A Bomb-Bastic Collision! Volatile Combatants Engage!

A Bomb-Bastic Collision! Volatile Combatants Engage! is an article created by Achrones150. Use is allowed with the permission of the owner, with the exception of collaboration-created articles.

"I will always be watching over you..." This article, A Bomb-Bastic Collision! Volatile Combatants Engage!, is the sole property of Mangetsu and cannot be used, edited, or referenced without his explicit permission, with the exception of collaboration articles.

A Bomb-Bastic Collision! Volatile Combatants Engage! Act I

"I Found Her, I Found Her, I Found Her!!!"

"...okay, I see that the Captains've been doing some renovating while we were away."

When Qilin and his newly established friend Ayūi headed out to the surface, he was certainly surprised to see that the feudal visage of the Seireitei had been replaced by the sinister medieval foundations of the Vandenreich fortress network. He stared blankly at it all, unable to say much as he drank it all in. There was no doubt that this was a rather bad situation to be in, especially since it effectively threw his path back to the rest of the Alliance off-track. The only solace he could take was the faint pieces of destruction that the enemy base had suffered as consequence of the constant battle that had been going on.

He let out a heavy sigh, turning towards the woman leaning on him and giving a somewhat embarrassed smile. "Okay, uh..." He said, his gaze shifty as it couldn't remain on Ayūi for very long. "Cards on the table. I think we're lost."

Ayūi's eyes opened wide. Upon being carried up, she had no comprehension of any changes made to the world that was the Inner Circle take-over'd Soul Society. But when they breached the surface, an overwhelming new atmosphere of spiritual pressure bombarded her senses. It felt ripe with spirit energy, almost as ambient as Hueco Mundo's own natural spirit rich habitat. But it certainly had a very aged appearance and a semblance of society clung to the winter-crusted architecture. 

"This..." Ayūi began to say, her lips trembling as she looked all around her leaning perch made along Qilin, "...this isn't the Soul Society!"

The temptation of sarcasm had to be quickly suppressed, lest Qilin wanted to make himself look like a jerk.

He quickly frowned and furrowed his eyebrows, sweeping the area for any possible signs of reinforcements. But it was as if the abundance of spiritual energy behaved like a fog rather than a conduit for the spiritual sense. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't pick out any of his allies through the veil of spiritual energy the atmosphere was producing. "Well, I have absolutely no idea where to start from." He grumbled. "I can't pick out anything within this spiritual fog, and I don't recognize this part of the Seireitei at all. Trying to find any friendlies is going to be like trying to look for a needle in a haystack..."

He turned a curious gaze towards Ayūi, using the arm wrapped around her to give her a gentle yet constant shake. "Ayūi, stop panicking and help me brainstorm." He chided, giving a light pout to emphasize.

Snapping out of her reverie of panic, Ayūi locked eyes with Qilin and found herself calming. Letting out a deep sigh, she knitted her eyes closed. Within moments she could conjure up a plan, her free right hand pointing at what could be described as the highest point of the city. "We shouldn't go that way. That's where the highest Spiritual Signatures are and they don't feel friendly. We should go towards a higher elevation, most likely a standing structure with a flat surface, in order to get a good read on where we're located. From there, I think I should be able to tell where we are and where we should go."

"...or you can just stay right there," A feminine voice cued in, her white-coat enraptured frame standing directly above them. A sinisterly too-sweet grin would be stretched across her face, a hand would use the foremost digits to pinch her cap down an inch. Her eyes would all be hidden by the silhouette of sadism that her orbs would be projecting all too much. She herself wouldn't possess any form of outputting Spiritual Pressure, but anyone who would know a Quincy that she was far from helpless. "and die with the rest of your kin, Circle scum!" 

In that moment, the ground around where Qilin and Ayūi would light up, a momentary cue that'd last all but a heartbeat. The entire ground would detonate in a focused, elliptical eruption of flames that would cave in the way they came as well as reduce several structures standing all within a city block. Her cloak would flourish rapidly around her as she'd grin toothily down at her quarry, her senses already homing in on where they'd be before they'd scurry away. 

All passive thoughts stopped abruptly when Qilin heard that voice.

It was a rather appealing voice to his ears, sweet and seemingly innocent enough. When he turned shocked eyes towards the one who and spoken down to them, he saw someone who seemed to match that voice very well. Although a good part of her face was obscured by the cap she wore on her head, he could tell that she was a young one. Or maybe it was just her voice that gave off that particular impression. He probably wouldn't be able to tell. But when he managed to pick up that first spark of instability in the ground underneath him, he could tell that her being young wouldn't deviate from her deadliness.

Adrenaline spiked.

Blood flow increased.

Heart rate accelerated.

Instincts kicked in.

With an exceptionally timed Flash Step, Qilin had pulled himself and his "cargo" out of the way before the explosion could consume them both. With a grunt and clenched teeth, he re-appeared on the rooftop of a building that was only slightly lower than the newfound enemy. "There wasn't even proper time to sense that!" He thought to himself, amazed at how camouflaged the ambush had been prior to its release. "Is it the fog that did that? Or did she hide it that well?"

He turned towards Ayūi to regard her status. "Sorry about the sudden pull, Ayūi. You still with me?"

"I-I-I'm fine," Ayūi shuddered, finding her arm clenching tightly out of reflex. Her eyes were wide and her mouth agape, as she had almost saw her whole field of vision go white before a deafening blast transpired behind them. The fact she had no idea, nor the strength, to respond to such an instantaneous blast caused her to truly look at Qilin in awe. 

"That's some quick timing," Bambietta would follow-up, her feet tapping onto the edge of the building to Qilin's rearmost flank. Releasing her hold on her cap, she withdrew both of her arms to be hidden within the confines of her Ritter cloak. With an attractive face of Bambietta's framing a beautiful mane of dark hair flourishing behind her, it would be clear that she was one of the eye candies of their ranks. But by the way her eyes glistened in tune with revealed sparkling teeth, she would be no pleasant person to sit alone in a bedroom. "now, correct my memory, but I don't really recognize you or the chick you're protecting. An introduction would be nice, seeing as you avoided my initial executionary blast."

"Lady," Qilin muttered, passing a disgruntled look over towards the woman who had attempted to annihilate him and Ayūi. "I don't usually just hand out names to people who just blow me up. If you're going to do that, then I think it'd be best if we just--"

However, he abruptly stopped himself once something clicked in his head.

The Quincy had attempted to kill them with an explosion, a violent release of energy and not some projectile burst as most probably would've done. It was near-instantaneous, unexpected and certainly had the capability of blowing its targets to pieces. That thought would've certainly unnerved and terrified anyone else. It could safely assumed that Ayūi, especially in her state, would've been at least a little unnerved. But Qilin wasn't "anyone else". Compared to the rest of the Gotei 13 personnel, he was a little bit more on the eccentric side of things. That would be made clear when he spoke to the Quincy again, disbelief and slight anticipation on his features.

"Wait a minute... that was your power?" He asked, jerking a finger towards the direction of where the explosion had taken place. "No spells, no equipment just placed prior to me arriving there? That was just you and nothing else, right then?"

"Wow, aren't you the sharp one," Bambietta retorted in a snarky tone, earning a over-the-shoulder scowl from an otherwise silent Ayūi. None-the-less, she responded in a cheeky tone as she flashed an evermore expansive grin at Qilin's direction. "yes, that is my power. I have been bestowed by his Majesty the title of E, the Explode!"

In the instant she would speak the last two words, it would transpire again. Everything underneath Qilin's feet would combust in a spewing blaze of slag and flames. The explosion itself would be localized so that it would be sent in their direction, both up and forward, leaving Bambietta feeling only a slight kickback of the blast. Her hair would flourish as much as her coat, leaving her to smile eagerly at the result of this attack as she'd levitate above the collapsing structure they were all standing upon. 

Once again, Qilin's quick thinking saved them both from certain danger.

Another Flash Step had yanked him and his partner away from the blast Bambietta had once again. His feet settled down on the ground, and he gently released Ayūi to stand up straight. He watched as the building they had been on collapsed, producing a light shockwave that hit him the face. His expression was blank for what seemed like the longest moment. His hands slowly clenched into his fists as his mind processed what the girl had said.

When he finally found his voice, it would probably be what no one expected.

"....OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH~!!!"

The sound produced from his mouth was comparable to that of a squee. The look in his eyes and on his face presented nothing short of a childish excitement, with his balled fists shaking in front on him to emphasize. It hadn't been because of slow learning he had asked the question. It was due to a request for confirmation, a desire for his hopes not to get crushed. When hearing that her epitaph was "the Explode", it pushed his excitement to a crescendo. It was a type of enemy that he could certainly get used to.

"Captain!"

The overhead voice of his Lieutenant stopped him in his tracks, and he swung his gaze to see Tetsuyo standing on a building not too far away. In contrast to the mirthful expression on Qilin's face, Tetsuyo was clearly pensive and worried. "Everything's gone to Hell!" He called down, beads of sweat falling down his face. "I got myself lost from the group I was in, I heard the explosions and I came straight away. What's going o--?!"

"Tetsuyo!" Qilin cut him off before he could go any further, using a cupped hand around the mouth to focus his volume. "Glad you happened to arrive. Could you do me a favor?"

"U-uh..." Tetsuyo blinked, surprised at Qilin's nonchalant attitude. "A favor?"

"Yeah!" Qilin put on a rather nonchalant and almost deadpan expression on his face. He lifted a finger to point towards the Quincy levitating above him. "I've got a date waiting for me," He shifted the finger towards Ayūi. "And I need someone to babysit while I'm gone!"

The sound of glass could be heard shattering in the background. Tetsuyo's expression immediately took on a more shocked and bewildered manner, and he could only stare with disbelieving eyes at all three occupants of the battlefield. "W...What?!"

