to get along with the girl, she at least had a friend of her own to hang out with.

She closed one eye and moved her head slightly as Cheshire nuzzled her face, laughing quietly. "She may be a charming kid," She said, reaching over to scratch one of the cat's ears. "But she's got nothing on you."

As the Lieutenant would land into the confines of the barracks, one person in particular seemed to stand in front of her. She wore a white Haori, the symbol of the 2nd Division emblazoned upon its back, her hair done in a high-rised ponytail. Her normal bodysuit was replaced with the executive attire, normally accustomed by those with the rank of Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō. Her eyes were drawn to Bei-Feng, an expectant smile drawn across her face, complemented by a methodical tap of her right foot along with a cross of her arms over her chest.

"Lieutenant," Sazuke said in a crisp, yet not entirely unfriendly tone, "please escort Miss McTavish to my quarters. I need to see you both in less than five minutes."

Turning on her heels, she left without any further dialogue, her person long gone to await them within her quarters.

The moment Bei-Feng landed on her two feet and saw the figure in front of her, she seemed to freeze almost entirely. Her pupils dialated, her legs briefly quivered, and she didn't even look up at Sazuke's face; the white haori and the voice were all that she needed to know that her Captain had been out there. Whether or not she had been there the entire time or not was entirely irrelevant now, as Sazuke knew that she and Brina had met for the first time.

''"Christ, I've really done it now." ''the girl thought with fear and dread, comically sweating and waterfall like tears flowing from her closed eyes. "She's gonna yell at us or... or humiliate us or something... Bei-Feng you idiot! You should've been more careful!!"

With a dreadful sigh, she picked herself back up and began to climb back up into Brina's room to give her the news. ''"So much for a long-lasting friendship..." ''she thought while doing so.

"You know, you two," Sazuke began to drawl on, her rump leaning against the top of her desk while her legs were crossed in sync with her arms, folded one over the other. As soon as they both entered the office and closed the door behind them, she had kept this posture, waiting for them to realize she had heard everything. A humored twitch was seen around her brow, indicating she wasn't entirely pleased what she heard either. "when you decide to gossip about the Captain of a Division, try not to do that when within hearing range of the barracks. It is usually unwise for you to especially talk about said Captain when she is the Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō."

"Honey, I thought we talked about this stalking thing..."

The first response came from Brina, who had her arms folded across her chest and her back leaning against the wall. In contrast to whatever expression Bei-Feng probably had, hers was relaxed and casual. Blue eyes stared at Sazuke with blue eyes nearing indifference. "I know that you love me and all," She continued, throwing caution to the wind. "But I need my personal space, and you're kind of smothering me..."

Following Brina's remark, Bei-Feng was on her knees, her hands placed over them in a typical position for a Stealth Force underling. She was far too intimidated of her Captain to say anything in protest, so she simply remained in silence, waiting for Sazuke's judgment.

"It is my business to be aware what goes on in my Division. It was your poor judgement to let loose your lips so close to my garrison, McTavish, not mine," Sazuke countered with a pointed glare. She'd turn her gaze towards her subservient Lieutenant, briefly tunneling her loathing that she participated in a conversation about her superior in such a lax manner. This would recede as she let loose a sigh, her whole body releasing a great amount of tension from her person as she pushed off the desk.

"Though, that isn't why I called you both here," Sazuke said pointedly, her stare now fixated strictly at Brina with a measure of dispassion yet all too serious. "I'll get straight to the point. Given your...part...in the war, and all that has happened, a great number of the Inner Circle were given amnesty in order to serve the Soul Society in any number of ways they can. Some have reformed their organization to do duties to help the Spiritual Realms and the Material World recover from its occupation and the destruction that has been let loose. Others are given the chance to join the DCO. I'm given you the ability to join the Onmitsukidō..."

Crossing her arms, Sazuke said very bluntly, adding a smirk as she enunciated her title offer to her most loathed rival, "...as my 3rd Seat, head of the Detention Corps."

"And there it is!" Already knowing what was going to happen to her didn't soothe it any. Brina's expression was quick to contort to one of anger, and she fixed a glare of clear irritation at the Captain. "So in other words, you're just here to gloat about our positions now." She summarized, pushing herself off of the wall and lowering her arms. "Just what I'd come to expect from you, Tensai. What," She cast a glance at the kneeling Bei-Feng. "Did you bring her here just so you can have an audience to laugh at my humiliation?"

Bei-Feng simply remained silent; her loyalty to her Captain went as far as to never speak unless she was spoken to do otherwise, but the stress going through her head was enough to make her lips quiver slightly. She was regretting ever stepping foot into Brina's room.

"No," Sazuke said it pointedly, crossing her arms while bringing a quiet glare down at Bei-Feng, "seeing as you're not surprised by this announcement, I can only assume my Lieutenant spoke too soon. A mistake, on her part, one of which she'll be reprimanded for at a later time.

"Besides the point, I didn't do so to get under your skin," She continued, levelling a serious stare at her long time rival, "I did so for the purpose of you meeting your superiors. Barring the other Captains of the Gotei 13, the only ones higher ranked than you would be myself and Bei-Feng. Anyone beneath you are peers who should be respected but have no standing over you. Your authority also extends to the Maggot's Nest, as you become its overseer, ensuring that nothing terrible transpires there and that order is maintained among them. I am speaking with all seriousness and not with any form of jest, McTavish, please keep that in mind."

As far as information went, this was stuff that Brina had already known of. She folded her arms across her chest and maintained a scrutinizing glare at the Captain as she went over the "refresher" for her position. The mention towards the Lieutenant caused her to cast blue eyes towards the young girl's bowing form, and she couldn't help but feel mildly insulted. To assume she was told by someone else instead of figuring it out for herself? It was probably unintentional, but she swore there was an insult thrown her way. Knowing Sazuke, "unintentional" probably wasn't the case.

"Yeah, well, forgive me if I don't believe you right off the bat." She quipped, nodding her head towards Bei-Feng. "And you don't need to grill the Lieutenant for anything. I kinda figured it out for myself. With everything that transpired between us and how the war played out in terms of enemy and ally, how couldn't I? You really need to have a bit more faith in my intelligence, Sazuke."

"I never doubted your intelligence, McTavish, just your maturity. In the way you've acted since our prior encounters you have always been guided by your hatred and your vehemence towards myself as well as my associates. I wanted this promotion, an offer I don't give out lightly, delivered in person by me," Sazuke enunciated in slow, hardened words as she didn't budge an inch to her sarcastically speaking former colleague. Crossing her arms over her chest, she leaned to the side in a presuming manner as she leaned her head back just enough to jut her chin out in her direction, "I know you still loathe me, McTavish. Quite frankly, I don't think too much of you either. But I do recognize someone who is capable. This isn't meant to subvert you under my authority. This is a means to bring you back into the fold and earn the respect you once had in this Division as well as the rest of the Gotei 13. If your standing as a loyal Soul Reaper for the betterment of the Soul Society ever meant anything to you, this is your best chance to prove that."

"And I'll be glad to." Brina answered, her smooth tone hardening a little, as well. "But you and I both know that it's only going to carry so far. I devoted myself to the cause of Soul Society once before, and it nearly got one of the people I loved most killed. It was only by sheer luck and the grace of the gods that she's still with me. I'll tell you this: I'll be glad to play the good guy again and fall into everyone's good graces." She unfolded her arms, pointing a finger at Sazuke and putting forth a venom that could've burned through the likes of diamond. "But if you try to do what Master did, turn that loyalty against anyone else I adore? I'll hunt you down, bleed you out, drag you to Tendan and let the streets take care of you. I refuse to do something like that again, consequences be damned."

"Likewise," Sazuke responded in a crisp tone, "if you pose a threat to the safety and security of the Seireitei once more, I'll ensure that your end will be painful and more torturous than you can even conceive in that depraved mind of yours. I'll let you rot in Kaze's laboratory and let him tinker on your body, remodel you into a sick pet of his. Ensure that you remain loyal to your duties and I won't even consider putting you through what you've already endured or what you've yet to experience."

Inhaling deeply, Sazuke exhaled out the mouth. Walking forward, she stood face to face with her rival and longtime nemesis. For awhile her eyes stared coldly into hers, holding the same mirrored loathing Brina held for herself. But then, it eventually defused into dispassionate indifference, as if it didn't matter at all.

Then, a wry smile worked her way up on her face as she closed her eyes for a moment. Opening them once more, she reached out her hand to be clasped by her in open invitation, "Welcome back to the Stealth Force, Brina McTavish."

There was a transition of Brina's expression, as well.

For those few seconds, she held her rival's glare with her trademark amount of defiance. Then, and much to her surprise, she found her frown slowly turning into a smirk. There was so much nostalgia running through this very moment. Staring each other down had been made into a past time into particularly tense confrontations, and on occasions, their masters had to come in and break them up. Maybe there would be another chance to genuinely settle the score between the two, some chance to start the fight that Yoruichi had ended. But for now, she would gladly wait. She'd have her chance to finish what had been started in the war.

The only regret was that killing was out of the question.

A soft chuckle escaped her, and she reached out to clasp and shake Sazuke's hand. "Good to be back... Captain." She purred. "And I'm sure that at the end of the day, you will be singing the same tune..."

"Hope she didn't forget to stock up on aspirin, because I am going to drain every bit of fun out of this that I can."

Fourteen Ways to Kill Time
On the formally criminal front that was V-14, things had taken a much more positive turn.

After finally getting a chance to get together, they and the Gotei 13 signed an official contract that legalized the mercenaries. True to Kenja's word, their actions in the war had gotten them recognized as heroes of the people. The Seireitei was kind enough to give them their very own HQ complete with their personal accommodations. Notably, it was a bit expensive. But with leniency from the Gotei 13 and the organization's huge money score, they easily coped with the financial challenges. The stress that the war had given to them had been completely lifted from their shoulders.

That lack of stress showed within their actions.

"YOU TOUCHED MY CHESTICLES."

"I'M SORRY, OKAY?!"

"NO YOU'RE NOT!"

"DON'T TELL ME WHETHER I'M SORRY OR NOT!"

Asuka sat in her chair, her face held in her hands as she listened to an argument between Genesis and Yusuke. She had no idea how it happened, but the topic of choice involved Yusuke accidentally catching Genesis's front "assets". For whatever reason, the Daitenshi had decided to freak out, and now the both of them were going back and forth in a childish yet humorous manner. Beside her was an annoyed Shou, who was regarding it all with a priceless expression of deadpan. It was clear this wasn't the first time.

"Children!" Kaitlyn snarled from another table. "I swear if you don't keep quiet, I will get out the paddle and come over there!"

"But Mom~!" Genesis whined, holding her arms across her chest protectively. "He grabbed my chesticles~!"

"It was an accident, you overreacting bimbo!" Yusuke yelled, throwing his fists in the air.

"What did you call me?!"

"I called you a fatass!"

"I WILL KILL EVERYTHING YOU ENJOY!!"

"Do you have to deal with this, Shou?" Asuka asked, her voice muffled by her hands.

"Oh, unbelievably." Shou grumbled, giving a heavy sigh. "How her experiences in Hell never took away her more childish side, I'll never know."

