[BitP:R] Soul Society 2

[KerfuffleMach2]

Natsuko looks at anyone else in the room with her. "Protect Hikari with your lives. Understand?"

Then she walks out, picking up Karinmaru along the way and bursting in the room she feels the reiatsu of fighting in. "Right. Hado number 1, Sho."

She is trying to blast Naraku out of the building, incidentally.

Alysha nods firmly at Natsuko, readjusting the grip on her buckler.

I hope she doesn't get hurt.

Just focus on your current job, Alysha.

Right, sorry.

[horngeek]

Natsuko lands lightly on her feet as the floor below her disintegrates. He can rot things... anything he touches, apparently, but nothing more. I'll just have to stop him from touching me, then.

"Hado 10, Foosu Bakuhatsu!"

A lance of pure force speeds from Natsuko's outstretched palm, aimed directly at Naraku- the 13th squad Captain aiming to smash the thing outside.

[Kayne650]

Spoiler

Show

Feiyan sees Natsuko, and immediately lets out an involuntary torrent of nagging/worrying. Natsuko-taicho, are you sure you're in good enough condition-your child-is there-anyone watching over.... she falters and shuts up. You're gonna get yourself killed if you keep talking to captains like that. Saezuki sings from inside of Feiyan's mindscape. Well, obviously, we're supposed to fight whoever this is. Feiyan looks to Naraku and points her finger at him. Hado 4: Byakuri! A bolt of white lightning shoots from her finger towards Naraku's heart.

4th Division

Naraku is shoved against a wall at the end of the corridor, and then a lightning bolt pierces his heart, causing him to fall to the floor, still.

And then a torrent of decay washes out from him through the wooden floor, causing it to crumble down under the feet of Natsuko and Feyan, into the lower floor. Where he will land back on his feet.

"You break my heart this way little shinigami girl... But don't worry, I get better. Hehehahahahaha."

Naraku follows up with a whip lash towards Feyan and Natsuko, his other, now shorter, whip unused because it has been shortened.

Natsuko lands lightly on her feet as the floor below her disintegrates. He can rot things... anything he touches, apparently, but nothing more. I'll just have to stop him from touching me, then.

"Hado 10, Foosu Bakuhatsu!"

Again, Natsuko is trying to smash Naraku outside. As a plus, if he's smashed outside, his whip will go with him.

"KAGOME-SAN!!" Daisuke yells when the girl falls to the ground, running to catch her. Trying to do so distracts enough that he begins to fall through the floor when it starts to crumble, though the web that the Bakudo created would still keep Naraku away from him. When the dust from the crumbling floor and the various Hado flying around cleared, Daisuke could be seen on the floor below, crouching over Kagome's body, his own small body shaking in what could be recognized as sobbing.

"Why...Why did you have to do that?!" He yelled at Naraku, his tails suddenly flaring as rage consumed him. "Obviously she didn't hurt you, because you're still going! She was so young...She couldn't have been much older than me! What gives you the right to take lives like that?!"

Daisuke stood up over Kagome's body, and his reiatsu flowed around him in an almost palpable cloud. His tails whipped around him as though they were in a strong wind, and became slightly less distinct, creating a blue aura around him.

"Hado #36: Kongobaku!" Daisuke shouted, a tail vanishing as an immense blast of dark red energy shooting from his outstretched hands towards Naraku, carrying all of Daisuke's anger and power. Supercharged as it was with a full tail, it carried even more power than a Hado of this level did usually.

[Draken]

4th Division

The force blast crashes Naraku against a wall, bursting it in the process and causing him to fall out of the hole.

But a whip lashes up, and he pulls himself back into the corridor.

"Hehehahaha! I am still go-"

And then his head is promptly nuked off by a kongobaku, Naraku's singed body falling to the floor, and the flames spreading to the walls around him.

He never did get to hear Daisuke's speech.