"Now just wait a minute!" Ayūi began to retort. Finally standing on her own, she'd turn on her heels to point a jabbing finger at Qilin's shoulder, "I am no one's burden, nor will I watch you fight someone you have no past experience fi-" 

Hilariously enough, Ayūi found hers succinctly rolling to the back of her sockets as she began to lose consciousness. Unceremoniously falling onto her side with a comical flop would be all the indication she did, indeed, need a guardian of some sort. That is until she would regain consciousness to continue the independant line of dialogue. 

Meanwhile, Bambietta would briefly recoil by the sound coming from her escaped target. Recomposing herself as she saw them collaborate, with one clearly too exhausted to fight, and the other by what she could gauge was a subordinate of the one to evade her detonations. Seeing the exhausted one collapse gave her a clear indication who would stand back and who would fight. 

"He's a Hohō Master if I ever saw one," Bambietta noted with a scrutinizing scowl, her form continuing to billow and remain stoically above the Shinigami who remained groundside. "he seems both eccentric and a sharp one. The common makings of an underestimated genius. He values his comrade's safety instead of his own skin, but he doesn't lack cautiousness. Culminating these things I'd hazard to guess he's..."

SHFT!

Tapping once again just as swiftly as before, the Quincy landed with a click of her boots onto the ice layered cobblestone ground. Just shy six meters away from Qilin's backside, she'd narrow her eyes and take a more astute visage, crossed with an annoyed expression crossing her mouth, "...you're a Kidō expert, aren't you? Don't act surprised if what I ask is true. If you could evade my attack so timely you seem to be a Captain who relies more on finesse and grace rather than brute force and attrition. Not anyone can simply evade my explosions without having incredible mental fortitude and inherent reflexes to flee rather than defend."

Qilin looked over his shoulder at her, idly noticing Tetsuyo Flash Step to the fallen Ayūi while giving a tense glare at the other woman. One of his hands moved to grasp the sheath of his sword, while the other drew the weapon out with a precariously slow speed. He held it out to his side as he spoke, the sharp metal gleaming in the atmospheric light. "Well, aren't you the sharp one?" He remarked, and unlike her, his words were genuine. "You're right on the money. I do happen to be someone who's good at using Kidō. But to hear you figure that out just by me evading your attacks? I don't know what to think right now."

He slowly turned himself around to face his target, his lone hand gripping his sword tightly. "Yes, I think we're going to get along just fine." He continued, one corner of his mouth curling into a small smile. His lowered sword arm moved to cross his stomach, the tip pointing towards the ground. "So then, my lady..."

His sword arm moved in an idle string, and destruction followed afterwards.

A fissure of physical power was unleashed on the Quincy, potent enough to rend her body asunder and wide enough to collapse several more structures behind it. It was marked by a cloud of dust and debris which towered over the shorter buildings, causing a brief fog of dirt to shadow the area. In the second prior to his attack, Bambietta would see the smile had shifted to a Cheshire cat's grin. Both it and the almost serene look in his eyes presented an eerie veil of false friendliness, barely hiding the desire to kill. Even his tone kept its smooth attitude as he spoke to her, almost as if he was just having a casual conversation.

"Shall we dance?"

Bambietta would momentarily drop her composure for an eye-widening second the instant the sword was swung. Barreling at her wasn't a spell or even a Zanpakutō ability. It was sheer, ferocious kinetic power, causing the wind itself to become an extension of kill pressure beyond the metal edge's reach. Thankfully her instincts didn't fail her, as she had already been moving upon the sword's swing, only taking time to momentarily gawk in mid-step. 

A swift movement later, she'd reappear behind him, forcing herself to not audibly land upon the ground, instead hovering a mere inch off of it. A flourishing movement of her right arm and her gloved splayed digits would point in Qilin's direction. A second later she'd clench her fingers into a fist, becoming the muscular movement indicating the precise control of what would happen next. 

The volatile explosion would uproar in a column of fire that'd branch out away from her direction, further annihilating the physically shredded area Qilin's blade had cut towards. With an attack possibly swifter than her prior two, Bambietta would seem as if she would conjure explosions out of thought itself. Whethet it would unsettle someone as frighteningly eccentric as Qilin would be an entirely other matter...

The fourth time Bambietta had decided to flank Qilin from behind was the moment Qilin could easily anticipate it.

Mildly disappointed at the lack of verbal chatter, he spun his gaze over his shoulder just in time to see Bambietta clench her fingers. The slightly increased speed of the attack process was a flash of her poker hand for him to see, and he wasn't one to pass up the opportunity. His Flash Step would thrust him into the air, and he appeared to be flying towards the sky when he came back out of it. But before he ascended too far, his shocked Lieutenant would catch the expression on his face. Right then and there, he knew that getting caught between his Captain and the enemy would be suicide. This fight was certainly going to be a destructive one, considering their powers.

Putting the weakened as his first priority, Tetsuyo quickly grabbed Ayūi and used a Flash Step of his own to get him onto another building, where he could watch without getting caught within the crossfire.

At the same time this was happening, Qilin decided to abruptly change his flight pattern.

Another Flash Step, and Qilin had moved from soaring through the sky to appearing right behind Bambietta. His sword moved, its eager cutting edge moving to slice through her spinal chord.

Disregarding the show of physical strength, Bambietta knew that she pegged him right. No mere brute would resort to employing a Flash Step so readily, nor read her telegraphed attack to his ungaurded posterior flank. Feeling the brush of wind, the faint sound of Reiatsu deceleration, and the bodily movement would all be needed for Bambietta to know he was behind him. 

Lifting up her left leg to tuck her upraised knee towards her chest, spinning on her right heel to make a ninety degree left-handed turn. All the while she'd have her right hand's forefingers grasp the tip of her cap, knowing the inevitable kickback that would ensue from the incoming blade. By the time she could pinch it, the sword's edge would collide with her boot covered shin, causing a metallic clang of pressurized air currents to ripple and flourish her and her enemy's person's attire. 

Blut Vene.

Despite the sword's sharp edge cutting clean through the military jet black boot and whatever linen tucked within its confines, the telltale ultimate form of defense. Unseen glowing veins would rise to the surface of her leg, having allowed only the initial layer of dead skin cells be penetrated. Using her hidden left gloved hand, she'd grasp the forefingers and tsuba of the Zanpakutō, holding it firmly in place as she'd remain postured. 

"I don't think you can tango to my tune, Shinigami!" Bambietta said with a sneer, turning her face to seemingly pucker open lips in his direction. Unknownst to him all too late a sudden rush of igniting Reishi particles would flow outwards, fueled by her own accumulated Reiatsu, giving the imitation that she was breathing blazing blue tongues of flames.

All of it being at point blank, no less.

Qilin couldn't hide the surprise on his face.

He had completely forgotten about the defensive Quincy technique known as Blut Vene. In his excitement for the battle, he had let the presence of the ultimate defensive technique slip his mind. As long as she had something like that up, his restrained blade would never cut through her skin. His baffled expression would continue to remain as he felt one of her hands grasp the one that held his sword. Although he knew from that moment evasion without consequence wouldn't be a possibility, the contact sent a small chill down his spine. To have an enemy's hands grace his form without the move of an attack was a sensation was... tantalizing, to say the least.

It didn't stop his irises from contracting once he saw the spark of those flames.

"Oh, fu--!!"

The last thing Bambietta would see him do was tense up before the flames enveloped his form, seemingly sentencing him to an infernal end. The sight horrified his Lieutenant, who could only look on as the Quincy unleashed her attack. The blue light of the fire illuminated the multiple beads of sweat on his face and the worry for his friend. "Tsubasa!!" He screamed out, forgetting the need to address him by the alias he had so commonly went by. After all, he couldn't exactly react to it if he was dead, right?

Fortunately, Qilin wasn't one to go down so easily.

When the flames were cleared, he would be seen with his head hanging down and his bangs overshadowing his eyes. If one looked closely, they would see that his outline was visibly distorted the air. Pulling a trick from his fight with the brainwashed Shito, he had enveloped his own body in an unspoken Shō spell to keep the flames from harming him. It was a demonstration of quick thinking and reflexes hard at work, with the results clearly paying off. Had he been a second too late, he certainly would've been incinerated. He exhaled a breath from his lips, raising his head up to look her in the eye. The smirk once again returned to his face.

"Oh, but I can try. Can't you give me a chance?"

Then, he attacked.

As much as he could with his hand still partially in her grip, he spun himself around. His captured arm hand to bend at angle for him to do so successfully, and his chin was gracing the surface of his shoulder. He bent backward, his free hand reaching around to grab the back of the offending boot. An unspoken Geki spell was cast on her, momentarily immobilizing so that she couldn't fight her way out of the move. With a clench of his teeth, he threw his upper body forward and threw Bambietta in a path over his head. Whether or not she would be thrown away from him or slammed face-first would depend on her ability to let go. But either way, Qilin would finish his movement with two words.

"Tsuzuri Raiden!"

Whereas a physical attack had no such luck, the currents of lightning would shoot down and tear through her form with ease. Several seconds worth of electricity would run through her body, even if she released her hold on him and his sword.

Bambietta would find her hardened, if not triumphant visage revert to one of amazement and recoiling. The verbal advancement had left her stunned such a man would approach her so willingly, even after attempts of unabated murder of him. This would leave her forgotten that her hand was still placed on his sword. 

Twirling around her in movements she could only describe as the epitome of graceful masculine strength, she found herself paralyzed and hurtled face first before she would realize it. The vocalized and known words of shock Kidō, realizing her hand would be the catalyst to its current, would be the only form of prediction. Seeing nothing but a veil of red she also deciphered the last Kidō before her an oustretched left hand would cement her counter-strategy.

"This better work-!" 

Those were her last words before a cacophony of visible golden hued tendrils of shocking energy would flow up from her formerly gripping digits -having left the hand and guard of the blade as she catapulted forward- and throughout the rest of her body. The ground around them would spark and crackle with intensity, showing a output as much as was poured through. Then, as sudden as it flowed, the flow of Reiatsu stopped, and the Stern Ritter shakily hand-standed in place. 