It was during the flurry of unintelligible shouts of crass nature that two people sat up from their own tables. Having taken the time to actually talk to each other about their own issues among the topics as of late, neither of them could hear over the sound of racket ensuing nearby. Two dark silhouettes strode wordlessly behind each arguing participant, with two pairs of hands -one gloved and the other calloused and bare- manhandled the scalps.

"You're annoying," Shinshin said in a dry tone, as he easily used one hand to lift up Yusuke by his collar while using the other to pull his head back by his crop of black hair, "cease your idiocy and enjoy a drink."

"Don't make me sit you next to your Commander," Shadō whispered, his imposing visage shrouded by a comically overblown aura of darkness that magnified his paled visage and yellow eyes that glared down at the Daitenshi within his grip, "or must I remind you your good behavior is the only thing keeping you here and not in a deep, dark, damned hole?!"

"That was excessive," Shinshin said dryly with a stare at his compatriot.

"You're right, I should have been more softspoken," Shadō said with an affirming nod, returning his gaze to Shinshin's.

"How do you think I've kept someone like Zaii in line? I never raised my voice to them. That makes me look weaker when I shout," Shinshin explained as if it was an elementary manner.

"Right," Shadō raised his free hand that wasn't gripping the Daitenshi's white scalp, gripping it with an audible crinkle of his leathern glove, "I'll make sure to be more active in my subtlety."

"That's better," Shinshin said with a smile that matched Shadō's.

Needless to say, the two victims weren't pleased with their situation.

"Owowowowowow~!" Yusuke whined, his legs flailing in an attempt to get some ground or at least ease the discomfort of his hair being pulled. But against the samurai's grip, there was no use in comprised. "Leggo of me! This hurts, you know!" As best as he could, he swung his gaze to a now-grinning Asuka. "Boss, help me!"

Asuka gave a halfhearted shrug. "I'm sorry, Yusuke. But it's out of my hands now." She said simply, reveling in the look of despair that her subordinate was giving her. Her face was a mask of innocence. "What could little old me do against two scary men like them?"

"A lot!" The boy wailed, continuing to flail comically and helplessly. "Stop taking mental pictures and help me!"

Although to a lesser degree than the "mortal", Genesis's senses didn't like the feeling of fingers roughly handling her scalp. But at the very least, she could take it without much complaint. In fact, she folded her arms across her chest and daringly spoke a quip. "Y'know," She said, looking over her shoulder at the dark entity. "When someone pulls my hair like this, it usually shows how bad they want it. I mean, I know I'm hot, but I'm not into the public watching, y'know?"

"Genesis!" Shou gasped, mortified at what she said.

"What? I'm not."

"And here I thought we were going to get a show..." The Punisher's voice quipped from yet another table, earning a protesting look from her male subordinate.

"Don't encourage her!!"

"...I'm not sure what my feelings are doing right now." A disgruntled Oliver muttered, watching the whole scene with a mixture of bemusement and slight disgust.

"Tch," Shadō hissed with disgust, releasing his hold on Genesis as he walked away with Shinshin, "your Spiritual Pressure makes me nauseous. I'd rather slit my own throat than remain in close contact with you."

"Was that necessary?" Shinshin asked as they retreated to a darker corner of the bar.

"It was," Shadō said with a darker tone.

"Fair enough," Shinshin replied with a chuckle.

"Mother," Mōka spoke in a terse tone, eyes half-lidded and glaring pointedly across from her forward left. She crossed her arms over her chest, now clothed in a casual sleeveless, short skirted crimson kimono with white borders etched into the fabric, "please keep yourself from becoming too intoxicated. I'd hate for you to cause a scene worse than the two children's-"

"ANOTHER ROUND!"

"-or the buffoons yonder," Mōka twitched, with closed eyes and furrowed brows.

"You can nevah best the famous drink'ah of Tendan!" Shito cried out with a flushed expression, turning to his right to see the three seated men, Kenja, Zaii, and Anton. A large pint-sized mug was in his left hand while a row of bottles stacked in front of their counterspaces, with several empty and wet spots from their sloppy drinking. Shito himself was wearing a muscle shirt with black dye and red letters saying, "Luck Has Nothing To Do With Awesomeness," while Kenja adorned a more humble wear of t-shirt and jeans, and Zaii in his standard Gi attire.

"Not a chance!" Kenja goaded with a fierce fire behind his slightly glazed eyes, pounding his mug onto the counter insistantly as he thumbed his own muscular chest, "as a Fullbringer, I've got plenty of stamina to contend with you lot. Keep it comin', scar face!"

"Scars make men sexy! I don't see any scars on yer mugly-hic-ugly mug!" Shito hiccupped as he slurred his words incorrectly, pointing his mug towards him while his free hand pointed at the bar instead of his intended victim.

A loud series of chugs could be heard to Kenja's left, as Zaii kept drinking, a giddy smile on his face but looking nowhere close to finishing. A pile of empty bottles scattered across his stool's feet, while others were almost empty in front of him. By far he looked to be closer in the lead than the other two, as he was too distracted by the pleasant buzz of the various mixed alcoholic drinks he's ingested and has yet to drink.

Likewise, Anton had remained competitively silent. The only sounds he made were produced from his drinks as he relentlessly chugged one down after another. The moment he downed one bottle was the moment he slammed it on the table, snatched up another one and began the process all over again. He was only a little ways ahead of the bememoth swordsman, but his side showed one thing in particular; although he had a flush on his face, he appeared to be the most sober out of the group. He had done this many times with Alpha Team, and this time was no different.

The Punisher simply gave a smirk over to her daughter, holding the shaft of her wine glass tentatively within her fingers. "Oh, don't be such a pussy, Sayū." She teased. "This is a chance to relax, enjoy the time we've been given. With everything that's happened, I can tell you guys needed it." She took another swig of the contents inside. "'Sides, it's gonna take a lot more than this to get me wasted. Or did you already forget who I am?"

"I haven't forgotten," The Hankami said with a roll of her eyes, "how can I not when your blood is part of me as is my father's? But I fail to see how your deified persona gives you rights to abuse it for the sake of becoming incapable of undergoing the process of intoxication. It just seems childish..."

"I'm a sluuuuuuug," Hyōryū drawled out as she dragged herself in a worm-like fashion, completely wasted from her own drinkage of alcoholic beverages. Her face was more flushed red than a tomatoe, and her eyes were almost closed with a vacant expression crossing over their glossy lenses. Wheezing giggles were let out as she kept inching across the ground, finding her stupor-ridden journey humorous to her boggled mind.

"...why is everyone acting completely idiotic or drunk right now?" Mōka asked in a perturbed, if not exasperated manner as she swerved her head around and waved her arms up with frustration.

"I don't know," Oliver, who had taken an interest to "slug" Hyōryū, whipped out a camera and aimed it towards the drunken gun woman to record her. His face was one of absolute glee. "But I'll be damned if I don't take advantage of this while I can! Ey, Sis! Keep doing that around each and every table!"

"As far as the likes of V-14 is concerned, this is nothing new."

Another voice - Shinji's voice - came from behind the Hankami. His figure approached with arms folded across the chest and an impassive expression directed towards the chaos unfolding all around them. He kept this pose until he reached the table, sliding into a chair with the grace of a noble. "Most of the members are unable to handle high levels of alcohol, with the exception of Alpha Team." He explained. "At least, that's what I've heard from Yoshizawa. Some are rather intolerable," He passed a slight glare over towards Hyōryū. "As you can plainly see. But at the very least, others--"

"Weee~!"

He was briefly cut off when he felt slender and feminine arms grasp him in a hug from behind, courtesy of Rika. "--are quite easily bearable." He finished, his formal and stiff tone softening a little.

"Hey, Shinji-kun~!" Rika slurred happilly, nuzzling into the Mod Soul's neck like a kitten. "Did I ever tell you how much of a friend you are? You're the best pal I've ever had as a teammate, and that's barring Yusuke-kun! The rest of them don't seem to like me because I can't fight back like they can, but not you~!" Her barrage of compliments earned her a humorously awkward pat on the head.

"I... appreciate your company, Nakamura."

"Aren't we having a splendid time in here?" Another voice, foreign in terms of current company yet familiar in memory, came to their ears.

It was Qilin, with his hands in his pockets and a mirthful grin sported on his face. But he wasn't alone; on his shoulders sat a young girl with hands placed on his head in a manner not too dissimilar from a drum. She was sporting an even brighter smile than he was, lightly tapping away at his crown and giggling to herself occasionally. The V-14 had yet to know it, but the girl he was carting around was his daughter Michiko. They also wouldn't know what other person he had blood connections to until she stepped into the room, suddenly finding the floor more visually appealing than the ones in the room with her.

It was Shikyo Ninaru, 4th Horseman of the disabled Inner Circle.

There was a sudden tension flaring up in the air for those who were conscious and sober enough to notice the Horsemen. Most of those continuing their antics paid no heed to the new arrivals, just carrying on with their idiocy and comedic routines as usual. But for the Hankami Leader of the Mercenary force, Mōka certainly gravitated her eyes upon the pair and the Horseman in particular.

"Well-Well," Mōka announced, causing all those aware to truly cast their eyes upon the entering three, unbeknownst to them the family of three, "if it isn't the redeemed Captain of 7th Division and the Horseman of the Inner Circle. What exactly brings you two ambiguously paroled people like you to our base of operations?"

From the table in the shadows, Shinshin cast a cool glance at the man in question called 'Qilin'. He knew who it was. Tsubasa, the Spirit Smith. Formally contracted by the Inner Circle both as a spy and as their weapons craftsman, he knew him for his art long before he knew of his connections to the infamous Mercenary Force that aimed to subjugate the world as they knew it. For some reason he couldn't help but wonder...what his true aims in visiting them were?

"Shinshin," Shadō said in a graveled voice, his golden eyes burning underneath the overcasting silhouette of his wide hat, "should things get problematic, we should step in. And we shouldn't be gentle this time."

"Let's just see how this plays out," Shinshin said in a cautious tone, his eyes keeping track of the trio as they entered the dining bar they all were occupying at once. "I'd like to think bringing a child here means they don't mean harm. Especially one as precious as that."

There was a somewhat irate tone within Mōka's words that made Qilin cock an eyebrow and Michiko look up curiously. "Not what I was expecting for a greeting, Komori-san." He commented lightly, his smile lessening to a more contained degree. "And I thought the Gotei 13 and your organization hit it off so well at first. What, did you start to miss us as an enemy?"

"This was a bad idea." Shikyo muttered, one arm folded across the chest and the tip of her other thumb clenched between her teeth. Her gaze was averted away from her husband, directed towards the subtle glare of a distant Angelika. The German in question was leaning against a nearby wall with her arms folded, retaining an idle and casual air about herself.

"What makes you say that?" Qilin asked, turning an inquiring gaze over to her.

"Why do you think?" Shikyo hissed back.

"Oh, c'mon, dear, you need to lighten up." As if the whole thing was a big joke to him, the Spiritsmith rolled his eyes and took his gaze off of her. "They just need to get used to your company, that's all. Don't let a few glares here and there get you down." He turned his gaze towards his daughter. "Hey, Michiko. Daddy needs to settle a few things with the adults. Why don't you run along and play for a minute?"