[Moon Wolf]

Yuuki

Yuuki is more than a little annoyed. I'm not letting you get away. He pulls the golden dagger out of its hiding place-his left sock-and flashes after Suzume, barely able to sense her trace.

Feiyan

Kagome! Feiyan yelps as the girl hits the floor. How, who, what....ah. Feiyan reaches her conclusion. You're a mod soul, aren't you. She says to Naraku. As the whip comes to her, she leaps up. I have the funniest feeling that I've seen something like this before, in another life... she shakes the thought out of her head. Everything he touches falls apart. She looks at Natsuko. She must've realized. Feiyan draws her zanpakuto and points it at Naraku. Whoever you are, you hurt Kagome and threatened a captain who should be with her newborn daughter. You must be dealt with.

[Kuroimaken]

[Meanwhile, at the alien abduction...]

This guy was getting REALLY presumptious. Soushi didn't like that. Just because he was collaborating with someone else to backstab half of Soul Society doesn't mean he signed up for the lackey program.

Begrudgingly, Soushi casts Kyokko on both officer Karashi and his impromptu "companion". He also sets said companion's hindquarters on fire. For kicks.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Genoveva vs. Lots of People

Despite the sudden charge of the two captains, Genoveva doesn't seem to have lost her awareness of Seiko, her rapid twist altering it's course to bring her falchion crashing down atop the blade before it can draw blood. He has only a moment to notice her fang-filled grin as she raises the blade in both hands before the six pillars of light slam shut around her waist and freeze her in place. A look of frustration briefly crosses her features before her attention seems to shift over towards the woman charging towards her.

A look of costernation crosses Genoveva's face as the chain snakes out, before the pillars shatter into a rain of golden dust. Too late though! The red chain curls around the petite arrancar and closes in, smoke curling up into the air as the links burn...

...nothing.

"Jus' kiddin!" comes the mocking voice from just behind Michiko, the blond-haired girl raising up her falchion for a great cleaving strike once more as the after-image fades away into nothingness. Just as a hand grabs hold of the captain's haori and rips it from the shinigami. Clutching the garment tightly in one hand, Genoveva rests her falchion against her shoulder as an ugly grin comes to her face.

"Ya reapers have some real gall ta underestimate Genoveva. Ya think Ah don't see what yer doin'? Box meh in close where ya think Ah can't dodge as well?" she glowers at Masaru as the blue pyramid closes in around the quartet, "Ah ain't one ta hit a lady, but if ya try dat again Ah'm rippin' yer pretty widdle face off and not yer clothes."

Boabone Z vs. Damara

The stitches have finished coming undone as Damara releases the crackling blast of lightning, the arrancar woman simply...opening as if she was completely hollow on the inside. The Raikōhō rocks the arrancar back...before disappearing into the unmistakable yawning mouth of a garganta.

Located inside of his opponent's body. Twisting black threads emerge from portal to entwine together and flare out from the garganta in a mess of waving tendrils that are thicker then the threads Damara had seen dragging the Rukon citizens, who's sudden disappearances seemed much more understandable now. There would only just be a moment or two to notice this though, a second before the air in front of Boabone begins to pick up speed as it spirals in towards the yawning portal to Hueco Mundo located within her chest cavity.

Soon debris and dust is being pulled in by the growing vortex, spiraling away before disappearing entirely into the inky void that had appeared, tugging at Damara's arms and legs as his clothes whip about his body. The suction was only increasing too, if he stayed in front of it then it seemed inevitable that it was going to become strong enough to pull him into it as well! For her part, Boabone quickly yanks on her double-sided spear to pull the flung spearhead out of the path of the growing vortex. Empty eyes narrow, even as she re-assembles the spear with one hand.

"This one would appreciate if you just went in!" She calls over the growing howl of the wind, the barest hint of frustration in the otherwise dead voice.