Grasping her oustretched wrist, she'd heave, visibly twitching from the flow of foreign reishi electricity, though not actually cooked as one would expect. With a carnal smile spreading almost unseenly as a bead of sweat dripped onto the ground, she'd respond to Qilin's earlier quip with her own. "You're good...but not my kind of good!" 

With a pulse of energy from her ground prone palm, her body would lift up into the air. Being a blur of white she'd fly upwards a good dozen meters at an inverted angle. All the while, she clenched her fist at the ground rapidly shrinking beneath her, causing the inevitable occurrence that would follow. 

KRAK-KOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Using her own body as a lightning rod through her clever utilization of Blut Arterie, the agressive output of Reiatsu, she risked shocking her nervous system by infusing the incoming Reishi particles that consumed the very ones that held her captive. Doing so allowed her to pour an abundance of Reiatsu mingled with Qilin's own, thus confusing any irregular projection of her gambit. By the time she'd fly up, an explosion of elliptical shape and mass proportion would wrend asunder the earth in a distance that would put even Qilin's partner at risk. 

"Boom!" Bambietta would gleefully shout, rising in an upward flip, spreading her arms out to emphasize her delight at the shockwave that would rip apart structures untouched by the brilliant blaze of orange-gold-red tongues. 

Needless to say, Tetsuyo was horrified.

Because he had been higher in the air, he had managed to catch Bambietta's hand movements when she shot up in the air. Knowing that there was little time to move, he swung his gaze down towards the grounded Captain. "Get out of there!" He shouted, urgency filling his tone to the brim. He could only catch the shocked gaze of Qilin as he stared up at her flying form, up until the point where the fist was closed.

Then, detonation.

The Lieutenant, with Ayūi in tow, had managed to flee to another building just before the explosion could over take him. When he re-appeared on it, he showed that he hadn't gotten out of the blast unscathed. Its tongue had raked his back, ripping the back of his gi and causing his front to fall uselessly off of his chest. Burn marks that hit the surface of the skin could be seen, with the smoke still rising from the wounds. He breathed heavily, looking in the direction of where the explosion had taken place. "That took a vicious burst of my energy just to get out of there..." He thought. "If she pulls another one like that, I don't think I can escape it. Damn it, Qilin, you better have gotten out of there in time...!!"

Fortunately, the Captain once again proved his ability to survive.

A Flash Step, and he was seen hovering in the air. He was breathing audibly, but slowly. His body was covered in what appeared to be black marks, courtesy of his close call. A little smoke could even be seen coming from his clothing. But unlike Tetsuyo, who had barely been touched by the oncoming blast, he had come out relatively untouched. It was courtesy of his own energy control and an unorthodox use of Seki that kept him from harm's reach. Still, he had come very close to getting killed by that blast. If it hadn't been for Tetsuyo warning him, he would've had much less time to react to her attack.

"Oh, thank the Spirit King..." Tetsuyo thought to himself, sighing in relief as he saw his leader's form reappear in the air. "Had me scared for a minute..."

Qilin's eyes drifted towards the blast site, and it was here that his smirk had faded away. "That was a close one." He remarked, his tone casually conversational. "A second later and I probably would've been nothing but body parts." His eyes drifted back towards his opponent. "Gotta say, that was a clever way to use that Blut ability of yours..."

"He evaded-...no," Bambietta began to think as she turned around to face her enemy, noticing the burns upon the recesses of his clothing. Hearing his explanation, she truly had him pegged from the start as the quick-witted Kidō type. "he most likely has a high level of physical power as a result of intense training for mastering his Kidō prowess. Not just anyone among the Inner Circle's ranks can just do that. Not unless you're..."

Her smug grin reigniting, Bambietta would prop her hands on her hips as she would take stock of her enemy vocally and ocularly. "If your sword is half as sharp as your mind, I better not let it cut me with my guard down. After all, there's only one within the Circle's ranks that could fight with such ferocity. Tsubasa the Spiritsmith, the Kidō forger of legendary works and the one who was left for the wolves by his own ilk!"

Taking her time to nod to the side, she tap her fingers along her hips with emphasis, "I couldn't help but overhear your name mentioned during one of your close calls. I wouldn't be able to put two and two until I got a moment to truly consider your skill to match up with your notoriety. It all adds up why you left with someone not of the Alliance's ranks out of a Circle lab."

Pointedly, the Stern Ritter would cast a hawk eye's glance down towards where she could feel Tetsuyo's signature along with a now stirring Ayūi. 

The former lab rat would have her eyes flutter open, her mouth letting out an instinctive groan as her vision began to come back along with a less foggy head. "Ooooooh...wh-what happened?"

Had it not been for Bambietta's mention, Tetsuyo would've gladly supplied Ayūi with an answer.

Instead, he was now looking at the two combatants with shrunken eyes and a timid frown. But it wasn't aimed at the Quincy, who was looking down on both him and his companion with that hawk-eye stare. It was aimed at Qilin - no, Tsubasa - who was regarding him with a very clear glare. Even from the distance they were at, he could see those shrunken pupils, one of his eyes twitching a little and a small but clearly fake smile on his face. Reflexively, the Lieutenant held his hands up in the air and attempted to defend himself. "W-wait a minute, I didn't--"

"You rat." Tsubasa interrupted with an almost deadpan tone to his voice.

Multiple beads of comical sweat came down Tetsuyo's face. "I swear, it just slipped out, I didn't mean to--"

"You blabbed, didn't you?!" The smile had been wiped off Tsubasa's face as he shouted down to his subordinate.

Tetsuyo flailed his arms around, looking not too different from a hyperactive bird. "I thought you were gonna die!"

"That's your excuse?! A lack of faith within your Captain?! I thought we had a thing going, man! But I guess I was wrong!"

Tetsuyo found himself on his hands and knees, his forehead meeting the roof of the building he was on. "P-please, Captain! Have mercy!"

Tsubasa squinted his eyes, leveling his blade to point at the bowing Tetsuyo. "After you've scrubbed all the floors in Soul Society," He declared, using a mock voice of the stereotypical head of royalty. His blade swung to the side to motion towards the rest of the Vandenreich fortress. "Then we can talk about mercy!"

"S-so cruel..." Tetsuyo sobbed, a waterfall of tears falling from each eye.

A sweatdrop would comically, in turn, creep down Ayūi's brow-line as she dryly examined the exchange of dialogue between her two saviors, "Am I sure this man's Captain saved my life?" 

After closely examining the surroundings her comical disposition would change drastically. Narily half a football field away would lie a massive burning crater, indented to be almost perfectly flat and charred. Not a single structure or anything remotely solid was standing, a true testament to the volatile power the prior demonstrated Quincy's power truly was. 

Looking upward, she could only gawk as her own sharp eyes could see  as well as her senses that Qilin had yet to receive a single significant injury or a drop in his personal Reiryoku stores. "What kind of man could live after such a violent exchange?!" 

Bambietta, on the other hand, hardly looked amused by the sitcom equivalent chat. Narrowing her eyes, she knew that options were limited in engaging him proper.

"Bare handed would be risk me being ensnared by Kidō. Tactile detonation is too predictable to him, leaving me open for counterattack. This man is such a pain to fight, I swear," Bambietta groaned aloud in sync with her final thoughts. Waving her right hand forward with emphasis, she'd ball up her gloved hand and slam it onto her heart shaped belt-buckle, causing it to pop open. Revealed would be a compact bow: unfolding it would be revealed with feathered tresses designed along the recurve bow, having its foremost edges where a presumable string of reishi would connect be black-white talons resembling a bird of prey's. "it's been awhile since I've used Himei Kojaku. This Shinigami was born to fight me, it seems..."

"Since you've evaded and defended against my explosions not once but four times I shall give you the courteousy of knowing my name, Spiritsmith Tsubasa," Bambietta explained, holding her bow in his direction while taking a stance similar to what a fencer would adopt. A brilliant flourish of Reishi would transpire, causing the wings to expand a good three feet in diameter from the center of the weapon and the talons to clench into balls, filling the entire frame with a brilliant azure light, "I am Bambietta Basterbine of her Majesty's Stern Ritters. Prepare to meet your end in oblivion!" 

The Battle on Ground Zero

As with such declaration, a shotgun burst of Heilig Pfeil, shaped in the form talon shaped projectiles of cobalt-white light. Each would move as swift as when a bullet would leave a gun barrel, hissing through the air as they're let loose towards its prey. All done with the surprising honor of letting the enemy know she was about to attack, methodically and purposely. 

When she spoke once again, Tsubasa was quick to turn his attention back to her.

When he looked into her eyes, he could see it. When he perked his ears, he could hear it. There was a small sliver of respect within her voice, one that made it clear that she acknowledged him as a force to be reckoned with. It caused him to relax again, the smirk returning to his face as he leveled his sword to a defensive position. He would've let out a chuckle, had it not been for the preparation of her attack. "Hah! I knew she was gonna warm up to me eventually..." He thought to himself, giving himself a mental pat on the back. "Wonder how far it's gonna go, though. As far as we're concerned, this fight's just getting started..."

His body and mind went on high alert the moment the first arrow was shot.

Knowing he would be too slow to raise a proper defense, he executed another Flash Step in order to pull himself from the spot he was at. But as he re-appeared, he continued to see the arrows fly towards him. His eyes widened in shock, both at the speed they were going at and the accuracy she was displaying. He was forced on the run, Flash Stepping again and again to keep himself out of harm's way. But in this constant rhythm of dodging and evading, he would essentially find himself no different from a mouse trying to run from a cat. At this rate, he couldn't get close enough to execute another Kidō spell, lest he wanted to get shredded by her arrows.

A rather humorous look of fear crossed his face as he briefly cleared the stream of arrows being shot his way. "Bambi, dear?! Don't you think this is just the slightest bit unfair--" However, once another storm was shot towards him, he had to stop his words and continue running. "Damn it!!"

"Sorry! I'm too busy trying to kill your ass in order to give a damn!" Bambietta quipped back, her rapid spreadshot discharges up to dozens of Heilig Pfeil continuing to spray across the skyline. Singing and whistling with unabated relentless force, they'd spiral as swiftly as any projectile launched at high velocity should be. It was a true testament to Bambietta's quick reflexsive tactics and mental analysis of her enemy. 