"Okay~!" Michiko brightened up, quickly hopping off of his shoulders and towards a bemused Yusuke. "Hey, you! I wanna play!"

"Didn't your parents ever tell you not to talk to strangers?"

"Silly! Some strangers are friends you haven't met yet!"

"...oh my gosh, that's a very good point! C'mon, let's go mess with the jukebox!"

As Michiko made off with her new playmate, Qilin set his sights on who was known as the "bonifide samurai" of V-14. "Hey, you!" He called out, casually walking towards the man with his hands planted on his hips. "Shinshin, was it? I'd like to toss a few words back and forth with you, if you don't mind..."

The called out disciple of Asuka furrowed his brows with perplexion. Whatever business he had wished to have with the man had escaped him, though the sounds of battle and the ardor that followed was a reasonable excuse. Considering his jovial attitude he decided against approaching the man with a hostile manner and would give him the respect he desired.

"I'll return shortly," He said to his Ikiryō associate, leaving him to glare after him as he walked towards Qilin.

Upon approaching, Mōka averted her gaze from the horseman, downing another gulp of brandy down her throat. Her eyes glared at the table, hating that her already sullen mood had to become even more sour with the arrival of unwanted guests. She knew that they should have locked the doors so no one could simply walk right in.

"The pains in the ass with being a Walk-In Legal Guild," Mōka thought with a visible snarl overlapping her beautiful visage.

Reaching him, Shinshin bowed politely before the Spiritsmith, and folded his arms within the folds of his kimono's sleeves. His cool eyes stared curiously at Tsubasa's, as he inquired pointedly, "You wish to discuss something, Spiritsmith?"

"More than one thing, at least." The Captain answered, giving a light shrug of the shoulders. "And the first would be exactly that." He folded his arms behind his back, his smile fading into an expression of curiosity. "I was pretty sure I had covered each and every one of my bases before I went into the whole "alias" thing. No one suspected me of my other identity for quite some time, and the only slip-up I thought of making was where Meikurai's judgement had been decided. Yet even before that, you managed to find my identity right away. I tried not to give any hints or left behinds, and yet," He briefly pulled out a hand and lightly slapped his own chest before returning it behind his back. "Bam! You point me out and ask me if I can fix your blade on the spot. Not exactly the most subtle of ways to do it, but impressive nonetheless. I must ask you."

He tilted his head to the side, cocking an eyebrow. "How did you do it?"

"Observation and experience," Shinshin responded coolly, "I've met many who've attempted to mimic the art you've mastered. It is how I learned to craft my own weapons, among them being Kakushin. Prolonged dabbling in the art of spiritual metallurgy gives you callouses similar yet strikingly different than a swordsman's. Each callous resonates a trace of spiritual fabric of each weapon they've crafted, culminating into the sign of occasional yet rarely visible glowing scars upon the blacksmith's hands. Though I did not know of your allegiances or whom your customers were, I knew you by reputation and by the signs your hands showed me. I know not another who could figure this out, so I insisted that I seek your aid...at the time, of course."

"And now?" Tsubasa questioned further. "Is Kakushin still in pieces as you had first shown it to me?"

Without delay, Shinshin produced the sword, scabbard separated from the bandage wrapped blade. Broken into two jagged pieces, the man held it reverantly before his eyes. After breaking contact with the blade, he gingerly handed it to Qilin, hoping that the weapon could be restored once in his possession.

"This is Kakushin," Shinshin said as he presented the elegant black sheathe and hilt of the broken bladed weapon, "can you fix it?"

It seemed that Tsubasa understood just how much this blade meant to Shinshin.

He reached out and took the creation from its owner's hands as if he was handling a baby, taking a few steps back to examine. For what seemed like eternity but was in fact only seconds, he did nothing but remain silent and analyze the blade. After the time had passed, he allowed himself to speak. "Broken into two pieces, courtesy of a precise sword slash. Yes, whoever delivered this particular blow must've been quite the swordsman. I can only wonder what kind of blade was he or she using against something like this..." He briefly closed his eyes for a moment, shaking his head as if denying the ability to repair it. But his next words would dissolve that idea. "I don't know..." In opening his eyes, he lifted an eyebrow at the samurai. "Do you want me to fix it?"

"Want to?" Shinshin blinked with confusion at this thought. Of course he wanted to fix this sword. It was the first and only real competent blade he had since his discipleship by his mother. Not even after parting with her did he move it more than an arm's length away. Even when he grafted the hidden swords into his arms and took up arts of using other weaponry, he'd always keep it at his side. Was it his dependency on having something protecting him that he wished to have it restored? No, he managed without it this far, all without using it. Was it time to let the weapon go?

His gaze drifted towards the masterfully crafted weapon. It had been kept close at his side and had been his sole companion where he had none. Whether it was to protect, intimidate or kill, the sword was a truly effective tool to accomplish his tasks. Without it and the weapons that had been embedded within his arms, he had become a lost warrior with no weapon to call his own. But, did it have to be this sword?

It was then that he realized just precisely who he was talking to. Looking up, Shinshin bowed humbly as he spoke in a louder tone than he was accustomed to, "Good Spiritsmith! I beg your pardon as I ask a great task from you without any prior knowledge that I'd do so or provocation that you can. I wish for you to restore that sword back to its former greatness, if it is within your ability. If so, then please craft me a sword to match it, so that I can wield the past that I've lived through and harness the power of the future this new weapon will grant me!"

It was here that Tsubasa blanched a little, surprised by the sudden display.

"Oh, no no no no no~! That's not what I meant!" He said quickly, waving his hands in front of him as best as he could the sword in their grasp. His panic lasted only a short moment before he recomposed himself. "I meant, do you want me to fix it... or do you want something more made out of this?" He held it up to his view again, studying it for a moment more. "I mean, something like this clearly serves as a companion and an extension of yourself. It should be more than an ordinary blade swung around like a simple weapon. Every movement should convey the extent of your resolve, your strength and just how far you are willing to go to topple your foe. You created it, and it should evolve as you do."

He met Shinshin's eyes with an even stare. "All I'll need is a few days. If you want it, I can take this blade and shape it to one of the best forces to have stayed by your side. What do you say?" A grin slowly crawled up his face. "Do you want it fixed, or do you want it... made whole?"

Shinshin felt a bit foolish for acting in such an exasperated manner. Clearly he hadn't understood the meaning behind the man's words when he'd fix it. Someone of his caliber can transform any ordinary blade into a much finer and elegant weapon than it had originally started out to be.

Seeing this, Shinshin met his gaze with his own hopeful stare, having the strength to once again compose himself, "Make it whole, Tsubasa. I want this weapon never to shatter and to shatter all opposition when my own strength isn't enough. This is all I ask of it, and by extension, you Spiritsmith."

The Captain's expression brightened, and pleasure was written across his countenance. He lowered the blade to waist level, holding it in both hands while giving a bow of acknowledgement in return. "It shall be done, my sword-enthusiast friend." He said with a bit of a jovial attitude, slowly standing straight again. "I will work my magic on Kakushin and have it back to you within the week. In the meantime, though, why don't you sit back and continue to enjoy yourself? I'd hate to interrupt such a happy gathering..."

"Daddy, Mommy! Look over here!"

His eyes widened in surprise, and his head as well as his wife's turned to look at the scene with awe. What they saw was a standing human stack consisting of three people. Yusuke was at the bottom, sitting on his shoulders was a surprised Rika Nakamura, and on her shoulders was a carefree Michiko. The girl was waving her arms around, cheering her head off before pointing in a random direction. "Go, my noble steeds!" She declared. "Go and take us to Valhalla!"

"Woohoo~!" Yusuke cheered, heading towards the direction his "leader" told him. "To Valhalla!"

"N-not so fast, Yusuke!" Rika protested, trying to keep a good grip on the young girl's legs as she was moved. "I'm not exactly a ballerina, you know?!"

Shinshin could only smile with acknowledgement before bowing politely to signify his leave. Turning on his heels, he briefly smiled at the sight of something so comedic before returning to his passive stoic state. It wouldn't take him long to return to his seat with Shadō, whom exchanged a look of silent surprise.

"He's working on your sword?" Shadō inquired.

"More than that. He intends to make it better," Shinshin responded coolly.

"And you're alright with that?"

"I've thought about it long and hard. I don't wish to have a memento of the past, but a testament that I can endure my trials. Kakushin is no longer a brand of my failures but now a tool to cut the fabric of the future, wherever it may take me," Shinshin responded firmly.

"Hmph, that sounds as good of a reason as any," Shadō responded with a small smile, grasping his drink so he could sip from its contents in peace.

Meanwhile, Mōka could only stare at Qilin suspiciously. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact why someone like Shinshin, who lived and fought with such a prized possession, would part with it to a total stranger. Especially one considered to be a past enemy, even if it was indirectly.

"Hey," Mōka finally called out, wanting her inquisitive nature subdued through knowing the truth. Leaning onto the table with her elbow, she palmed her cheek as she cocked her head to the side, her free hand still holding her drink as she spoke to the Captain, "you said that you came to fix the sword. Why would you go out of your way to do that for someone not of your standing? I don't want to hear that compassionate shit either, I want to know the honest reason why you're here and why you bothered to bring the fam with ya. Dodge the question and I might consider throwing you out, right now."

The not-too-subtle threat caused Shikyo to narrow her eyes at Omega's leader, and it even caused Shou and the Punisher to regard her with varying degrees of surprise. But it only caused Tsubasa to raise a curious eyebrow at her, her hostile tone mentally questioned. But he kept his cool. "Not of my standing?" He repeated with a slightly incredulous tone of voice, chuckling a little afterwards. "What do you think I am, some flaunt who waves his title around in exchange for something? I'm choosing to do this because I see potential in you. You've been put through so much and still came out, strong as ever. It's rare to see that kind of spirit within a group of criminals - or in this case, ex-criminals - like yourselves. All in all, I've grown to like you folk."

It was very briefly that Angelika flashed back to the words spoken to her by Captain Horikawa, when she had been critically wounded by his Lieutenant.

"As for the family?" The Captain continued on. "I didn't so much as bring them along so much as they came for the ride. We're just here for a get-together, and this whole sword business was simply a side quest I was looking to complete. If you don't believe that, then I don't really have much else to tell you."

"Tch," Mōka sputtered out unintelligibly, lifting her mug up to sip a few swallows, letting it drop to the table softly, "fine, you pass. It's not like I own the joint anyways..."

Her gaze purposely avoided her own mother, let alone her peers. The smooth talk and assured tone the Captain had made her realize she had targeted him wrongly, especially for reasons that she didn't know why. A sigh escaped her nostrils as she released her hold on the mug's grip.

"I'm going to call it quits for now," She declared, her bangs covering her eyes as her face became impassive. With a brief wave to those at the table, she slinked around the Captain and his wife towards the exit, wrapping her arms around her midriff as she exited the bar. The only thing anyone would see would be her crimson hair dancing in the light just before she walked slowly out of the establishment towards her quarters.

It was here that the Punisher paid particular attention to her.