Parasito vs. Goro

The dangerous arrancar howls as the saw-toothed dagger is ripped down through it's neck shoulder, and stomach even as it's prey dives forward and below the crab-claws to get within the monstrous thing's reach before it could retaliate.

Just for a saurian foot to slam against Goro's chest, trying to pin him down into the dirt before the shinigami can stab at it again with that painful dagger of his. Clawed foot just begins to dig in when Goro grabs hold of the leg atop him and rolls, using his magnified strength to disrupt Parasito's weakened balance and toss the bestial thing away from him. It rolls up nimbly to it's feet, despite the grievous nature of it's wounds that all but paint the ground below it with it's black blood and dives towards Goro with an animal-howl of frustration as it's own four sets of claws.

Twelves lines of bloody pain burn their way down across Goro's front, courtesy of a tremendous downward slash from the arrancar with it's four claws lined up almost perfectly and brought down in a bloody arc that would have sliced Goro to pieces if it hadn't been over-eager and struck too soon. As it was, only the barest tips of the claws actually rip into flesh.

"Rwwooorrrrrrrhhh!" it shrieks triumphantly as it's lips curl back from it's yellowed teeth.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Fight against Genoveva]

A non-plussed frown crosses Michiko's lips as the chain meets nothing at all and fades to steam. However, her opponent's attempt at a sneak attack leaves her thoroughly unimpressed in its unoriginality.

The 11th Captain whirls around with speed and force of a hurricane, her left forearm rising up to deflect the falchion and guard her head and neck from it, while her right, steam-covered hand shoots towards Genoveva's jaw in a frighteningly strong roundhouse punch.

"... and you should learn to strike the killing blow when you can, fool."

[Sucrose]

Parasito vs. Goro

Even as the creature continues to approach, it realizes that it no longer hears a murmuring that had begun as it stomped upon the hateful shinigami.

Ye lord, Mask of blood and flesh

The words ended just as its claws ripped into Goro's body,

all creation

but there was no cry of pain, no flinching away.

flutter of wings

Instead, the maddened warrior,

ye who bears the name of Man!

almost as much a beast as Parasito itself at this point,

Inferno and Pandemonium!

Raises up his hand

The sea barrier surges! March on to the south!

with a vicious grin.

"HADO 31: SHAK-KA-HO!"

[Dorizzit]

Spoiler

Show

[Hachirou's Mindscape]
Jin's Prison

"Unfortuntely, yes."
"You bet it is!"

Both speak out so loud it's hard to make up what either is saying from the cacophony. It's followed with an awkward silence when the sword spirit and its owner take a while to glare at each other murderously.

"Jin, he was talking to me."
"When have I ever needed you for introductions?"

Another bout of talking on top of each other, followed by menacing quiet. Then, Jin turns back towards Allan, and begins talking with a sickeningly sweet voice. "So, how do you think I look, Allan-kun? Is my hair good?"

Hachirou, on the other hand, takes off his glasses and begins rubbing his eyes, as if Jin's shenanigans are too painful to watch. "As I hope you remember, Crossdale-kun, I told you how Zanpakuto are reflections of their owners. In a way, you could say they embody traits that are repressed, or not fully realized..."

"Would you prefer it was red?", Jin keeps on chirping, grabbing its own hair and fondling it slightly. And indeed, it becomes red, billowing black hair changing to a deep crimson ponytail almost long enough to touch the ground.

"... Shinigami's advancement with their Zanpakutos start with acceptance, or at least realization, of these traits - which is symbolic of acceptance or realization of self..." Hachirou's voice souds very forced now, and Allan can tell he's gritting his teeth.

"How about the body? You don't look too impressed", Jin continues, smiling. "Would you prefer it was... taller? More curvy?" The red from its hair splashes on its outfit, and the spirit gains several inches of height - while its body becomes clearly feminine, which just serves to emphasize how skimpy its clothing is.