"As long as I continue to pressure him, he won't get a good enough footing to respond physically. He also needs time to conjure a proper spell, with or without an incantation. Fighting him at a distance will give me a distinctive advantage he sorely lacks," Stern Ritter E concluded as she kept her relentless barrage of talon-shaped arrows. 

It was a tense situation to be in.

A demanding amount of concentration and accurate guessing was needed to evade the shots unleashed by Bambietta. So far, Tsubasa was doing just that in masterful fashion. But in his consistent use of Flash Step, he knew that he couldn't keep up this perfect act of evasion forever. One of those blasts would eventually hit him, especially considering that he had just gotten out fresh from a fight with Yashin. If he didn't find a way to get close to her again, he was done for. He turned his eyes towards her again, trying to find a possible opening in the storm that she was unleashing towards him.

And then it happened.

One of the arrows had connected, the talon edge impaling itself into his arm. Shocked eyes swiveled towards it, and his body stopped itself in its tracks. No sooner after he felt the sting of the tip did he feel a dose of reishi insert itself directly into his arm. For a brief second, he was bewildered at the way the projectile functioned. Was it some sort of poison, a contrast to the abilities she had displayed before? No... she didn't seem like the type to resort to such subtle means of killing an enemy. If he had to find a relation to her explosive ability, the presence of reishi could only mean--

The revelation changed his expression from bewilderment to genuine horror and a slight amount of awe.

"My arm--!"

Those were the only two words that could form in his head, before the very limb and himself was consumed in a violent explosion. Its light bathed the area below, illuminating the face of a horrified Lieutenant. His hands balled up into fists as he watched his comrade get consumed for a second time, fearing that this time he may have fallen. For a brief moment, he found himself glaring at the Quincy culprit, and suddenly the urge to gut her open seemed oh so very strong. But he knew that he was just as powerless as Ayūi in this situation. If Tsubasa fell, they would be next whether they wanted it or not.

But then, as the smoke cloud cleared, they could see that would not be the case.

In sheer defiance of death, the Captain was standing in the air with his affected arm held out to the side and his head hung down. If one got past the smoke, they could see small and multiple holes poked through a now bleeding and burned arm. His free hand had an index and middle finger jabbed into his bicep - the source for the holes. His enemy probably wouldn't get it right away, but it was a use of Byakurai and Seki that had saved him from losing his limb. The Seki was implanted inside the arm in order to curve the flow of unstable energy and the Byakurai lightning rods were to create "vents" for that energy to go through. Once again, his Kidō ability had saved him from certain doom.

"Yeah..." He said lowly, that trademark grin appearing on his face once again as he looked at his opponent. "I'm starting to get it now. All this time, I thought you were conjuring up those explosions through thought. But in reality, you've just been hiding the catalysts, haven't you?" He lowered both of his arms to their sides. "You insert your spiritual energy into a desired location and transform it into your very own personal bomb. Buildings... the ground... and even people... can be transformed into a vessel for destruction if you so wished." He shook his head in a shivering manner. "And you hid that from me for so long? You sneaky little devil..."

He tilted his neck to the side, an audible snapping noise heard as the bone was popped. "I think I just may be," He continued, an eerily casual yet subdued tone in his voice. "A little bit scared of you, dear Bambietta..."

"You have a funny way of not showing it," Bambietta thought as her face drew into a pensive glare, one that if looks could kill, it would have surely obliterated him by mere thought. "to have seen me redirect the flow of your Kidō one time gave you the idea to do something similarly to my Heilig Pfeil. Still, that explosion wasn't a trick of the eye, it still happened. It was only by quick thinking that he reduced a missing arm to a badly broken one."

Having lowered her bow from her face, the Stern Ritter could gleam with victory in her eyes, despite the initial backfire of her plan, "You should be afraid of me! Even your quick thinking couldn't allow you to escape a single Heilig Pfeil explosion. I can see the way you're holding yourself that you're trying not to show that you're in pain. Try to act tough all you want, that arm is as good as it would have been had it been blown to pieces." 

Lighting up Himei Kojaku once more, the wings expanded into a bright expanse of Reishi feathers. Taking hold of another string of Reishi, she pulled it back farther than before, holding it to the crook of her right cheekbone. With a final shout, she declared to him, "That trick won't work if you're more plucked than a pin cushion!" 

"Chidori Ichigun!" 

Instantaneously, a wall of talon-shaped arrows would spread outwards and discharge into the aerial horizon. Slicing through the air in numbers up to a thousand, Bambietta would allow her aim to follow the movements of Qilin and continue to discharge a steady rate of many volatile projectiles. This time she intended not to allow her prey to have an escape for which he can utilize. 

And throughout all of it, Tsubasa would drink it in with silence.

"Well said."

He stood still, watching as the storm of arrows were shot towards him. He used a free hand to reach behind him, his fingers undoing the knot that made up his pony tail.

"Tricks like that just aren't going to cut it against a woman like you. Too smart to catch by surprise. Too tough for the likes of my sword to pierce. Too stubborn to just roll over and die. It's no wonder your race has survived to the present day."

The ponytail was undone, allowing his long black hair to billow freely in the winds that the arrows generated. The hand that undid it reached down to grasp his scabbard, and his sword hand promptly sheathed the weapon. But the grip around the handle was maintained in a position to perform an iaido strike.

"I can't afford to keep pussy-footing around any more. You gave me the honor of knowing your name. So I'll give you the honor of showing a part of my true power. It's a shame I can't unleash my full potential against you, knowing that you'll just rip it away from my fingertips. It'll be a disappointment. But this is going to be my final step... for now."

When the arrows neared him, he uttered the release command and drew out his sword once more.

"Climax."

When the iaido swing was completed, a chain reaction took place.

The arrows nearest to him would promptly explode in a blaze of light and white fire tinted with blue. The ones behind those were quick to follow, and soon the whole airspace was lit up in a demonstration of apocalyptic fireworks. It made Tetsuyo shield his face with one of his arms, lest he wanted to be blinded by the immense light that was produced. The winds generated pressured him to the point where it felt like he was going to get shoved up against the rooftop. Once again, he was reminded that however this battle would turn out, the destruction was going to be on a large scale. He could only hope that it wouldn't end tragically for the likes of them.

When the light cleared, the Captain stood with his trademark black sword at his side. There was a smile on his face as he looked down at his enemy, sedated but clearly expressing the same sinful anticipation from his very first grin. If his arm was truly injured to the point of Bambietta's analysis, then he was either ignoring it outright or simply didn't feel it. Either way, he looked very much ready to continue.

"Aijin."

Bambietta's barrage immediately halted upon feeling the shockwave buffet across her frame. While her bow acted as a crude shield to the waves of air pressure, she could clearly see the blaze of light detonate before her eyes, long before her second barrage was ready to continue fire. A momentary thought of victory was quickly shoved away when she could clearly feel the Reiatsu of her enemy strong and still beyond the ambient Reiatsu of the atmosphere. 

Through the haze of steam she could see the man unbound his ponytail, allowing it to flow down to his shoulders and flap freely as Bambietta's own beautiful onyx tresses were. Instead of the steel blade the man had been employing nearly this entire time for combat it was a Reiatsu radiating black sword. Deadly and beautiful, those were the words that she would find to describe it, finding that the light of the storm covered sky cast a radiant gleam even from the distance separating them. 

But the title, the name of the Zanpakutō, caused her to pause. 

"Aijin...Lover?" Bambietta queried mentally, eyes blinking and furrowing inwards, unable to comprehend the man's ability purely on the title of his weapon alone. If a Zanpakutō released a wave of Reiatsu, the blast would have been much larger and could potentially have overwhelmed him. But no, he was too intact for a simple exertion of Reishi particles. "did he...set off my arrows prematurely? That shouldn't be possible! They need to enter anything, even energy, in order to be set off. Did he do something to make them go off differently?"

Meanwhile down below, all Ayūi could do was shudder as she felt the Reiatsu coming off in subtle, ominous waves from above. 

"Monstrous," Ayūi whispered, a bead of sweat crawling down her brows to indicate her apprehension, "that Zanpakutō...has such an evil aura to it. If Zanpakutōs had hearts like living beings, then I'd describe it as black as Hell's abyss!" 

"While normally I'd say that's a bit too dramatic..." Tetsuyo muttered, regarding the Captain with awe and the slightest amount of fear. "I think you may have something pegged there. Rarely have I been around to feel something like this... but I can guarantee it now. He's finally in that mood..."

"Heh!" Tsubasa didn't seem to pay attention to the reactions of his allies. His eyes flashed with amusement when he saw his Quincy opponent not retaliate immediately. "I see I've left you speechless, eh, Bambi?" He called down, a jocular tone in his voice. "Don't feel bad. That's the usual reaction women get when they see it."

"Guh--!" His humorous words ended up momentarily breaking the apprehension Tetsuyo himself was feeling, and he found a hand covering his mouth to stifle his snickers.

"I don't know if I should take your Captain seriously or not," Ayūi facepalmed, in response to the very audible dialogue that she overheard from the man hovering overhead. 

The Captain, meanwhile, Flash Stepped to the Quincy's level and touched down the fighter's distance away from her. "Considering you've proven yourself to be a rather insightful girl thus far, I would've just attacked you right away and let you figure out just what Aijin's capable of yourself. But I can't be that cruel, especially considering you went through the trouble of giving your name to me. So I'll give you a rundown on how it works." He lifted the blade up, idly inspecting its cutting edge. "Anything it touches - living or non-living - has its chemical properties rendered to a state of instability. As a result, the affected objects detonate and essentially become bombs - something I'm sure you're quite familiar with. The reiatsu released from it serves an extension of the blade, so I don't just have to rely on close ranges in order to get the desired effect. I'm surprised you didn't get the hint earlier, what with me squealing like a fan girl when you first said your powers revolved around explosions. But I guess the reaction was too subtle for you, wasn't it?"