For the most part, she had been a silent witness to the interaction between Tsubasa and her daughter. Her cheek rested in her hand, her elbow rested on the table and a glass of red wine rippled within a lightly bobbing hand. She had absorbed the outward emotions of Mōka with surprise and intrique, puzzled as to what exactly was eating at her. When she saw the woman take her leave, she was at first tempted to make her own leave to see what was wrong. But she was stopped by the feeling that maybe the young half-breed needed some alone time. In addition, she was confident that her daughter would confide to her what was troubling her if she really wanted to.

"You realize it, don't you?" Shou's voice, calm yet showing worry, caused her to divert his attention to him. He was looking at the doorway which Mōka had went through, frowning with his hands folded on the table. "She misses the presence of Karitori. It's written all over her face, and it's been that way ever since the first disappearance." He raised his folded hands up to face level, obscuring his mouth from his superior's view. "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't disheartening to see her in such a way."

"Disappearance?" The Punisher cocked an eyebrow, taking a sip from her drink. "You make it sound like the butch girl's gonna be gone forever."

"That may not be." Shou said softly. "But as it is, she may be gone for a long time. She isn't kachō when it comes to hiding emotions. The dim of light within the eye, the way the corners of her mouth twitch upon forcing a smile... Karitori's troubled by something great, and she took a leave of absence from V-14 in order to find out just what exactly it could be."

"I don't know about you," Shinji muttered, narrowing his eyes and scowling faintly. "But I find it to be a waste of time and emotions. Such things only get in the way of business and profession. It's exactly why Angelika initially put a restriction on such relationships within the organization. Why she lifted it, I will never understand..."

"I'll go talk to her." Shou decided, lifting himself up from the table and earning both the eyes of Shinji and the Punisher.

"You?" The Punisher repeated, regarding him skeptically. "And what makes you think she's going to say anything to you?"

"I won't know until I try, won't I?" With a small smile in her direction, Shou turned around and followed Mōka's path. "May I see you all later on?"

As he walked away, the Punisher let out a heavy sigh and looked away. "Damn that boy..." She grumbled under her breath. "Even throughout the hell you were put through after your demise, you still managed to hold your compassion close to heart. I'm surprised someone like you had even started out in a group like V-14." She gave a small smile and chuckle. "But I guess I can't complain. After all, people like you inspire hope within others, and that's something I've grown to like." She emphasized this with a small sip of wine.

"Go get 'er, hero. Aside from me, you just might pull it off..."

Mōka sat on her Queen sized mattress, deep in thought. Her eyes distantly stared at her folded hands, resting atop her lap, sitting in the room; a room she wanted to spend quality time with Karitori within. Beside her right hip was a letter, a note of farewell given to her just the night before. It kept her restless and made her regret things that she had done since meeting her. What was Omega without Karitori? What was she without her?

Picking the note back up, she re-read the letter for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Hey Mō,

''Sorry you have to hear it from me like this, not sure if you could tell or not (what with you being a god and all) but something's been eating away at me since we started this fucking war. Seems like my past caught up with me, and as much as I wanted to change it through bashing it in the face, it won't go away. I'm certain it'll catch up with me and interrupt what little peace we're sharing right now. I...I need to deal with this alone.''

''I'm sorry if it seems like I'm leaving you, which in all honesty it feels like it myself. But this is something I need to do on my own. I'm not a little girl anymore. I need to face my own problems in my own way. If I can't make it back then I wasn't meant to be the woman worthy of spending the rest of my life with you. If I can, then I will cross Hell and back to find you. Unless Hell actually takes me...then  you might need to rescue me (I won't mind that, actually, hehe). ''

''Wow, this is a lot to write down, I think my arm is cramping up. I've...fuck, I've never been good on goodbyes, you know that about me. But I just want to say goodbye now and hope to see you later. It was a wild ride and I loved every moment that I spent it with you. Please be safe and don't get yourself killed. ''

Yours till the end,

Kari..."

Tossing the letter back to her side, Mōka couldn't help but feel herself drift back into her state of deep thought. Nothing made sense to her anymore. What was the point of involving herself in the world of man? This wasn't the first lover who left her or was lost to her. Was any of this worth it? She was now starting to doubt her own state of being, and if she was truly worth anything to those who knew her.

"Who the HellI was kidding? Mother seems to be better at playing human than I can," Mōka thought bitterly as her eyes closed, rubbing her face with her hands as she let out a ragged sigh.

"I see that the wine of the festivity hasn't quite gotten to you."

The voice of Shou came to her ears, and his body stood in the doorway. His hands were folded behind his back and his overall stance emphasized that of a docile attitude. He had a bright and warm yet composed smile on his face as he regarded her, hopefully presenting an atmosphere inviting enough for talk. "At the very least, you seem to have the sense to realize that whiskey only acts as an aesthetics for the soul." He continued. "Mind if I come in?"

Hearing a voice call out to her, Mōka's eyes widened and her head jerked suddenly to the side. Upon seeing Shou's form, smiling and composed, her tension vanished as quickly as it came. Despite her previous loathing to any subordinate of her mother's, she held no ill will towards him. Having been a member of V-14 when alive, not to mention her mending relationship with her mother, she came to respect him a bit better than before. His presence brought a few questions up to her head, but those were dismissed, as she was too tired to bother asking someone else in a curt manner.

Instead, she settled with resuming her stare upon her lap. Twiddling her fingers, she sighed heavily. How was she supposed to explain this to him? Could he possibly understand? A great deal of doubt mingled with dread filled her mind, causing her to belay an answer to her guest standing at her door.

It had just occurred to her that she allowed no one but Karitori into her quarters. The fact someone was asking to be invited in felt like a knife stab into her heart, reminding her bitterly there was no special someone she was saving her home for. She had to bite her lower lip to keep it from trembling, forcing out a exhale through her nostrils to steady her voice.

"Sure," She said in a lifeless, dull tone, waving idly in his direction, "what's V-14's is everybody's, right? Help yourself in..."

Her dead tone of voice caused a flicker of hesitation to cross Shou's eyes. But he kept his cool, stepping inside and reaching behind him to shut the door. The last thing he wanted was anyone to barge in on them during what would most certainly be a personal talk. He took a few steps towards her until he was at a reasonable distance, close but not enough to invade a possibly expanded personal bubble. "Listen," He began. "I know that I am not the closest individual to you right now, nor am I in your eyes the best confidant. But I couldn't help but see that no one else noticed how you were. I figured that I'd at least try to fill in what the alcohol couldn't. So," His smile faded, but his empathy did not. "If you're willing to tell me, what's on your mind?"

Mōka was quiet for the longest time. Even as Shou approached her, she didn't know what to say or how to explain what she was feeling. Had it really been so long since she felt true turmoil and isolation? She had experienced sensations of this nature ages upon ages, mirroring the longevity that her own parents and siblings possessed. Surely she could handle something like this again? In truth she knew it didn't make its happening any easier, especially in the moment.

Looking over at Shou, she turned her fiery eyes back to dully look forward. With a heavy sigh, she began to talk in a quieter voice than normal, "How do you keep yourself together? I know what the Daitenshi are, what it takes to become what you are and the knowing you had to live through so much suffering. But I know that you're...different from the others. How do you stay so...hopeful as you are? I don't know how someone like you, who's lived the life that he has, and experienced the Hell literally and figuratively twisted your being. I want to know how and why you continue to live."

Shou furrowed his eyebrows at the question. "How and why do I keep myself together...?" He repeated, mulling the words over. It was a question that he never expected to surface and be directed towards his being. He averted his gaze away from Mōka in thought, finding himself looking at the floor. "Well, I suppose that question shouldn't be entirely unexpected. After all, the life of a Daitenshi enough is more than so to push one into the abyss of insanity, and yet I am still here. If I had to answer a question like that..." He paused and straightened himself up, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath to mentally prepare himself. He could put as much detail as he'd like into it, but he would have to start from the beginning.

That was all the back to the start of his life's journey.

"Ever since my childhood, my life was little more than life's psychological test." He said, his voice hesitant as his eyes opened. "I lived in the slums of the Rukongai, and as a child, I was constantly beaten and bullied by other children. On top of that, both I and my father had to deal with the constant threat of burglars, rioters and other criminals seeking to take advantage of the populace. There were so many times I asked myself that question, and eventually, I brought the question up to my father." He closed his eyes again briefly and shook his head, chuckling. "Naturally, he didn't take it too kindly. He scolded me, chided me for sounding so hopeless. I don't remember the exact words he said, but in general, he insisted that there was always a light at the end of the tunnel, and if there wasn't, we would make our own. That was one of the reasons that I didn't put a gun to my head or a knife to my throat before this moment. I had to keep reminding myself, but eventually, his words became second nature to me."

He placed his hands in his pockets and started slowly pacing, his expression demonstrating just how far he was going as he trekked down memory lane. "There were many times, though, that I had been brought to the brink of death courtesy of the Rukongai's obstacles. I had the chance to stop it all, end the pain and just slip away into a possibly more peaceful existence. But every time that opportunity was within my fingers... well...." He looked unsure of himself, and his hands folded in front of him with his thumbs twiddling. "It... just felt wrong, as if I was being mocked for letting all of my efforts waste away just like that. I would be sending myself to disgrace if I perished by my own hand. So I got myself back up and continued to fight my way through. Anyone else would've said that all I did was to delay the inevitable. But eventually, I found my light... and it came in the form of Lady Angelika and what would be the V-14."

He stopped pacing, lowering his hands and regaining confidence as he looked back at the Hankami. "The fruit of my preservation continued to grow when I was first sent to Hell. Even through the fire and flames, I still believed that there would be a light at the end of the tunnel, a reward for my survival. I had to evade the beasts, the executioners and endure everything thrown my way. But I made it, and I owe it to Hell's Queen for seeing me out." He spread his arms out slightly to motion to himself. "In spite of all that's happened, I managed to make it through a changed man, reformed and stable. And I may not know what your exact situation is, but I believe that just may be the case for you, as well."

"I see," Mōka said, having listened attentively, not commenting or retorting to anything he said. Looking at her lap, folding her hands into her lap she twiddled her thumbs. Sighing raggedly, she closed her eyes as she spoke, "you're a stronger person than I could ever be. Even in death you persevere and become stronger for it. You hold your ideals close to your heart and it keeps you whole, nourishing you into a stronger person. Me? I'm a damned coward who condemned by entire race due to a decision made by a single individual to cause mass genocide to my whole people."

Resting her head against the back of her folded hand, she continued to speak, the volume of her speech rising as well as its intensity, "Ever wonder why I never embraced my heritage as The Dominator? It's because I'm afraid. Every time I tried to reveal my true self to people I cherished ages upon ages, I've been rejected or it ends up killing them. Humanity has been my greatest weakness and my greatest attraction. I've killed, drank, sang, slept and celebrated with them no matter where I went. It didn't matter if they were mortals or if they were spirits. I loved and hated them with equal vigor, yet I couldn't stand my own kindred or my own bloodright."

Her voice grew further ragged, hints of tears beginning to swell within her eyes as she continued to spill her thoughts out, "But then, when my identity was revealed by a damned Demon I was prepared for ridicule, scorn, and hatred. My comrades instead...they were indifferent. Hell, they embraced it! For the first time in centuries I found a place I could truly be myself. V-14 truly became a group of people I could call my friends.

