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INVASION DAY (post collapse)
Taro Banzuke, 3rd Seat of the 10th Division:
(at the scene of the collapse, being rushed by 5 escapees and their leader, with 5 other 10th division unseated Shinigami fighting 8 other escapees nearby)
The five escapees rushed headlong at Taro, their screams of anger echoing the fight nearby between 8 others and five unseated Shinigami from the 10th.
They were in a loose straight line as they brought up their metal shafts and wood pieces with nails in them, above their heads to strike Taro.
6ft...4ft..3ft...2ft!!!. "...that was far enough" Taro thought as he smiled almost cynically from his crouch.
He pivoted in his stance bring his rear foot forward and his huge upper body across it directed at the man on the farthest left, shortening the distance to him at the last second. The man's metal rod above his head still when Taro attacked him with both his open right hand pushing him down to the ground at the chest, then as the man's back hit the ground his feet hung in the air, and Taroo grabbed them with both his massive hands, and then pivoted around his left, rear, foot bringing the body of the escapee around with him like a lifeless man shaped bat, held with two hands.
As Taro spun around towards the other four he swung the body of the man by the feet. The weight was nothing to Taro, he brought the flailing man fast with him, smashing the escapee's body into the next two farthest left escapees in the group, they not yet reacting to the swift moves of Taro. Taro released the human bat as he connected his attack. All three of their now unconscious bodies flew towards the leader, who was approaching from the rear of these five men. The leader had to stop and duck as one man's unconscious body flew over his head.
The other two escapees jumped back from Taro and held up their wooden planks with nails. Their eyes wide, and full of fear now..."..they had made a mistake...they should have given up...what were they thinking???...they had no chance" But they were committed now, the large man had given them a generous choice, and they spat at it....
"WAAHHHHHH!!!" They both yelled at the top of their lungs, hoping to gain some more guts in the process. With their wooden weapons above their heads coming down they both jumped onto a nearby boulder and up in the air and then down towards Taro, whom had just pivoted back still in his crouch but with his stance open to them to look to them.
Taro's smiled as they came down from the air for their attack. Taro thought to himself as everything seemed to go into slow motion for him "Had they not learned? when your weapon is above your head and facing a faster and stronger opponent...you leave your whole body open for a strike.....idiots..."
Timed perfectly Taro rose quickly to a standing position from his crouch towards the two men descending from above on him, much like he did the first escapee, but this time he struck with both extended arms and hands. Each on target to an escapees neck, grasping them in mid air.
Taro's large hands grabbed each of their necks and squeezed slightly, both of them still in the air. They dropped their weapons and grabbed at their necks and Taro's hands trying to relinquish his grasp, their eyes widen and bulged white, their faces turned red, their feet searching for the ground and then kicking harmlessly at Taro's large body. Taro held them both up in the air and looked up to them, his smile still set as he wasnt killing them, just teaching them a lesson.
They started to redden even more, and their eyes began to close and fade into unconsciousness, their hands weakened and fell to their sides, their feet slackened and dangled. Taro lessened his grip laying the escapees to the ground somewhat gently before he smiled a bit more, happy with his own restraint.
His smile turned to a grimace only a moment later, when he felt the sharp sting and heard the CLANG of metal against his upper back. Taro spun quickly to face the escapee's leader whom had struck him with a large metal piece of debris. He flung it to the ground and it CLANG out again as it hit a nearby rock.
Taro's grimace turned to a smile again as he straightened up a bit bringing his hand to his own back to rub the pain from the attack. The strike did hurt a little bit there was no doubting it, it was definitely more than an average Soul's strike. Taro guessed this man might have been a Shinigami at one time.
He looked to the now lonely leader..."ya gotta nice swing there....yer making me curious...why'd you get locked up in the first place? you go AWOL from yer Division?" he said sarcastically assuming his membership in the Gotei.