He lowered his sword to his side, cocking an eyebrow and giving a somewhat challenging smile. "With that being said," He continued, briefly leveling his sword in a backhand position with the tip pointed at Bambietta. "Now that I've given a proper demonstration of what it can do, do you think you can dance to my tune?"

After casting a glare at Qilin for the quip he made she made sure to force her temper back for the sole purpose of hearing him out. The generous offering of how his Zanpakutō worked further proved the point by his earlier insistance of dialogue and protective instincts. This demonstration of abilities plus the etiquette wasn't lost to her, causing her to sputter an incredulous laugh, enough that she had to cover her eyes with her right hand. 

"Oh this is rich! You're one of those ancient gentleman types, aren't ya? No wonder you've been acting so reserved up until now. Such a vicious Zanpakutō such as that isn't fit for a tough guy. It's rude, haughty, and takes no fucks from the opposition, seeking to blow it all to kingdom come rather than subdue it through attrition or with," Cocking her head to the side, she couldn't help but spread her grin from ear-to-ear, showing a darker side of herself as her pupils contracted a fraction, "you haven't been completely honest with me about your true intentions. What a cheeky bastard you are!" 

This only served to increase the size of Tsubasa's own grin. He gave a bowing nod of the head in acknowledgement to what he considered to be a compliment, vulgar as it was. "Thank you." He answered simply, with an almost clipped tone. "Glad we're getting to know each other a little more. I was starting to get a little worried that my charm was wearing off, but I guess I'm still in the clear."

He exhaled another breath as he took a few steps back, wagging his Zanpakutō lightly in her direction before settling into a stance. He spread his feet apart slightly, his sword gripped in two hands but lowered to his side. The cutting edge was aimed at her in a position similar to when he had performed his very first swing on her, though he didn't seem to be too eager to jump that gun again. "And since you've declared me to be such an "ancient gentleman"," He continued, his tone smooth yet carrying a subtle dose of malevolence within. "I think I'll let you start this back up. Unless, of course, my kind of honesty scares you?"

"Hardly," Bambietta chuckled darkly, raising her bow to align in his direction once more, her free hand forming a new string of Reishi, "you're down a arm and suddenly you release your Zanpakutō? I feel like you're suddenly realizing your predicament, facing me. You may enjoy it but you're at a significant disadvantage, one that you cannot deny. In the end, my power is the superior one in comparison to your archaic style of soul cutters!" 

Unleashing a spread-shot of Heilig Pfeil in the dozens, they'd all be fired at a frightening speed at such a close range. She knew all too well that in order for his Zanpakutō to work properly, he would need to be out of range of the blast he himself creates. 

Employing a burst of Hirenkyaku, her frame would quickly move towards his undefended side, firing a quick follow-up discharge of more arrows. She'd continue to fire are various angles in the air, aiming to make use of the fact his sword's reach would be limited, and using the idea that he'd rather preserve his body's constitution would negate his ability to discharge Reiatsu with his blade. 

"There's nowhere you can hide from me this time, Shinigami!" Bambietta crowed among the various afterimages of high speed movement, aiming to overwhelm him with speed and a flurry of rapid fire at a close distance. 

It was here that Tsubasa's expression would change significantly. The light in his eyes would vanish, giving the malicious excitement within a more unnerving outlook. The smile on his face would shift to a grin of feral nature, his canines flashing with unrestrained malice. With his burned arm cradled to his chest, he performed a series of Flash Steps to match her Hirenkyaku movements. In the brief moments that he could, he saw the twitch of her fingers, the minuscule sparks of energy whenever a discharged was unleashed in his direction. It was like a game of "tag", with both of the players being "it".

Even as he weaved and evaded, his mind was filled with his own mental retaliation to her words.

"Why would I hide?"

To Tetsuyo, it would look like two figures blurring in and out of existence, appearing in one place only to disappear and reappear in a completely different location. In the brief times that he could see it, he took note of his Captain's appearance. Although he was fighting as effectively as he was before, his overall appearance seemed to give him the outlook of a street fighter rather than someone who trained for the ranks of the Gotei 13. It sent a shiver down his spine as he watched the battle.

"Yeah, I might be down an arm. But I've still got my other one working fine. I've got my legs, my eyes and my teeth. I've got my power, my skills and my mind. What's a single arm worth compared to all of that, huh? All this destroyed limb is doing is telling me how much I'm alive right now, how it's not all some sort of twisted fever dream. The pain coursing through my bones tells me that you're strong, more than able to destroy me. The fact that I'm facing down someone who could end my life in an instant is one of the best damn feelings I could ever hope to experience! To hide and cower from the likes of you..."

Then, contact.

He took advantage of the particular stance she took when firing those arrows the moment they got close enough to one another. His leg had risen up in a kick to connect with her side and send her flying towards the ground. But he wouldn't stop there, pulling his sword arm back in a lunge position. His eyes locked onto their target, and without warning, he thrust the blade at her. What would come out was a path of shock waves that shot towards her form with terrifying speed. The type of power would be concussive, meaning that connection would result in injuries derived from blunt force trauma or being crushed to death.

"...would be an absolute insult to both of us, wouldn't you agree?!"

The name of the attack would be uttered in a low and almost guttural whisper.

"Kagizaki."

There was no time to conjure expressions to detail her shocked state of mind that her enemy swiftly penetrated her guard past a volley of arrows. His spinning kick would connect with her side, sending her body sprawling in the wake of an elliptical split of the wind, her body shooting down into the crater's outermost recess. While seemingly embedded into the ground, within her own indented crater sprawled form lied, a secondary concussive wave of pressurized death sang through the air towards her frame. 

Swinging her Himei Kojaku around, she'd utter a single phrase...

"Panzer!" 

...doing so caused the wings above and below the handle of the bow to rise up so their backs touched each other. This created a feathery shield of Reishi, upraised and rapidly expanding in mass to appropriately encompass the entirety of her land site. The force that struck her forced her to activate Blut Vene upon instinct, strengthening her arm's endurance and the structural integrity of her shield. After what seemed like an eternity of kinetic bombardment, the shockwave that had been discharged her way. 

With a growl she reverted Himei Kojaku back to its bow form, firing a wide spread ascending wave of arrows, employing Chidori Ichigun once more. Knowing he'd trigger the blast at the very least halfway up, she quickly hopped onto her haunches, employing a swift Hirenkyaku to blur past a preemptive hole within her storm of upward ascending arrows. Being only a handful of meters to his wounded left, she opted to change tactics by revealing her transformed Himei Kojaku as a shield, covering her advances. Whether he'd strike at her shield directly or move back, she opted to twirl her shield away from reach while pulling out a shining new Reishi weapon she materialized in a heartbeat. 

This was a heart shaped tsuba, Chinese Dao broadsword, created from the buckler used to house her blade. When she would thrust, a spiraling line of Reishi aimed to split the fabric of Reiatsu and Reishi alike would thrust in his direction. Having used this weapon to maim and murder countless Shinigami no matter what defense, she favored this blade -Kralle- as a close quarters eviscerator. 

Naturally, the arrows would be defended against, just as she anticipated.

But the way he would defend himself would differ from the initial way he countered.

When he saw that she had withstood his Kagizaki, he knew that he was going to have to up the ante. A summoning of his Zanpakutō's power would create an entirely different ability. His black blade was ignited in an oversized beam of yellow-orange fire, which would leave a long trail as he swung it at the arrows that were unleashed towards him. Upon contact with his fire, they wouldn't explode, but become consumed and disintegrate completely. They were glass stones to his steel wall, destroyed with the ease of breathing. But he kept his eyes peeled, managing to spot her when she charged through a hole in her own defense. Upon seeing her rush him, he couldn't help but cock an eyebrow in inquiry.

Then, she vanished, and his senses picked her up as she appeared off to his side. Apparently, she was trying to take advantage of his wounded arm and attack his less guarded side. So reflexively, he moved himself back in order to turn himself around properly. But when he saw her charge him, he saw an opportunity for serious injury. With this new ability active, she was walking straight into a death trap. The next few seconds would be all this precious moment would last. But it was all that he would need.

She thrust.

He swung.

"Sengetsu!"

What would be unleashed would be a massive boomerang projectile that shot at her. Because of the close range they were at, she most likely wouldn't get to see it. But if it connected, it would result in a massive explosion that would rival the one of hers that had nearly killed him the first time it was unleashed. It would seem like a glorified energy blast. But if the energies touched her form, whatever part of her caught in it would be wiped out from existence. This was an attack that even her Blut Vene wouldn't be able to directly defend from, and at this range, Tsubasa was confident to score a hit.

But if she made it out, he would be most certainly impressed.

It was a split second decision that she made upon an earlier anaylsis. During her ascent, the upward wave of arrows didn't explode like she hoped but simply disappeared. Gone within a wave of wafting golden light, as if they were erased from existence before they could insert their essence into itself. 

Now she knew better than to directly challenge this kind of attack. 

Kicking off the air with her left ankle, she'd use her forward momentum to spin around the bommerang shaped discharge. It was only thanks to her innate speed and reflexes due to her honing of her own personal Quincy skills that she could respond as swiftly as she did. A further testament to her limber if not unorthodox block to his attack to her own rear flank minutes ago. 

But she wouldn't be able to leave entirely without loss. Kralle, her prized sword, was seemingly disintegrated eighty percent from the guard, having taken the wafting blaze of light due to the reach it had towards the boomerang attack. Having skid narrowly outside of its reach it'd be all but too later to retrieve it from the super-heated technique, causing her to lose the sharp bladed edge. 

With an angry snarl she tossed it aside, reverting the shape of her Himei Kojaku back to its bow form. She'd hold it aloft but wouldn't immediately engage as she took stock of his abilities as he would of hers. 

"One attack that focuses explosive instability into a kinetic barrage at high velocity and another that frictions the Reiatsu output to a point where it'd dissolve anything by mere contact. Chemical instabilities are my least problem when he has these two techniques to back his assault up. I have to find a smarter way to approach this," Bambietta thought as a pensive scowl fixated on her face, her cloaked form flourishing in the high altitude in sync with her long hair. 