"Karitori...she was a tortured soul who didn't want any of the nightmares that was thrust upon her, ravaged of her childhood and turned into a monster. I welcomed her because she was so much like me and for some reason, she knew I was like her. When she found out the truth, as it was admitted, I expected her to turn away from me. She instead said I was always exposed to her, and it was all just words now. It was the biggest relief I've had and I could never thank her enough!

"And yet...she still leaves me. The one person I thought I could spend a long time with her, truly happy, just walks away. For what?! What dogma does she have that prevents me from helping her through this?! Why wasn't I good enough to be by her and even die for her?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!"

As Mōka shouted this, the entire room cracked and warped, her Shinsei unleashed in a raw form that swirled around like a maelstrom. It burned off of her, giving her the visage of a burning entity rather than a beautiful woman. Her eyes ebbed tongues of energy, her hair roared upwards in a infernal display, and her lithe form shined like solar light. Clearly unaware of this phenomena, Mōka continued to shout within the confines of her burning space, tears trailing scaldingly down her cheeks as she clenched her head, staggering back and forth in uneven steps.

"I'VE BEEN DAMNED THE MOMENT I WAS BORN! HAPPINESS HAS ONLY BEEN A BREATH AWAY FROM UTTER FAILURE! IN THE END, WHEN THEY'RE ALL GONE, I'LL BE ALONE! I'LL LIVE TILL THE END OF DAYS ALONE AND SUFFERING! MY LIFE IS HELL EVERY MOMENT I TAKE BREATH! I WISH DEATH WOULD TAKE ME SO I CAN'T FEEL THIS WAY ANYMORE!" Mōka gutturally shrieked, her own hands reaching up to choke on her own neck. The horrifying display of deified power and intent of suicide sent the note that was by her indented beside to scatter across the room. It fluttered near Shou's person, within arm's reach, as her being absorbed the light within her space and became the hellish pyre of her own demise.

It was a horrifying turn of events.

Shou's eyes widened and his form staggered against the sudden release of power from the Hankami. His pupils and irises contracted as he stared at the burning form of the woman, terror coursing through his veins. It wasn't just terror at being near such ferocious energies, but the terror of the woman's actions and words. She was in a state of complete instability, grieved over the disappearance of her loved one and fully intending to kill herself over it. Perhaps even the fear of her power was nonexistent over the fear of what she was attempting to do to herself. His mind desperately tried to work out something, anything, that could possibly stop her. But by this point, he figured she was far beyond words.

Then, the goodbye note floated towards him.

Even in the ensuing chaos, it caught his eye very quickly. His hand reached out and snatched it out of the air, bringing it up so that his eyes could scan it. It didn't take long for him to work it over, and he knew that he had been right in his guess. But to the Hankami, it seemed like Karitori had made her leave permanent despite the letter stating an eventual return. Had it not been for the current situation, he would've gladly told that viewpoint to Mōka. But as of now, he was dealing with a nuclear reactor seconds away from meltdown. He had to do something. He shut his eyes and clenched his teeth, his body tensing for the briefest of moments.

Then, he rushed forward with one word shouted from the depths of his throat.

"STOP!"

He didn't stop to think about it. Before he knew it, he was behind and upon her. His arms were a loop, latching around Mōka in a secure and tight embrace. When his body made contact with hers, he had to fight back sounds of pain as the flames licked at him. His form trembled in both pain and fear, and his breaths became more irregular by the second. As far as he knew, this was the only thing keeping her from destroying herself. If it didn't work, then he and the entire base would be at risk from getting destroyed by what would be an unintentional kamikaze.

Mōka's cries were halted the moment she heard Shou's voice overpower her own. Feeling his form embrace her, even as she burned of Shinsei, was something she didn't expect. Burning eyes dimmed, slowly regaining her composure. The fire that raged within the burnt room began to fade, retreating from whence it ushered forth. When he body dimmed in its glow, sweat covered her skin, complemented by heated vapor oozing from her pores.

"I-I...I'm sorry," Mōka apologized, her body quivering in his embrace, arms shudderingly fell to her sides. Her tears, long since dried up, left her eyes swollen and red. A look of grief crossed her visage as she croaked out her words, "I...I must seem so weak. The thought of losing something...even for awhile...tears me apart. I've lived for too long if something like this...bothers someone of my standing and authority so easily. No wonder my mother pictures me nothing more than a child. I'll never grow up, no matter how long I live in this world..."

"Is that really true?" Shou breathed, still keeping her within his embrace. Like her, he was shivering, but moreso out of the pain of being in close contact with her active Shinsei than his now dying fear. As his wounds began to regenerate, his shakes lessened. "If you really haven't grown up, then Karitori never would've seen anything in you to value like she does now. Are you sure you read that letter right? Because to me, it doesn't sound like a good-bye. It sounds like a plea for you to wait for her while she finds herself. When she comes back, she'll be able to help you just as you helped her. She wants to be strong for you, in the event that you're the one in trouble."

He tightened his grip a little to emphasize the urgency within his voice. "All you need is a bit of patience. She'll find her way back to you, no matter what happens. But, please...don't do this. You know that the last thing she would've wanted is for you to die, especially by your own hands..."

"How do you know that?!" Mōka hissed as she shivered in Shou's grip, her hands balling up at her sides as she looked up at the ceiling with tears in her eyes, "how do you know something won't befall her? This world is cruel, hard, and terrible. It was a miracle that she even survived in the first place! And now she wants to go after the past that nearly killed her?! That's suicide! How can you expect me to just sit back and wait, hoping that she'll return?! Such a mentality is for someone who's powerless."

Bowing her head, her grip slackened. She felt herself slide throug Shou's grip, leaning onto him limply as her face buried into his chest. Tears ran hotly down her face as she continued to hiccup and choke on her own grief.

"I'm so scared...she's the first real person I've cared about in so long. I'm scared I'll lose that and never find that happiness again," Mōka whispered, her body shivering with emphasized fright.

"You must have faith in her, Mōka." Shou insisted, his hands finding their way to her back. One of those hands daringly moved to the back of her head, his fingers burying themselves slightly in her hair. He chose to let her take her emotions out of him, ignoring the dim sound of footsteps in the hallway outside her dorm. "The very fact that she's still alive, even after all that's happened to her, must say something to you. If you truly love her, then put every ounce of trust in what she's doing. Trust that, without spot or wrinkle, she'll return to the spot beside you. But even if she doesn't, I believe that you will be the first to know."

Once the footsteps reached a certain point, they stopped. He continued to ignore them, fingers softly stroking the locks of crimson hair. "But you have to keep yourself together, let her know that you had the utmost confidence in her. What do you think she'll do, seeing you like this?"

"She'd kick my ass for it," Mōka chuckled between her sobs, just for once enjoying the embrace of someone who cared. Without any strength left she just lied in in Shou's arms, a tear-stained smile upon her face. If even for a little while it was good to have people to rely upon when those she cared for are out of reach. "I'll wait for you, Karitori. You better not make me wait for nothing either. Or I'll be the one to send you to Hell, dumbass!"

The Uncovered DCO, Well Needed Time Off
In the depths of the D.C.O. headquarters, a less emotional exchange was being dealt.

Former enemies had becomes current allies, as far as at least a few of the Inner Circle were concerned. More specifically, Valeur des Vents and his small squad of Fullbringers had given up their position as "Dogs" for the mercenary organization in favor of positions within the Deep Cover Ops. It was a chance to put their new found powers to good use, and not for the machinations that they had been made to go by courtesy of their leadership. It was also an opportunity to make new friends and allies, bringing themselves that much closer to redemption.

Braeburn and Kameyo were demonstrating the extent of the established bond via a hand-to-hand sparring match.

Kameyo was pressed back a few steps when Braeburn started off a few hand strikes. His moves were fluid, his limbs moving in conjunction with each other as he attacked in a demonstration of balance and peripheral awareness. His attack stopped only a second after it started, but it had the pale-skinned girl reeling for a given moment. Nevertheless, with timed blocks of her arms, she was able to keep herself from getting hit. After giving her a moment to regain her stance as well as his own, he had once again kept her on her toes with a burst of hand strikes, this time adding a kick when he felt she was distracted. Then, after letting her regain herself, he had let her produce her own counter-attack. Her style, which had previously been nonexistent due to her preference with sword combat, was attuning to his own. He was teaching her his way of fighting, which not only gave her footing with barehanded combat, but also improved her reflexes and enhanced her reaction time. One could note that his style was a deviation from Hana's, who had helped him hone his own skills.

Once he settled into a stance and gave her a small smirk of challenge, she readied herself and began an attack anew.

From there, it was an exchange of limbs and a push-and-pull match. By themselves, each fighter's movements were simple. But as they exchanged blows, their limbs became entangled in an illusion that made it almost impossible to decipher just what exactly they were doing. Kameyo was knocked down to the ground and pulled back up, only to recover a second later to continue the dance. Braeburn got kicked back and was forced to stagger, but regained his defense quickly before his opponent could rush him. It was a demonstration of just how deadly and frightening someone with their bare hands could really be.

"She really is something," Takashi murmured aloud, arms crossed and body donned in traditional matte black DCO leather. Seeing the flurry of limbs and repeated claps of skin parrying against each other made his skin tingle with excitement. Not only that but seeing a well known fighter like Braeburn be even, blow for blow, by the likes of the IC Dog was impressive in his eyes, "not saying that the guy is better than me, but I've never known him to be a slacker in Hakuda. He's certainly got a opponent in that ring."

"Of course," Valeur interjected, proudly wearing a smile as he wore his new DCO uniform, complete with his own X-shaped built-in straps for his spear shaped Zanpakutō. It looked more like a black conforming bodysuit with studded plating than simply a skin-tight spandex suit, as other less heavily built members would note. "Miss Kameyo is one of the best fighters I know. To face her you'd need the best to make her break a sweat, let alone give her a thrilling fight."

"Their speed is incredible," Choku noted, his glasses giving him special aid to track their movements and break them down in sequences he could fathom, "to think that they're dead even and exchanging blow for blow. I'd never win in a brawl with either of those two."

"Go-Go-Go, Kame-yo! Go-Go-Go, Kame-yo!" Rokotsu bobbed up and down, bubbly cheering on Kameyo with a childish expression on her face.

"Oi, shouldn't you be cheering for Brae-burns?" Yōki asked with an annoyed twitch, pointing at Braeburn's direction, or at least what she could tell was Braeburn's direction.

"What? Is it be cause you lik-OW!" Rokotsu found her head hammer-fisted, cutting her cheer and her protest off with a sputtering bout of pained gurgling.

"Watch what you're saying, dumbass!" Yōki snarled, heaving heavily with a blush overlapping her face, overlapping the flushness of rage that came with it simultaneously.

"B-But-!" Rokotsu whimpered, eyes tearing up and growing adorably big in Yōki's direction, "it's true!"

"Doesn't give you the right to blabber it in public, dummy!" Yōki insisted with another shout.

"Holy crap..."