Both of the leader's fists, covered with dried blood form breaking his shackles, squeezed tight in anger. His face reddened with madness, and he spit out his response loudly...Taro's words bringing up a deep psychological scar in the man
"...shut your mouth...you fat piece of $hit!!..they had no right to kick me out and lock me away!!!...all i did....ALLL I DID WAS TRY TO SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE!!"
Taro looked on to them en rubbing his back a little bit more as he looked on to the man with a furrowed and almost curious brow.
The man continued in anger...his voice bold and enlivened by years of madness of thinking over his actions "...the Captain...the Captain....that piece of crap...he..he was going to kill that Soul...she was turning into a Hollow...dammit!!... and he didnt do anything to even TRY to save her...he was just going to strike her down...he didnt even say anything..."
Tears began to swell at the leaders eyes...adding to the anger... "She was so pretty...she....and i...she....we.....we were so happy....THAT A$$hole Captain....he didnt do a dam thing to help us...her.......so i had to stop him..."
It became clear enough to Taro now...he didnt need to hear any more. He interrupted the unstable man... "sir...please do not continue...it will mean nothing to help your situation and will not bring her back...and will only make you more angry...you have as much power to change laws as i do...and you know that...attacking a Captain..." he was cutoff by the man's loud voice...
The man's hands clenched tighter, his face redder....his voice louder "...you defend that piece of $hit and you have never met him???... you are all alike...you think you have the right...you... HE....he killed my sweet...." the man's tears over took him as his head bowed down.
Taro briefly looked over to see that his men had subdued the other eight escapees, and were tying them up. Taro then pointed over to them.... "...you are alone now...you have no chance...stop this...give up now and you will not be harmed..."
The man's head came up and his face was no longer red, his eyes were dark and it seemed like all his muscles were tightened as he looked on to Taro. "You will pay for HIS mistake Shinigami...i coudlnt get him then...but i can get YOU now....and you will pay for killing her...and putting in this prison to die"
The large leader lunged and ran forward toward Taro at full speed, his hands to his sides, he didnt scream or yell....and he was FAST.
5ft,....4ft...3ft..2ft!!! He brought his right hand up and went to punch Taro in the face. And it was a fast punch, Taro brought his hand up to grab his hand, but missed as the man was faster than he seemed. The man's punch connected on Taro's shoulder, as he had been able to move fast enough to glance the blow onto his shoulder....but it hurt...if it had been his face, Taro would have lost some teeth without a doubt.
"UGH!" Taro grimaced.
Taro reached up and rubbed his shoulder, them an hadnt broken anything, but that was no weak attack.
After connecting his blow the man continued on past Taro, and skidded to a halt, before spinning in his place and running back towards Taro.
Taro thought to himself...it was not unheard of for a Shinigami to spar and harm their own Captain from time to time, even in rarest circumstances anger might even be involved. Some of the Captain;s even promoting dangerous sparring including themselves even. But all out attacking a Captain, even with a good reason was a big no-no, but even then placing them in the Maggot's NEst seemed harsh....but after feeling the weight of the man's attack it seemed obvious he not only attacked a Captain, he probably hurt him pretty bad, and depending on the Captain that could very well get you locked up.
Taro would not underestimate the man anymore, he watched as the man approached him quickly. He was not faster than Taro, but he had surprised him. Taro figured to return the favor.
As the man closed in for another attack, Taro pulled out his zanpaktuo from its sheath saying its name and its command phrase.
"NOMI NO SUKUNE!! "Hand of fate, your fingers spread wide!!"
In a flash his sword turned into a large general's war fan, he held with one hand, kanji written on each face of the fan. Taro held it up towards the man as he approached who swung his fist at him with speed and high force.
This time however, the punch did not land, instead the man's hand rebounded along with his body as a large brilliant blue energy "shield" had extended a few feet from the edges of the fan. The man hit the ground as he bounced of the blue energy.
The escapee grimaced, and sprung to his feet and rushed back in, and met the same fate, falling to the ground. He did this 5...6...7 more times, each time he weakened, and Taro looked on through the blue energy each time.