But surprisingly enough, she wouldn't be the only one agitated with the situation.

When he saw that she had managed to evade, he was indeed impressed by the show of acrobatics. But this was shot down when he saw that he had unintentionally destroyed her sword, possibly the only thing she could've used to face him down in a sword fight. His eyebrows furrowed, his mouth curled into a scowl and he mentally cursed himself for not being more careful. It would've been entertaining to see what she was capable of with a blade, considering she already had a considerable skill in archery. But now that opportunity to witness it was ruined. He wasn't hesitant in voicing it, either.

"Oh, god damn it! I didn't mean to do that!" He snarled, an expression of frustration clear on his face as he eyed the spot where the blade had been destroyed. He let out an aggravated sigh, the knuckles of his sword hand slapping against his temples in a gesture of self-chiding. "What a waste of a good blade."

"Shouldn't you be more concerned about taking her down so we can live another day?" Tetsuyo's distant voice called out.

"Well, if you've got the priorities straightened out so much," Tsubasa called back, only glancing in the direction of Tetsuyo and Ayūi. "Then why don't you switch me places?"

A laughter with a mixture of nervousness and genuine amusement could be heard from the Lieutenant. "Haha~! Good one, sir~!"

After one of his eyes twitched a little, Tsubasa once again turned his gaze to Bambietta. The agitation on his face was quick to fade, and he raised an eyebrow in inquiry. "Huh? What's the matter with you, now?" He asked, a casually curious tone within his words as he spoke to her. "Why a scowl? You should be smiling right now. After all, you're being faced with someone who can keep you on your toes. You have an actual challenge in front of you, someone who's got the stones to actually hurt you in direct combat. It might be wild guessing on my part, but before this moment, I bet you were probably spending time cutting up small fry who couldn't even last long enough for you to enjoy yourself. It must've been so boring, right? For you to have to exert your power on those so weak. And then I came along."

He folded his sword arm across his chest, giving the visage of him folding both arms as best as he could while holding his sword. "You made it very clear that you were anticipating this. Can't exactly take back that look in your eyes or that winning smile of yours, can you? So just lay it clean, let go and savor this moment. As long as this fight goes on, there's no superiors. There are no orders or petty rules of engagement that we have to go by. There's just you, me..." He slowly swung his sword arm out to gesture towards the Vandenreich's fortress area. "And this oh-so perfect atmosphere."

"Don't mistake appearances for what they seem upon the surface," Bambietta retorted crisply. Using her left hand she grasped the edge of her cap, pulling it down a smidge. This endowed her visage's upper half in a decadently shadowed visage, eyes twinkling of malicious intent, with a hint of a dark smile creeping back up across her face. "I am frustrated at myself for not being to end a battle like this quickly. A clash between two artisans of instantaneous destruction would seem to be able to end each other in one blow still stand after so many exchanges. I now understand we're a bit too smart for that kind of ending to be possible."

In a brilliant flash of light within her left hand, Himei Kojaku would transform again, changing shape dramatically. The centermost handle lengthened, becoming a pole handle of nearly a solid meter. The recurve sections that made up flared wings folded them in on each other, flushing the feathers in a way that would become a double-edged pair of azure-lit, silver-hued metal. Having finished transmuting its shape, the double, feather-tressed bladed weapon shined brilliantly beside her, revealing the shape as she announced it levelly. 

"Flügel-Messer."

Swinging her blade in a brilliant diagonal arc out in front of herself at an angle that would possibly bisect Tsubasa. Strangely enough, the brilliant blaze of light didn't seem to simply hold the consistancy it once did. After appearing just a hair out of reach of his blade the entirety of the light's arching path, the entire column would detonate into a directionally proned explosion, forming a pillar of orange-red tongues of flames that would aim to consume him. 

"I'm not leaving anything to supposition any longer!" Bambietta cried out with a gleamingly wide smile. Spinning Flügel-Messer beside herself before grasping it with both hands, bending her body at a frontally bending angle towards his direction within the air. "I'm going to use any tactic I possess to annihilate you and laugh as I hear your deafened cries of anguish!"

It was fortunate that Tsubasa had activated his Sengetsu beforehand, for that lack of consistency certainly would've cost him dearly.

The golden flames that ignited for the initiation of his technique collided with the orange-red generated from her weapon, allowing for a makeshift shield against the pillar of fire that nearly swallowed him whole. But this time, he would put only enough within his attack in order to simply part the waves. The heat that washed over him caused beads of sweat to fall down his face, and he had to squint his eyes in the intense light. But he continued to bear that toothy grin of his out of anticipation. Her words were poetic, her weapon was perfect, and she demonstrated passion that rivaled his very own. She was an opponent he could come to enjoy crossing swords with.

"That's the spirit, Bambietta." He whispered when the attack was subdued, his voice low and his tone covered in barbs. His hand gripped the handle of his black steel ribbon tightly, his Sengetsu disengaging. "Show me that your blade is just as sharp as your words could ever be!"

Then, he threw himself at the Quincy.

His blade crashed into her own with considerable force, his wrist directing his weapon with the grace of an orchestra conductor. Sparks would be generated between the two as he attacked her, a ferocious yet masterful series of strikes making up his assault. Sometimes he would flip over and twist around her just to throw her off her game. Sometimes he would Flash Step, more often than not to catch her if she attempted to use Hirenkyaku on him. Sometimes he would bring his other limbs into the mix, kicking at her and parrying away certain attacks with his legs. Even with one arm, he proved himself to be a formidable adversary to bang swords against.

"Ridiculous," Ayūi muttered aloud, her eyes twitching unnervingly up as they stared wide-eyed up at the dance between two ecstatic killers, "to think that I judged this man to be of pure intention. He's nothing more than a devil wearing the clothes of a righteous warrior. I can't believe he could supress such an animostic side of himself from even my perception..."

Bambietta returned her own series of blows in kind. Twirling her transformed weapon of empowered Reishi like a baton, she danced and spun around in dexterous turns and leaps, her blade parrying his with equal vigor. Most of the time she didn't even rely on using two hands, only relying on her left hand to move and guide the path of her opposing sided weapon while her right hand was free to bat away and strike at him with blunt force. 

Then she spun it around so that it would be in both hands. Thrusting the midsection pole handle of the blade up, it appeared like she intended on knocking him off balance, Low, the feint was enough that she could implement a twist of Flügel-Messer's handle, separating it down the middle to create a pair of dual swords. Knocking the path of the downward slashing blade with the pommel of her left handed sword, she twirled around in a perfect forward 360 spin, slashing her right handed weapon under his right side's guard. She aimed to cut open his torso's side just above the hip and below his rib cage where the flesh would be soft and malleable for evisceration. 

Even if such a move were to be blocked or parried, she would backpedal away, slashing the air with the other blade to create a rift of explosive pressure in his direction. Even as the expansive horizon of flames would be discharged in a audibly and visibly fantastic attack, she would hold her blades aloft by her sides, staring in what she'd discern to be his position with a beckoning gleam in her eyes and a feral smile spread across her face. One could note the thrill of battle boiled her blood as much as the air was by her explosions. 

"No."

Even as he witnessed the dancers put on their show, Tetsuyo's gaze remained solemn and his tone soft. "That's too villainous of a title for him to take." He corrected her. "He may not be the most righteous man to have ever lived. But he's far from a devil, and trust me... I've seen my likes of devils. Devils kill with little to no reason, indiscriminate in who they slay. Soldiers, warriors, civilians... anything that's breathing, a devil will gladly take its claws to them if it means sating its own pleasure. And sure, you can definitely tell that he's enjoying this... but as far as the big picture goes, it's all a side effect."

His eyebrows furrowed when he saw Tsubasa recover from the displacing parry just in time to intercept the sword that would've otherwise gut him open. The black ribbon of death swiped at where Bambietta's neck would've been, only for her to dance away and initiate her backpedaling maneuver. When the shot of explosive pressure was unleashed towards Bambietta's foe, he reflexively put his sword out in front of him and let the blast collide. Once more, he was enveloped in a violent explosion of flaming death, but this time his Lieutenant didn't flinch. "His orders were to destroy the experiments the Inner Circle were conducting down in that lab... and that order would've included you in the hit list. But he went out of his way to save you, despite what his superiors would've thought about him bucking orders. He ain't showing it right now... but he treasures life to a great degree."

From the explosion Bambietta had created, a path of similar power and potency would run through her and aim to consume her just as her flames attempted to do to Tsubasa. It was like watching AA gun rounds detonating in the sky from where the two observers were - a display of both frightening and vibrantly beautiful nature. Their conductor wasn't done there, using a Flash Step to appear upside-down above Bambietta's location. Bending his legs temporarily, he boosted himself from his position in the air and shot like a rocket past his foe with his blade in a lunge. As his sword moved through the air, another chain of explosions would follow him to form a cloudy cross in the sky.

"He's fighting to defend and protect, just like any Captain of the Gotei 13 would in his position. He's fighting to defend you and me, his friends and comrades who fight alongside him and what makes up the Soul Society. He may not be a devil, but he's certainly got one inside him. But if not for that devil, he would never have had the courage to raise a sword against anyone in the first place." It was here that Tetsuyo turned to give Ayūi a slightly sad smile. "And neither would we."

"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH~!" Tsubasa yelled out with glee, thrusting his sword and launching another Kagizaki attack at his opponent.

Having transformed her swords with a firm snap into Panzer, she deflected the blasts of Reishi. Unknowingly to her enemy, her blades had subtly been growing brighter and brighter with every parry and connection with his weapon, even his proximity. The deflection of her enemy's attacks seemed to soundly dampen their effects of what should have rattled her being at such close distance to the cacophonic series of explosions. 