Last but not least to give a reaction was Tenshina, who gazed at the two fighters with awe. His stare was particularly directed towards Kameyo, and with good reason. It had only been a short while since they had been assimilated into the D.C.O., but in that short time, the "cyborg" had picked up a lot from the rest. Seeing the girl perform an over-the-shoulder throw-down on her opponent demonstrated just how far she had advanced in the art of barehanded fighting. Along with the abilities of her Zanpakutō, she was shaping up to be a pretty powerful ally. "I can barely even see what kind of moves they're using..." He said, waving his hands around to express his amazement. "I mean, I was trained in that sort of stuff when I was a Mole, but there was nothing like this. Is that really Hakuda?"

Following this statement, Braeburn had caught Kameyo off-guard. A punch to the face had stunned her, giving the Australian just enough time to perform three kicks with one leg. In rapid succession, there was one delivered to the stomach, back of the knee and the face. He followed it up with a roundhouse kick to send her spinning to the ground. But thankfully, the force of his blows was not enough to keep her down for long due to her "enhancements", and she was quick to recover herself. As he threw himself towards her, he allowed himself to speak out. "C'mon, Dollface!" He called out, stern yet taunting. "I know that can't be the best you've got--"

However, he wasn't expecting her to perform the counter-attack of a more dirty method - hurling dust into his eyes.

"AGH--!!" He reeled back, shutting his eyes in alarm when the dust hit. "WHAT THE--!!"

But he wasn't given a chance to continue his exclamation, as Kameyo was on him again. His arms moved to swiftly parry hers, his senses still managing to pick up her movements. But his defense was only brief, and she managed to manipulate his actions to grasp an arm and shoulder. She brought him down, her knee smashing twice into his gut with unrelenting force. Had it not been for his own impressive durability, he would've been winded enough to end the fight right then and there. He managed to push away a third knee and break out of her grip and regain control enough to defend and counter-attack once more. It was clear that this particular sparring match wasn't the most gentle out of them.

"O-O-Oi! That's cheating!" Takashi shouted aloud, pointing accusingly at the ring.

"What is?" Valeur asked coyly.

"She used dirt to blind him! That's against the rules!" Takashi said with insistent arm waves.

"What rules? They're sparring, not having a honorary duel," Valeur said with a curious shrug.

"B-But-!"

"Takashi-san, I don't think you understand," Choku chided lightly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he did so, "this is a battle of attrition, not nobility. It's to see who can remain standing after enduring the other's attacks. That's why this contest is Last Man Standing and not, Don't Get Dirt In My Eyes."

"You're just going to gloss over the fact that his girlfriend just played dirty, aren't ya?!" Takashi snarled back.

"Let it go already," Choku said with a sigh.

And then, another move - one which would prove to be a bit more painful.

Although Braeburn was beginning to regain his ground again, Kameyo still found another opening before he could push her back completely. After redirecting blows from his upper limbs, she suddenly moved into a crouched position. Immediately, he attempted to grapple her head for a knee strike. But she was quicker, grasping the middle of his inner thigh and pushing against it to ruin his balance. As he staggered, she saw her opportunity. Her free hand balled into a fist, which was thrust towards the critical area.

Needless to saw, the Australian howled like a coyote on that blow.

Kameyo quickly got up and retreated as he collapsed to the ground, clutching his family jewels and rolling in a fetal position. She straightened herself up, looking on with a blank expression even as he started yelling profanities. "THAT IS SUCH BULLSHIT!!" He snarled, his eyes shut and his teeth clenched. "I CAN'T EVEN DO THAT TO YOU!!"

"One of the advantages of my "condition", fortunately." Kameyo replied calmly, folding her hands behind her back. "You should've been quicker."

"Had I known you were gonna hit me there, I would've-- agh...!!"

"Wow..." After giving a pained wince of his own, Tenshina couldn't help but snicker. "Didn't know you were into those kinds of girls, Valeur. Bet she's always on top, huh?"

"It usually ends up on our sides," Valeur said brazenly, smiling almost in a cheeky manner, "neither one of us can stand being under the other, so it's the only way to compromise, ha-ha!"

"I didn't need that image in my mind!" Takashi cringed, his face already blushing hotly.

Choku sighed, looking at Valeur with a sheepish smile, "That's one way to come out of the closet and admit things, Valeur-san."

"Honesty is the best course of action, Serah Choku," Valeur countered with a inclining of his head.

"Sometimes its best not to say anything," Choku retorted.

"Fair enough," Valeur chuckled lowly, returning his gaze back at the arena.

"I give..."

After managing to regain himself enough to speak, Braeburn raised one of his hands into the air in a sign of submission. He quickly lowered it down, pushing himself up to his hands and knees. "I'm not risking a punch to the goods again, not against you..." He breathed. He grunted as he felt Kameyo place hands on his shoulders and pull him up to his feet, steadying his stance once more. As he dusted himself off, he looked over at what had been their audience. "I hope you boys and girls learned something from this. In a real fight, there aren't any rules or regulations. If you have to grab a nearby beer bottle to smash over your enemy's head, do it. If you have to kick them into a meat grinder or a furnace, do it. If you have to step on groins, punch the milk jugs, pull shirts over the head or flip skirts, do exactly that. Because when you're out on the field, your life is on the line. Trying to be a gentlemen against an opponent will only get you killed."

"Valeur's still alive." Kameyo pointed out, her hands folded behind her back once again.

"And he's the only one I know that's gotten away with it." Braeburn answered, closing his eyes and giving an acknowledging nod.

"What a flop that was," Takashi groaned, his body leaning forward with visible depression laced into his features.

"What? You expected Braeburn to be the victor or did you want a girl to not be the winner?" Choku pried.

"It's just not fair! She played dirty!" Takashi whined aloud, flopping his arms around childishly.

"Serah, based on your reactions, you most likely have done the same in her position given the chance," Valeur commented with an upraised brow.

"Shaddup!" Takashi gestured profanely at Valeur as he said so, stomping away from the arena to leave the place proper. Instead of making a gallant exit he found himself bumping into Head Captain Hana, his head knocking into hers. With the latter only slightly hurt, Takashi howled as he backed up and fell on his back with audible pain.

"Geeze, I come down here and you immediately attack me?!" Hana hissed as she rubbed the front of her head.

"Me?! You're the one who appeared out of nowhere you-!"

"Hana-chan!" Rokotsu cut Takashi off, leaping in the air and tackling Hana to the ground. Comedically smothering her in her welcoming embrace, Takashi was left to be picked up by the collar by Yōki herself. Rolling her eyes she walked over to greet Hana while leaving a inaudibly cursing Takashi behind.

"What was going on? A sparring match?" Hana asked, pushing away Rokotsu's childish advances of cuddling her intimately.

"Just finished one," Yōki said with a sigh, pointing her thumb over at Takashi and over his now squatting frame towards Braeburn whom was still recovering, "Kameyo, from the new Reserve Squad, just finished laying the beatdown on his jewels. Poor bastard was evenly matched till she decided that playing dirty was the best method to end it quick."

"I see," Hana narrowed her eyes, huffing with disappointment. Trotting past her associate, clad in her Haori and standard Shikhakushō, she called out at Braeburn in a rebuking manner from the top rampart of the makeshift arena, "what's the matter, she hit you too hard in the balls?! I thought you were tougher than that, Brae-san!

"I like my balls, Shiela." Braeburn narrowed his eyes and frowned at Hana as she approached. He folded his arms across his chest in an idle stance. "I like them whole, and I like them very much intact. I don't like the risk of getting them punched in repetitive succession in a simple sparing match. I'm sure that you would say the same if someone took to kicking you in the snatch over and over again, wouldn't you?"

"In addition, we were not evenly matched." Kameyo spoke up again. "Braeburn had a distinct edge over me in terms of direct combat, and would've eventually overwhelmed me had I not resorted to more pragmatic actions. Regardless, I do apologize in the event that I unintentionally made him sterile, or the event that any probable children between you possess defects due to unborn blunt force trauma."

Braeburn's response to that was to give her the finger, which she promptly ignored.

"Ah, whatever," Hana dismissively shook her head. Looking around, she crossed her arms and asked, "so, is that it? Were you all hyped just to see Kameyo and Brae-san fight?"

"Essentially, it was to see which of our Aces in the Hole were better," Choku said with honest smile, pressing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "the entertainment of seeing those two go at it was enough to break us away from our own training and mundane duties. After all, Braeburn and Kameyo proved themselves to be the strongest of their squads, right? What better way to settle who's squad is stronger than pit their two strongest members against each other?"

"I see," Hana nodded with understanding.

"Hey! I'm by far the strongest of the squad!" Takashi claimed with a sudden jump back onto his feet, pointing at himself with insistency, "don't compare me to Burnside over there!"

"He's a lot stronger than you, if I recall correctly," Hana responded snidely, looking over her shoulder at him with a expression of unimpressment, "you couldn't even lay a finger on him. With or without a kick to the crotch."

"HA! As if!" Takashi growled out, his being filled with passion that overrode common sense. Turning dramatically towards the arena, Takashi pointed brazenly at Braeburn while shouting at the top of his lungs, "I CHALLENGE YOU, BURNSIDE, TO FIGHT ME ONE ON ONE!"

"He's going to get his ass kicked," Rokotsu said matter-of-factly with fish lips.

"Most likely," Yōki whispered aloud, sighing to herself as she dragged a hand over her face, "men and their egos having to get involved. I swear Takashi is going to die a proud fool one day..."

"One on one, huh?" Braeburn's irritation faded to bemusement when the challenge was verbally issued to him. He cocked an eyebrow and frowned slightly, although he didn't look as if he was going to reject the challenge outright. "Well, I guess I still got energy in me for another go..." He commented, looking over his shoulder and gesturing politely for Kameyo to step out of the ring. "All right, Takashi. I accept. What are the rules?" He followed this up by working out his shoulders and neck, hopping from foot to foot in a show of warming himself up.

"Ace in the hole..." Tenshina repeated, looking over to the original D.C.O. operatives. He made sure to keep his voice low so that Takashi couldn't hear him. "Just how strong exactly is this Braeburn guy in comparison to the rest of you guys, anyway?"

"He's trained with the current Head Captain, not to mention is something of a lover of hers," Yōki explained with a wave of her hand, eyeing Takashi as he leaped off the observing balcony to impact the ring below with bare feet. As she watched him crack his knuckles methodically, glaring hard at Braeburn, she went further on, "of the whole squad, he's the only one with a Bankai that I know of. That's just a testament to his total Spiritual Power of course. His stamina and physical power is something you've already seen for yourselves firsthand."

"And your friend, Takashi?" Valeur asked with an upraised, curious brow of his own.

"He likes to think he's strong," Rokotsu said plainly, sighing as she crawled on her stomach to peek over the edge of the observing balcony at the ring below, "but he's not as strong as Braeburn. At least, I think he's not..."

"Well, this certainly doesn't bode well for our loud-mouthed friend," Choku said with a chuckle.

"It will be interesting. Ever since Brae-san entered DCO, Takashi has been making himself out as a self proclaimed rival of his. I never seen him act on it till now. Must have been boiling up to this point this whole time," Hana said in a bemusing manner, arms crossed over her own chest as she watched from above.

Beyond the point of no return, Takashi didn't bother listening in on the conversations littering about behind and above his head. Instead he pointed at Braeburn, saying specifically his rules, "KO. The first one to be knocked out loses and the one last standing is the victor. That easy enough for you to wrap around your head, Burnside?!"