The other five unseated 10th Division Shinigami had rounded up the other unconscious escapees and the one who had given up already and had them tied up in a line, the conscious ones carrying the unconscious ones. One unseated stood at the head of the line, another at the end, the other three ambled towards Taro and the leader as he kept on with his futility. Their eyes weakened each time the man attacked, 10...12...14th time falling to the ground. They grimaced as they watched the man as he bloodied himself and stumbled more and more on each strike. Then they looked to Taro, who looked on to the man with pain in HIS own eyes.
The escapee wasnt even attacking Taro anymore, he just couldnt stop. Taro felt sad for the man, this was all he had left in him...anger...frustration...and for all the years he was inside he had no recourse he could take. Taro WANTED him to stop, but he couldnt bring it in him to do so, would anyone act any different in the man's situation? Would we all not lash out at those who would attack/kill the ones we love, no matter who they were? A Shinigami's morals often seem to clearly defined by the law, but are rarely if ever that clear when love is involved.
The man stumbled to his feet after the 20th 'attack', he could barely hold his hands up, he stumbled forward towards Taro again. His fists came up and he swung weakly at Taro. Taro's blue shield did not come up this time, he moved his war fan to the side and let it strike him on the chest. It didnt hurt...the man's other hand came up and swung at Taro's chest and he let it hit him as well....it didnt hurt either. Then the man slumped forward onto Taro, tears filled his eyes....as his clenched hands lay on Taro's large chest.
"why...why....bastards....why...why...bastards.... why.." the man murmured repeatedly, his mental state so fragile that he couldnt even compose himself.
The man's legs gave out from underneath him, and Taro grabbed the man by his torn prisoner's outfit keeping him from falling. Taro's zanpaktuo returned to its sealed form and he re-sheathed it quickly, then grabbed the man with his other hand, both hands now on the escapees shoulders. Taro looked down to the man, pity in his eyes and compassion in his grip.
Taro then looked over to the unseated members nearby, who came running up, two of them grabbing the man, tying him up briefly before carrying him along with the others.
Taro looked to the prisoners, now back in their bonds. Then looked to his men, each had bruises form the encounter. Taro reached up to his shoulder, rubbing it slightly, he even had one.
He adjusts his robes a bit, re-situating his zanpaktuo, then said to his men in a somber voice before waiving to them to follow him as he began to move off.
"nice work men...now let's get them out of here and back with the others..."
Normally Taro was lighthearted after a fight, but this was not the same nor the time for it.
They moved away for a while and then the one unseated not with the prisoners walked up and next to the large Taro, the young man waited a few steps before speaking up "....Sir... what's the deal with that guy? he barely put up a fight..."
They walked a bit farther before Taro responded softly..."sometimes the Maggot's Nest is not for protecting those inside from those of us outside, but more to protect them from themselves..."
Taro continued on without another word taking their time bringing the prisoners back to the now designated area for loose escapees. As they arrived and he checked them in, he made sure the prisoner with his autograph was allowed to keep the paper on him at least for the time being using his rank to get the favor done. Then he ordered his men to go and assist the other squads nearby. Taro looked them all in the eyes before the left, making sure they knew he was proud of them. They all bowed deeply in respect to their 3rd Seat before rushing off as ordered.
Taro watched them go before scanning the area for his dear friend Misaki, he figured she would still be around with the Kido Corps setting up barriers around the Nest. It had been a long and crazy day, and he knew her face and smile would help relax him.
He was not sure what the aftermath of all of this was going to be, nor did he know the full extent of the damage, but he knew for sure there would be plenty of work to do. Now where exactly was his Lt and Cpt..?
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(Near Taro's and his 5 unseated's fight and victory observing from a distance)
9th DIVISION
The small five person squad of 9th Division Shinigami watched as the 3rd seat and his men gathered the escapees and headed off. The leader of the group looked to the other men, all of which had paper and pen out and were writing feverishly, he waited for them to stop and catch their eyes in his before he nodded to them all. They all nodded in return and headed off as a group farther around the perimeter of the collapse, towards the next bit scene of activity to observe and document.