Using the fog of war as cover, she would feel her enemy prepare another attack as he'd spiral down, parting the smoke as he'd slice through the air with his sword pointed first with a deafening howl. Swiftly transforming Panzer into HImei Kojaku, she assimilated all of the Reishi she's assimilated from her enemy into one point, forming what looked like a foot wide slanted razor arrow of light. She would be able to make out the gleeful expression on his face before releasing the bowstring from her fingers, firing it at a tantalizingly near distance between the two of them. 

"Kihatsuseiya!" 

In that moment, the column of light would briefly enshroud her vision just short of a massive plume of cerulean dispersal. A explosion in the shape of two bird wings would expand outwards, painting the sky in a deadly vista of artistic death, thrusting a skyline shockwave to caress the entirety of Vandentei in an imitation of thunder. Plumes of flames would vanish as quickly as they'd come, not even allowing smoke to build up, with only a haze of steam from whence it had formed. 

Spiraling downwards at the moment of the explosion would be Bambietta. Seconds before her uncontrollable descent would collide into the ground she would switch from Blut Arterie to Blut Vene, protecting her body from severe injury from the concussive waves she'd feel upon impact. She felt the wind exhale out of her, forcing her eyes to widen and her ears to ring. And yet, throughout it all, her clothes were only dirtied and slightly tattered from the fall and she herself didn't get more than a few singed splotches on her face and hair from the explosion, seeing as it was fired upwards. 

"Did you like that...Shinigami?" Bambietta could only heave up as she pushed herself up to her feet, wobbling back and forth, finding that keeping her balance was slightly difficult. She could only wonder how her enemy fared in that blast as well as she did. 

Needless to say, he had been surprised.

He hadn't been expecting the girl to unleash such an explosive attack when she was at risk herself, what with all of the tact that she had been displaying. That motion alone demonstrated that she had truly forsaken all worry of tact in favor of simply destroying him completely. To anyone else, it would've been an insane move. But to him, it showed that she had at least acknowledged his earlier words of letting go. Even as he brought his sword up to bear, he couldn't help a flash of satisfied elation that crossed through that feral grin of his.

And then, the force of the explosion hit him.

Thanks to Aijin's efforts, he had been able to offset it again - a task made much easier with his Zanpakutō. Though the force would send him downward in parallel with his Quincy adversary, the actual explosion had been kept away thanks to his timely efforts. But as quickly as he had prepared for her attack, he couldn't recover from the air resistance which had overtaken his body. His teeth clenched, and his hair whipped around wildly as his body rocketed towards the ground. Knowing that there wasn't going to be a chance for him to just flip back and land on his feet, he once again brought his Kidō skills to his aid. A Seki spell was cast around what he predicted to be the point of impact, and he shut his eyes to await intimacy with the ground.

He hit the earth with the back of his head first.

For what seemed like the longest of moments, his world would be that of the void. But in reality, it would last only for a few seconds before vision swam back to him. Starting out as a haze, it gradually shrank back to clarity. He let out a groan as he momentarily released his hold on his sword, his fingers rubbing against his temples to massage the splitting headache that had fallen upon him. But it instinctively drew back once he felt something warm and wet coating his fingertips. He brought the affected hand to eye level, seeing just what exactly it was that coated his forehead.

It was blood.

"Oh, I know this is going to be so bad later on..."

As he dropped his hand back to his sword, he heard Bambietta's question run along the traces of his eardrums. Despite the pain he was in, he couldn't help the amused chuckle that escaped his throat. With a grunt, he pulled himself off of the ground and, subsequently, out of the crater his body had made upon impact. Ignoring the protests his form was producing, he hefted himself up to his feet. He breathed heavily, tilting his head up to the sky and staring upward with aimless eyes. There was a moment of silence between the two before he regained his breath back and spoke, his eyes promptly shutting as he did so.

"S...sorry, you'll have to give me a moment..."

He exhaled, hunching over and lowering his head. His knees were bent, with both arms resting on them. Droplets of blood could be seen dripping down from his face to stain the earth just in front of his feet. But despite it all, he still managed to grin toothily. "Damn it, woman..." He breathed. "Are you this rough with all of your men? Or am I that special to you?"

"I kill most men I sleep with," Bambietta quipped offhandedly, her grin widening to see the state her enemy was in. A sense of true accomplishment welled up within her being. Perhaps all of the energy she placed into attacking without remorse or thought paid off after all, she would believe. "but don't think yourself to be lucky. Shinigami should feel priviledged to take so much punishment from me so recklessly and still be in one piece!" 

Transforming her bow within an audible clicking sound of metallic shifting, the shape of Hime Kojaku returning swiftly. Pulling back her bowstring she took aim, her body lighting up with a visible cerulean light of Reiatsu as she focused Reishi particles into her weapon. Even the soil and air warped, flourishing as if it was drawn into a current that would feed the weapon itself, strengthening the power of its projectiles exponentially. 

"It's all been a delaying tactic. You may have abilities similar to mine and some surpass even my ability to defend against. But against overwhelming opposition of mass explosions," As she would conclude, a storm of arrows would be unleashed, this time holding the flaming integrity of which her prior detonative technique possessed, "there is no escape!"

All at once, they'd be unleashed. Brief cerulean arcs of an expansive horizontal blaze of Reishi would be sent in his direction. They'd purposely spread out, maximizing the radius of which they'd reach to minimize chances of evasion from the rapidly projected attack. Before they'd reach a quarter of the way, they'd detonate, causing what would be seen as a vista of cobalt flames to roar towards him with the utmost potency for annihilation.  

This time, Tsubasa wouldn't allow his thoughts of retaliation to be solely within his mind.

His cackle would ring loud and clear within her ears, even as death raced towards him. He raised his sword arm in a halfhearted attempt to stifle it, even as his blade ignited in that familiar golden flame. "Why would I even think of wanting something as stupid as escape?!" He crowed, quickly twisting the blade around his body while turning his form around. The trail that the blade created would last a bit longer than it should've, its destructive energy providing as a makeshift shield against the flames as they enveloped him. With the cobalt curtain enveloping the area he was in, it seemed as if he had succumbed to death. But she would know by now that he wouldn't die so quickly.

Especially with the exit from the destruction that he made.

Within an instant and from a blaze of golden light, he was in front of her and throwing himself in her direction. His Sengetsu-enhanced blade was swung with the grace of a conductor's baton once again, his swings threatening to sear through whatever defenses she could've prepared against him. His sword seemed to cause the earth slashed underneath their feet to disintegrate into nothingness. All the meanwhile, he would continue to speak to his adversary with zealous eagerness. "I think we can both agree by now, that retreat by either one of us would just be a disappointment for the other! This is a place where people like us belong, where the dogs can snarl and rip at each other as much as they want to! There's no place in this world I would rather be right now, no sensation I want to feel than the desire to cut you into shreds! So go on, unleash your storm of destruction! Bring the entire wrath of your Quincy armaggedon down upon my head if it sates you, my dear! But no matter what you do..."

In the midst of one of those strikes, the pent-up energy released in his sword would suddenly explode. The crater would be further widened in the ensuing chaos as the explosion of golden light would greedily consume whatever was unfortunate enough to get in its way. Aijin would direct the energy towards Bambietta with the intent to destroy, and its owner would look on with a satisfied smile. "...my blade will always come back to you." He finished with a low and almost guttural tone, readying his blade against himself once again in preparation.

"The mantle of gold light again!" Bambietta noted as he lunged himself at her, swinging the golden curtain of light that seared the air with the path of the blade. She used her grace and nimble movements to duck and swerve out of reach of the destructive weapon, ensuring both her weapon and her body wouldn't touch it. For all she knew that there would be no defense she could muster to bear against the brunt of such annihilative force. 

When Sengetsu discharged a voluminous explosion of solar-colored energy at him, her eyes widened at the sheer scale of the attack. It seemed to absorb whatever energy she had poured at him prior to his counterstrikes. But seeing as it was filled with her energy, assimilated into a deathly veil of yellow energy, she knew she could use that to her advtantage. 

Employing a Hirenkyaku backwards to gain space between her and the rapidly encroaching force, she drew back her bow's string of Reishi. What she'd let loose wouldn't be a simple volley or a single projectile. It would be a pulse of her own Reiatsu, ploughing into the mass of disintegrating energy that had enveloped her own discharged Heilig Pfeil. This in turn would cause the momentum to suddenly halt within the blaze and seem to curve around her, creating a deadly maelstrom of potent lethal particles. 

When she found that she could direct the flow of it, she swung her hand forward, clenching her fist as she would do so. A mighty shout would exhale from her mouth as she'd scream with all the power she could muster in realigning the combined energies into a omnidirectional release: a bomb of epic proportions, with her at the center releasing it, as its core. 

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Bambietta roared out as the blaze of Sengetsu energy that had prieviously devoured her own discharged Reishi and Reiatsu, now being employed in a manner against the enemy. It was the most effective weapon she could conceive at the moment. Perhaps it'd be the best she could manifest at her current state? She wouldn't know till she would see the results of her gamble. 

The shock on Tsubasa's face couldn't have been more apparent.

"She's using my Sengetsu against me, using her reiatsu?! Unreal!!"

It was an incredible sight to witness, even in his position. She had essentially turned the technique that had the best chance of delivering injury to her against its owner. Now he was the one facing golden death as it was being unleashed, his hair and clothing billowing violently within the increasingly intense winds. There was as much amazement as there was shock, and his lopsided smile seemed eerily out place as the disintegrating energy was unleashed. From the primal scream that erupted from her throat, it seemed like this was a moment in where she was exerting a considerable amount of power in order to wipe him off the face of the earth. If he didn't find a way to stop this one, he would be destroyed.

But fortunately, he had a few more tricks within that rotten sleeve.

He flipped his blade around and stabbed his blade into the ground, focusing Aijin's power within the earth. Explosions erupted from underneath the oncoming energy wave, disrupting the path it would've taken and keeping him from getting hit directly. He fell to one knee, breathing heavily as he rode it out. He knew that with those two Sengetsu attacks, he didn't have enough in him to continue the fight for very long. His part to the dance was coming to an end, and he only regretted that he couldn't continue it further. But at the very least, he didn't have to end it getting outdone by Bambietta.