At this point in time, Braeburn was hopping from foot to foot in a boxer's dance, his fists balled up and readied to swing. "Oh, sure, it's easy enough for me to, Straws." He commented in a casual and subtly taunting manner, stopping his dance and settling into a more preparatory stance. "But what about you? Because I doubt you'd be able to wrap something around your head if you're going to lose it in the next few seconds..." He emphasized this with a sly smirk, using a nod and glance of his eyes to gesture down towards himself.

"And it begins," Hana murmured out.

One insult too soon, and Takashi found himself flying forward. Propelled by a burst of Shunpo, Takashi swiftly appeared beside Braeburn, left hand already outstretched to uppercut his chin. Following the momentum of his own punch, the straw-hat lifted himself into the air, snapping his leg up to kick at his chest. Flipping backwards, he'd find himself back onto his feet, squatted and fist raised in a style similar to a kickboxer's.

It was thanks to picking up from his encounter with Jaken Jōdan that Braeburn had learned to anticipate movements masked by Flash Step.

The smirk was quick to vanish when he saw the fist move from his peripheral. He moved his head back in order to avoid it, his opponent's knuckles nearly grazing his face. His hands moved, grasping the shoulder and the forearm before bringing them both back down to earth. From what he could tell, Takashi's movements were aiming for unpredictability and irregularity. But at the same time, his wide and sweeping motions were risks to being unbalanced. For a more tactical opponent, disarming and incapacitating him within a few seconds would've been possible. But the Australian, in a fight like this, wanted ending it quickly to be the last thing on his mind.

When he brought Takashi back down to the ground, he used the hand gripping the shoulder to deliver a chop to the side of the neck. Its connection prompted him to fluidly move into another attack, bending his legs and rounding the hand on the forehand. It balled into a fist, striking Takashi in the kidney. Another swift motion brought his other hand to Takashi's flank, and a palm strike into the midpoint between where his ribs stopped and muscle began. He made sure to restrain force so that his opponent would only be staggered by the attacks rather than knocked across the room. To finish off his set of movements, he threw a high kick towards Takashi's face in an attempt to push him before he could completely recover.

Takashi received hit after hit. The chop to his neck caused him to cough aloud and his eyes bulge, his vision blurring. The next hit caused him to keel over, grimacing with the impact. When the third strike hit him in the rib laced muscle, he gagged aloud and stumbled backwards. When the last kick came, he narrowly threw up his arms to block it, feeling himself stagger back and tumble head over heels from the force. By the time he rose back up into a sprawled crouch, Takashi had his left eye close and right eye glaring up at Braeburn.

"You're quite flexible, Burnside!" Takashi grumbled out, wincing as he stood up.

"Don't die, Taka-baka!" Rokotsu shouted from the pew.

"SHADDUP!" Takashi barked back, eyes whiting out and his head enlarging briefly for comedic effect.

Recomposing himself, Takashi set his sight back at Braeburn. Adjusting his stance to be more upright and hold up his hands in a more upright posture, as if he was begging for something with open hands. Staring seriously at Braeburn, he began to come up with a plan of attack to catch his opponent off guard. What it was and what did he intend to do, was still unclear, even to those who know him.

"I'll let you get your breath back."

Braeburn broke what would've been a brief silence with a taunt, following it up with a coy smirk as he shifted his arms. He kept shifting them, almost as if he was constantly uncomfortable with his stance. But in short, he was simply keeping himself on the move while keeping Takashi from reading him too quickly. Truth be told, he expected it to happen anyway. After all, the man wasn't a part of the D.C.O. for nothing. Despite the often reckless attitude he carried with him into combat, he could use his brain when he wanted to. Whether or not it would affect the outcome of this match was still left in the air, however.

True to his word, the Australian didn't attack him right away. He simply waited patiently for the other man to make his move, wondering just what was about to commence.

After twenty seconds of waiting, Takashi came up with his attack plan.

"Let's see how you handle this, Burnside!" Takashi thought, silently raising his arms up in a guarding posture, locking them together to have his elbow up to his clenched fists hide his face. In a single Shunpo, Takashi appeared before Braeburn, almost a single meter away. Without gesturing with his shoulders or face, Takashi swung up his right leg to perform a quick snap kick. Using the first attack as a feigning gesture, he bent his outstretched leg while bending his standing left one. With his elbows parting and sliding across his sides, the straw-hat adorned Shinigami unfurled his fists till only his knuckles clenched on the other recesses of his palms. Being so close and using the first attack as a distraction, he knew the likelihood of his opponent dodging this attack was slim.

Kicking off the ground, his body thrust forward along with his palms, rapidly closing the distinct to impact Braeburn's ribs on either side of his sternum. Enough force was placed that he'd cause a dramatic clap of flesh meeting muscle, making it quite audibly painful to all that heard his initiative. Should his attack land, Takashi would roll to his left, returning back to his defensive and ready posture with a stern look upon his face.

"!"

It was a move that Braeburn hadn't been entirely expecting.

When Takashi reappeared before him, his hands immediately shot forward to grasp his wrist and restrain him. But his movement caused himself an opening for the true attack. When the leg was thrust forward, he found himself jerking back and throwing his hands down to parry the kick downwards. As he stepped back, it gave room for his opponent to thrust forward. He shot his arm out at a right angle, shifting in order to stagger Takashi's roll. But at the same time, he couldn't completely divert the fists from striking his ribs. It was a blow he felt, but certainly nothing to slow him down. It would end with the two combatants making their distance away from each other, with the Australian settling back into a stance.

Even so, he couldn't help but cock an eyebrow at the rather serious look on Takashi's face. "Being awful quiet, Takashi..." He commented. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were taking this a bit more seriously than expected."

"Fighting someone of your caliber, is something to be serious about, Brae-baka!" Takashi retorted with a vivid glare.

"He really is taking this seriously," Yōki said with widened eyes of surprise, her hands gripping the railing tightly, "was he...always this intense about his rivalry? I thought he was just joking around till now-!"

"He still won't win," Rokotsu said with a bored tone, looking down at the arena with dull eyes, "even if Takashi acts serious, there's no way he'll win against Brae-san."

"Maybe, or maybe not," Hana said with a whisper, cupping her chin with intrigue as she looked onwards, "one won't know till its over, right?"

"Man, this fight is already getting me pumped," Choku said with a smile, adjusting his glasses to create a gleam from his lenses.

"Let's see, Serah Takashi, what you're made of then," Valeur concurred with a nod of his own.

Even as those remarked and commented about the fight, Takashi went on the offensive once again.

Assuming the same stance as before, arms upright and covering his face like a shield, he approached Braeburn in a trio dash of Shunpos. Pistoning his arms forward, he shadow boxed the air as an attempt to throw off Braeburn's sight of his lower body rising up in a pendulum manner. When he made a fully horizontal angle, he bent his forward body down, throwing his legs up and over to axe kick over on Braeburn's head and shoulders with a powerful downward propulsion.

Turning around on his supporting palms, Takashi issued a flurry of windmill kicks, spinning his ankles around to repeatedly whip at Braeburn's jaw and upper body. His own form was a blur of motion, almost appearing like a black and brown spinning top with his hat being the bottom of the man-sized playtoy. When he finished his barrage of attacks, he leaped back onto all fours, breathing steadily long breaths to regain his posture for defense or attack.

"He really wants to beat me."

That was the prompt for Braeburn's expression to gain a surprised edge to it. Truth be told, he believed their rivalry to be on a friendlier scale considering that they were on the same side. But as he saw the glare projected by Takashi, he realized immediately that there was more to it than met the eye. To Takashi, Braeburn was the strongest obstacle that stood between him and becoming the best. It changed how he anticipated the fight; he was going to keep himself held back and give tips on how he could've improved that fighting style of his. But now, he had to accept the weight of the situation. If Takashi wanted to treat him as an opponent he had to beat at all cost, he would gladly be that boss.

With that thought in mind, his eyes lidded and he gave a small, entertained smirk. It wasn't just a smirk of smugness or arrogance, but rather, it was the smirk of a man amused - something that would've been more fitting for the likes of a manipulative villain.

When Takashi unleashed the trio of Flash Steps, he was more than ready. As he swung his arms out to block the punches his opponent threw his way, he caught the movement of the legs. He retreated a few steps when Takashi bent down, raising his arms to prevent the swinging legs from colliding with their targets. He had to back up again when the "windmill" commenced, but stood his ground immediately after. He kept far enough to evade, but close enough to keep himself within arms reach. When Takashi's front was turned to him, he thrust his hands out and caught the offending limbs by the ankles before kicking his upside-down capture in the chest in order to knock him on his stomach. He immediately let go when his opponent was floored, bending down and grasping a fistful of Takashi's uniform tightly. With considerable strength and an exerting yell, he hauled the man back up and off his feet in what looked like a judo throw back to the ground. To finish his set of attacks, he lifted his leg and made to stomp at one of Takashi's joints. This time, it would carry enough force to dislocate Takashi's leg and incapacitate him for a knock-out.

It was a more rough step compared to his initial movements. But, how exactly could he let Takashi know he was taking him seriously otherwise?

Takashi knew it was a gamble to do a continuous attack from the get-go, but as the old saying goes about gain with pain, he couldn't let the opportunity go. Even as felt himself grunt with the painful kick striking his stomach to knock him to the ground he quickly thought up what he could do to return back to the offensive. When his body was sent flying over Braeburn's head and hurtling towards the arena floor again, he found his solution.

At the moment of hitting the floor, he slammed his ground postured side's palm, absorbing the force and reducing the impact. Even as the skin along his hand stung, it saved him from being disoriented at the point of Braeburn's executionary blow. When the stomp came, Takashi swiftly placed both hands on the ground and flipped himself away from the heavy curb kick. When the third twirl allowed him to get into a crouching tap onto the ground, he quickly kicked forward, positioning his right arm forward to spearingly jab his elbow towards Braeburn's neck and sternum.

Not only this, but he followed up with a knife hand swipe to get him at the base of his jaw meeting said neck before reaching out with his left palm to grasp the front of his uniform. To finish, he threw a knee towards his solar plexus and rammed his forehead towards the other man's at the same time. Should he had landed any of those moves, Takashi was to choose backpedaling a few meters to gain some distance and regain the breath he sorely needed.

Block.

Takashi's elbow met Braeburn's as he swung his arm to block the the first attack. Bone met bone, and a loud popping noise was heard as a result of the collision. The momentum Takashi had gained in his jump made the Australian reel back a little, but it didn't stop him raising his arm to parry the knife strike made towards his neck. As the man reached out to grasp his uniform, his other hand moved to shove it upwards. But before it could go too far, the hand that had parried away his opponent's first arm pulled back, racing over the other and joining its companion to hold the grasping arm in a brief lock. It cleared a path to Takashi's chest, to which Braeburn took the opportunity by bending his inward arm and throwing his own elbow to strike it. It would finish his set of attacks, and he leaned away to settle back into a comfortable stance.