With gritted teeth and a searing pain that shot through the nearly shattered limb, he lifted his bloodied arm up and pointed it in the direction of the explosion's epicenter. There would be a lot of unstable reiatsu within the area, and all of it would last for a matter of seconds when the attack completely faded away. But it would be enough to light the area up a second time. All it needed was a catalyst, like a flame to hydrogen gas. He wouldn't need to put too much spiritual energy into it, as there was plenty of it around him to carve his wanted path of destruction. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he summoned the needed energy.

As soon as he was ready, he fired a Shakkahō orb into the fading wave.

As soon as the orb met the right location, destruction was unleashed. A second explosion was birthed without warning and with power considerable enough to rock the battlefield they were in. The force of it was enough to not only send its creator flying, but skidding through the earth and leaving a body-sized ditch in his wake. The sensation of the hard rocks sliding against his back caused him to shut his eyes and clench his teeth once again, the pain searing through his body. He felt his grip on his sword loosen in the process, clattering somewhere far out of his reach. When he finally stopped, his form simply lay there where it was. He was breathing much heavier now, the pain and exertion of energy taking its toll on him.

"Hope you liked that one... Quincy..." He breathed out to seemingly no one, a retaliatory quip to her own after her impressive personal explosion.

"Yes...I did..." Bambietta breathed out, far away within a pile of scorched rubble amongst the ashen soil they fought within. Her body had a varity of first to second degree burns covering arms and legs, having balled herself up upon instinct to employ a Blut Vene defensive form against the instantaneous blast. Too ferocious was its qualities to have her leave it unscathed, sending her flying a considerable distance away from her enemy, now lying on her back, half buried within the ashen soil. 

Looking up, she couldn't help but see the thunderous sky. A satisfied smile stretched over her burned face, letting out a relieved sigh. She couldn't move but it was understandable given her opponent's status. 

"You were right, your Majesty," She whispered as she closed her eyes, her mind receding into unconsciousness, "you allowed me to see such...beautiful explosions..."

Onwards to Hope

"Qilin!" Ayūi shouted with apparent fear, her frame shimmering over to his side. Dropping to her knees she'd examine his frame and note the extensive nature of his wounds and loss of Reiryoku. Placing her hands onto his chest, a glistening blaze of soft yellow flames enkindled across his body, the indication of her restoring his Reiryoku supplies, "hold on! I'm restoring your powers before I heal your wounds!"

"...Ayūi..."

With weary eyes, Qilin looked over at the woman who frantically worked to heal him. He watched with tired fascination as the flames danced along his body, working their magic on his battered form. Although his body still rang with aches, he could feel his reserves slowly getting filled like a phone's battery recharging. He closed his eyes and gave a small sigh, allowing his mind to reflect on the last words his enemy had said. Like him, she loved chaos even if it was only in her way. She loved destruction, just as he relished carnage in conflict. What had passed between them was not only a battle, but an exchange of their passions and desires to one another on a grand scale. All in all, he could safely say that she was the best enemy he could've had in this conflict. Maybe in another time, she would've been one of his greatest comrades, as well. The thought caused a weak smile to cross his face, and he weakly raised one hand to partially rake through his hair.

"...ah... this hurts so much..." He muttered softly. "But if I said that I wasn't having fun, I would be a bold-faced liar. Sorry you had to risk getting caught up in that, though." He lowered his hand from his face, resting it in his partially exposed chest. "How's the--"

However, his question was abruptly cut off when he heard a Flash Step. His eyes widened, and his head abruptly jerked in the source of the sound. From his position, he could barely make out the form of Tetsuyo as he overlooked the spot where Bambietta had crashed. He could only see the back of the other man, his voice weak as he attempted to call out to him. "T...Tetsuyo...?"

But if the Lieutenant heard him, he certainly didn't acknowledge it.

He looked at Bambietta's form with furrowed eyebrows and a frown. "Even when battered and on the ground, you still have the audacity to smile?" He questioned rhetorically, knowing that she couldn't hear him in unconsciousness. "Tch... I don't think I'll ever understand people like you and the Captain. The rest of us panic and become revolted at what you take pleasure in. We run away from what you charge to. What spells our death is what becomes your paradise. If I never met someone like Qilin, I think I would've deemed you to be nothing more than a mindless psychopath. So consider yourself lucky that the Captain took a liking to you."

He turned his back, folding his hands behind him and walking away. "Farewell..." He spared one last glance behind him. "You psycho bitch."

"Tetsuyo," Ayūi called out over her shoulder. A pleading expression could be seen plainly with the mingling of a haggard set of bags under her eyes from overexertion, "if you could supply me with some of your Reiatsu, I'd appreciate it. I don't think I can restore Qilin's Reiryoku and his health with what I have at the moment..."

The Lieutenant was quick to turn his gaze back to his comrades.

"Yeah, I'l be right there!"

Within a second, he was right by her side. He knelt down beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder for support. His eyes drifted towards Qilin, half-lidding once they met his gaze. "You took quite a beating there, sir." He remarked, slightly cocking an eyebrow. "Are you sure you'll be all right?"

"Eh..." As best as he could, Qilin raised a dismissive hand. "As far as my life has gone, this is nothing but scratches and scrapes. Once I get patched up as much as possible, I'll be up and kicking like a newborn Adjuchas!"

Tetsuyo couldn't help but chuckle a little at this. "Yeah, well, let's hope that we don't run into any more encounters like that one. Otherwise, it just might take a while before we get anywhere..."

"Your Reiryoku should be back to optimum levels," Ayūi quickly remarked with a sigh, quickly funneling what was left of the dwindling Kidō around his preforated and burnt arm, "let's see if I can make that arm less injured. And don't tell me I shouldn't cause someone of your caliber shouldn't go walking this kind of wound off. You could get an infection or worse we run into an enemy who could take advantage of your injury..."

Closing her eyes, she quickly added with a murmur, "Don't act so reckless from now on..."

In amusement, Qilin simply closed his eyes and lay his head back up against the ground. "What else could I do?" He asked rhetorically. "She was dead set on killing us, and I might as well have been the only one able to stand up against her at that point. It's not like we could just run away and hope that she didn't find us again." He opened one eye to look at her. "Was it because of how I was acting? Did I happen to scare you?"

"She said you were a "devil in the clothing of a righteous warrior", if I may reiterate." Tetsuyo offered with a small smirk, earning a small laugh from his superior's lips.

"Yeah, well, she wouldn't be the first to say that..."

"I understand, though," Ayūi quickly followed up, although in a more subdued tone. Her eyes opened half mast, still staring at the slowly healing arm. "sometimes Shinigami have to abandon their emotions, morality, and sometimes even their sanity in order to fulfill their duties. I just...I have a hard time to discern who's truly my comrade and who's just using me for their own devices. My astute perception given my unique origins is often blinded by my yearning for a true friend in a world where that name becomes title and little else..."

Looking over at Qilin's eyes, Ayūi asked in a serious tone, "Are you my friend, Qilin? Or are you simply doing this out of blind noble obligation or opportunistic yearning to use me for the betterment of any goal you have in mind?" 

This was where Qilin opened up both of his eyes, regarding the woman with slight intrigue. He had not expected her to ask that question again, or maybe he had simply forgotten about that possibility. When he saw the demand within her eyes, he knew that once again he would have to provide an honest answer. Yet, even as he stared into her orbs of seriousness, he kept the small smile on his face. "That may be up to you to decide, dear." He said gently. "After all, I can't exactly form the impression I want in your head. You may think of me doing this for the sake of nobility or some binding moral code. You may think of me of doing this for the sake of turning you into a weapon for our cause instead of the enemy's. I can't tell you what exactly I would be in your eyes. However..."

He slowly lifted a hand to place on her knee, giving a gentle squeeze. "When I say that I do want to be your friend," He continued. "The shoulder to lean on when you're tired, the arms that hold you in your moments of grief and sorrow, the shield to protect you when you're in danger... and whatever else. When I say I want to be those things..."

For a brief moment, one could see those eyes flicker.

"I am telling the truth."

The piercing, analytical gaze that Ayūi used on Qilin's own gleaming eyes of sincerity widened. They'd flutter a few times faster, tears beginning to form within them as her lipped quivered. As she shed tears of joy, she bowed her head, letting the tears run freely down her cheeks and off her chin in audible drops, "Thank you...Tsubasa...for being my friend when I have no others."

Saying this, Ayūi would find herself falling to her right, finding another bout of dizziness overcome her. Thankfully by the time her Kidō had defused, it had healed almost back to complete normalcy with only a few marks showing where he thrust his fingers into his limb. Thudding to the ground she'd chuckle weakly, "Guess I didn't need that Reiatsu after all, hehe..."

"Ah--!"

Thankfully, Tetsuyo was there beside her.

Although he let out a yelp of surprise at her sudden collapse, he was quick to move behind her and catch her in his arms before she could hit the ground. He looked at the Captain, who slowly began to sit himself up from the ground. "Guess the whole scuffle down in the labs took more out of you than I thought it would've." He commented. "How are you feeling, Captain?"

"I think I'm all good now..." Qilin commented, giving out a testing stretch of the arms. Aside from the marks on his arms, he felt rejuvenated. It was as if he had gone through only a brief scuffle rather than jump into an all-out fight. "Everything's back in place, and if we have to, I'm ready to jump into a second fight." His eyes drifted towards Ayūi's weakened form. "You guys, however, might not have that blessing on your shoulders. It's like you said... we'll have to try and avoid any more possible conflict until we can gather our bearings and reunite with everyone else."

"You don't need to worry about Ayūi, sir." Tetsuyo said. "I'll keep her safe and stay out of danger myself if another problem comes up."

It would be in this moment, a single ray of light would shoot up into the sky. Emerald hue would surround a silver pillar, discharging passed the skyline and onwards past the dark clouds. The blaze of light permeated a succinct Reiatsu and the presence of those within it would be all the more clearer than those muffled within the ambient Reishi-kindled atmosphere. 

Hope had been rekindled once more.