The reason he had not pressed the attack was the hitch he heard in Takashi's breath. It caused him to give a smirk, and he straightened himself up. "Feeling the heat already?" He taunted, keeping the smirk on his face. He turned his body, his feet carrying him slowly as if he was to circle his opponent. "Still fresh into this, and I've had to let you regain your breath twice. If this warm-up's getting you tired this quickly, then maybe you should just call it a day, eh?"

"Shut up!" Takashi's face grew red and flushed with anger, the breath that sounded hitched held a more seething quality to it. Even now his fists tightened at his sides as he glared on at his teammate and rival. It wouldn't be before too long that small amounts of vapor began to simmer from his very pores, his skin starting to emit sweat and a audible thrum of his own Spiritual Pressure. "you act so smug, thinking you're the best and that no one can touch you? Just because you got to screw the current De Facto leader and that you got to be in the thick of it that you're some hero?! Well guess what?! All I see is a tool that doesn't know when to shut up!"

Slamming his foot down forward, Takashi sent a fissure of force large enough to split the arena down the middle right underneath Braeburn's footing. Ripping his foot out of the cracked slabs of artificial earth, Takashi leaned down and crouched on his toes to fingertips. With a sporadic burst of speed and force, Takashi thrust his body out at the intentionally disjointed Braeburn, using his head to hit him with the force of a speeding armored truck.

It was a move that shocked almost everyone within the vicinity.

The smug expression was wiped off Braeburn's face when he felt the spiritual pressure emit from his body and he heard the rather scathing words directed towards his person. He stopped in his tracks as he registered them both, a chill being sent down his spine. Even though he knew Takashi was serious, he still believed this to be within the limits of a simple sparring match. But from the way it was turning out, the straw-hat D.C.O. operative seemed more and more willing to beat the crap out of him rather than simply knock him out. A bit of fear crossed through him, not for himself but for how far this fight would actually go.

Then, once he registered them fully, anger began to set in.

Takashi was making it sound as if he was holding his relationship with Hana over his own head like a trophy - one of two reasons why he found his blood start to boil. Had he not been so concerned with the thought, he would've spared a glance at her to see how she reacted to it. The second reason was the accusation of believing he was a hero. It was quite the opposite; compared to the likes of Daisuke and the more noble members of the Gotei 13, he was no hero. As Yōki had said, he always stood between good and evil and teetered between both sides like a ping-pong ball. That particular statement was an insult to his character. But the last sentence was the final nail in the coffin.

A tool.

Of course, he wouldn't get to show this anger right away when Takashi attacked.

Still reeling over from the shock of Takashi's fury, he managed to leap aside before the fissure could hit him. His eyes had fallen over to the burst of power, stunned beyond all belief that the sparring match had escalated to this much. So lost in his shock that when he noticed Takashi's form racing towards him, he could only swing his head to meet the opposing one. As a result, their foreheads collided with a resounding bang. Braeburn let out a yelp as he was sent flying back, but recovered himself quickly. A backflip allowed the soles of his feet to catch the ground and himself to slide to a stop in a runner's starting position. His head was hung and his bangs overshadowed his eyes. But even from the created distance, Takashi would see that his mouth had contorted into a considerably feral snarl, his clenched teeth exposed. He slowly stood up, raising his head to glare at his foe.

"Oh, hell no." His voice had lost its taunt, gaining a low and venomous tone of voice as he spoke. His fists clenched tightly, and he slightly shook his head from side to side as if nonverbally warning Takashi. "You did not just go there, Straw Boy. You did not just say that."

"O-okay, uh..." Tenshina was the first to speak up from the audience, his eyes widening in a show of shock and worry. "Is anyone else finding this to be a little too heated all of a sudden? Shouldn't we stop this or something?"

Bokujin would find that he'd be the only one standing upon the balcony. When Braeburn had begun to raise his Spiritual Pressure in response to Takashi's blunderous jab to his character, following the splitting of the arena itself by the latter, was when the context of a friendly sparring match had ended. It was about to get ugly, and everyone wanted to prevent that.

"Yeah! I said it! And I'll say it again yo-GUH!" Takashi found himself cut off as Yōki promptly appeared beside him, punching him across the face hard enough to send him spiraling away. Before he could tumble too far away, Rokotsu appeared and lariated his backside with an outstretched arm, all with an unamused expression crossing her face. Falling to the ground, he wheezed out as the orange haired girl sat on his back, pinning him to the ground with a pouted expression on her lips, leaning into her own hands with a sigh. "g-g-get off me!"

"You ruined your fight, Taka-Baka," Rokotsu groaned, "why did you have to make it so personal?"

"Cause it IS personal, you bi-guhcan'tbreathe!"

"Shaddup, Taka-Baka!" Rokotsu growled as she bounced a few times onto his back. Surrounding him, if not but to keep alert but to keep the peace, was Choku and Valeur, both of which had their hands out in clenched fashion. They kept their gaze on the dimming complexion of Takashi, watching it revert back to a normal color as his steam stopped emanating from his pores.

"It seems that whatever rage Takashi tapped into has run its course," Choku noted audibly, examining the effects through his special lenses on his glasses.

"Tis a shame Serah Takashi had to end a fight in such an unsavory fashion," Valeur said with a reluctant sigh.

"You and me both," Choku nodded with agreement, adjusting his glasses as he spoke.

Having turned from decking Takashi, Yōki looked over at Braeburn. Sympathetically she tried to smile at him, approaching him cautiously while speaking in a softer tone, "You okay, Brae-san? That headbutt looked like it should've hurt and Takashi was being an ass on top of it..."

Thankfully, Braeburn was only briefly taken back by the intervention of his allies.

As Yoki turned towards him, he was suddenly aware of the anger that must've been showing right then. He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, his fists slowly relaxing and clenching. Fighting the sensation of his accelerated heart, he opened his eyes to look at the blonde with a stern stare. "I'll live." He said simply. "It was a nice attack, but it's nothing I can't bounce back from. I'll be fine." He was quick to return to a glare as he looked at the pinned Takashi. "As for him, however? I believe he needs a bit of a talking to..."

He proceeded to storm towards the spot where Rokotsu held his personal opponent. "Now, I can take the insults, Takashi." He hissed, his fists tightening once more. "I can take your punches and kicks. Hell, even that "tool" comment I could push aside. But slandering her? That's a one-way a ticket to making me an enemy." He stopped in front of the other man, squatting down to nearly his level and looking him in the eye. "She fought a hard battle and sweat like a pig alongside the rest of us, fought to take back what had been stolen from all of us. If you want to make an enemy out of me, then fine. But try to use her to get to me again, and I won't give you a chance to take it back. Are we clear?"

By this point in time, a passive Kameyo and a flustered Tenshina had made their way over to watch the scene up close.

It took awhile for Takashi to mull over what was said to him. Part of him loathed Braeburn for not only stealing the spotlight of the team, but becoming such a bigshot that he was entirely overshadowed by his deeds among the organization. Not only that, but how many missions had he partaken in that helped the Soul Society in the long run? Not many that can be remembered, he knew that much was certain. Was he being petty? It certainly seemed like a lot of people thought that way of him.

Regardless, as he angled his gaze towards an impassively staring Hana, he felt a wave of guilt overlap him. She had been one of them for as long as he could remember. Even if he was being catered to by Kaze or the late Head Captain, she always treated them as if she was a fellow agent. She never held her power over their heads and always looked for ways to work with them. Targeting her was a mistake and one he now knew he'd have to live regretting.

"Crystal," Takashi groaned, looking at him in an irritative manner, "now can you please move the ox that's sitting on me?"

"I should have brought my sword-"

"You sitting on me isn't helping my view of you, Rokotsu!" Takashi wailed from underneath, though wasn't affecting Rokotsu in the least.

"All right, I think he gets the point. You can get off of him now." Notably for a person that wasn't officially a leading operative, Braeburn's statement seemed to have a rather commanding tone about it. It wasn't anything new, as far as he was concerned. Yōki was supposed to be the acting leader of their squad, but there were moments that she would remain silent. So he took it upon himself to take the reins in those situations. So far, no one complained about it. But as of now, he'd get a sinking feeling that would change with Takashi.

"You heard him, Rok-chan. Off the ox-headed man," Yōki motioned with a nod, causing Rokotsu to stand up almost with a bounce. The sounds of cracking being emitted as Takashi stood, however, was far more distracting than Rokotsu's bubbly nature. Turning to look at Takashi's grimacing face, she sighed belatedly, "and please fetch some ice and bandages while you're at it. I think you might have broken Takashi's back-"

"I don't need your pity!" Takashi growled at Yōki, causing her to recoil slightly at the venom in his words. Turning his eyes to glare back at Braeburn, he hobbled over till he was more or less eye level with him once again, "this isn't over, McTavish! I may have pushed my luck by speaking out of turn, but it doesn't change the fact that you've turned into a De Facto leader among this organization. Not even the damned Captain Commander said a word during his, and why should she?! You're her precious Braeburn after all! What am I?! I'm worth less than shit, only an expendable shock trooper only good for laughs. In this fight, I now see where I stand in this group. No need to call you or any one of ya a friend of mine."

Turning away, Takashi limped off the shattered ring, heading into the nearest exit to leave everyone gawking in his wake.

"T-Takashi!" Rokotsu called out, her eyes wide and her voice filled with alarmed concern. Before she could make a few steps, Yōki lifted an arm to halt her run, shaking her head sagely.

"Let's give him some breathing space right now. He obviously took this exchange a little too heatedly. Maybe in a few hours we can approach him, but for now, let's let him sit on his ass and think what he's said," Yōki said with finality, causing Rokotsu's head to lower and sniffle with sadness.

"It seems that Serah Takashi has a case of inferiority complex," Valeur piped in lowly, crossing his arms to look after his retreating frame.

"Seems like there are things these people didn't know were going on till now. Bottled up feelings only now erupting can make anyone confused and uneasy," Choku commented while adjusting his glasses.

"Tis what caused this bout of questioning in his self-worth, I can only wonder," Valeur bowed his head, sighing with questioning.

Hana, in the meantime, found it most prudent to approach Braeburn now. Walking forward she grasped at his left hand with her right, clearing her throat so he could look to her. Forcing a smile, she whispered quietly, "Sorry I hadn't done anything sooner. I hadn't realized how bad this could have gotten till it happened. Kind of stupid of me not to use my executive power to stop these kind of things, huh?"

It was a good thing his back was turned to her - otherwise she would've seen it.

Instead of anger and indignation at Takashi's choice of words, a part of which dominated Tenshina's face as he gaped at Takashi's retreating back, Braeburn was filled with shock. He had been careless to assume that Takashi had simmered down completely at that moment. He hadn't expected such harsh words to be spat out at him or any of the surrounding people, for that matter. It couldn't have been his simple battle batter that could've done it. It had to have been something that occurred long before the spar, though he'd be lying if he said he could pinpoint when. He never thought Takashi had so much animosity within himself to this moment. But it had, and the words spit in his face had cut a wound in him that ran deeper than any punch or kick could.

So shellshocked was he that he jumped a little at Hana's hand grasping his. But he relaxed when he saw who it was. He gave a soft sigh and shook his head. "No..." He muttered. "It's fine. I don't think any of us saw it coming. Besides, it's probably better for it to be vented out now than later. Who knows what would've happened if he blew up in the middle of a combat situation?"