"... of course, a spirit can be different from its host, reflecting qualities the host might not have or try to reject. But if the host and the spirit become too different, they will not be able to hear eachother, regardless of how much either wants it..." Hachirou's thrown his hands in the air, and turned his back to Jin and Allan - he's pretty much talking to walls now, his voice reaching Allan's ears partially as an echo.

"Well? Go ahead and say something!", Jin chimes, putting its hands to its hips. "Or did cat steal your tongue?"

"... which is why it's important for a Shinigami to always be in terms with himself", Hachirou finishes, stepping next to his gaudy Zanpakuto spirit, having walked a full circle now. He looks about as sour as a barrel of lemons, his frowning face a stark contrast to beaming Jin.

[Hachirou's Mindscape]
Jin's Prison

Allan does his best to keep his face blank, but he looks increasingly uncomfortable as Jin continues to address him. He tries to stay focused on Hachirou's words, but this is not made easy by the behavior of the sword spirit. When Jin changes to a fully female form, he actually takes a step backwards, and begins edging away slowly. When Hachirou finishes, there are several seconds of awkward silence before Allan smiles weakly and responds.

"Ah...alright. Got it."

Spoiler

Show

Boabone Z vs. Damara

The stitches have finished coming undone as Damara releases the crackling blast of lightning, the arrancar woman simply...opening as if she was completely hollow on the inside. The Raikōhō rocks the arrancar back...before disappearing into the unmistakable yawning mouth of a garganta.

Located inside of his opponent's body. Twisting black threads emerge from portal to entwine together and flare out from the garganta in a mess of waving tendrils that are thicker then the threads Damara had seen dragging the Rukon citizens, who's sudden disappearances seemed much more understandable now. There would only just be a moment or two to notice this though, a second before the air in front of Boabone begins to pick up speed as it spirals in towards the yawning portal to Hueco Mundo located within her chest cavity.

Soon debris and dust is being pulled in by the growing vortex, spiraling away before disappearing entirely into the inky void that had appeared, tugging at Damara's arms and legs as his clothes whip about his body. The suction was only increasing too, if he stayed in front of it then it seemed inevitable that it was going to become strong enough to pull him into it as well! For her part, Boabone quickly yanks on her double-sided spear to pull the flung spearhead out of the path of the growing vortex. Empty eyes narrow, even as she re-assembles the spear with one hand.

"This one would appreciate if you just went in!" She calls over the growing howl of the wind, the barest hint of frustration in the otherwise dead voice.

[Rukongai]
Middle Districts

Damara recoils slightly in surprise as Boabone finishes opening, but forces it down and re-exerts control over his body. Numerous tactical approaches flash through his mind, some undergo further consideration, others are discarded immediately. Meanwhile, Damara squares his body in an attempt to resist the suction pulling at him from the Garganta, but it quickly becomes clear that despite his best efforts, he is sliding closer to Boabone. He visibly grits his teeth in effort, takes a step back...and then flies off his feet, being pulled straight to the portal. Before he is pulled in, however, in a highly controlled movement Damara flips in the air to reorient himself, aiming a vicious, double footed kick at Boabone's face. Immediately afterwords, he jumps off the air and out of the Garganta's pull, flying straight above the Arrancar. He points both hands at her.

"Byakurai."

Twin streams of white lighting fire from Damara's hands, aiming directly at Boabone.

[horngeek]

Natsuko glares at Daisuke. "You do realise there's a reason I'm not releasing my Shikai in a HOSPITAL?"

Eeep.

She looks at him. "Check it actually killed him, I'll cover you."

[Kayne650]

4th Division

The force blast crashes Naraku against a wall, bursting it in the process and causing him to fall out of the hole.

But a whip lashes up, and he pulls himself back into the corridor.

"Hehehahaha! I am still go-"

And then his head is promptly nuked off by a kongobaku, Naraku's singed body falling to the floor, and the flames spreading to the walls around him.

He never did get to hear Daisuke's speech.

Daisuke looks on with savage pleasure as the blast vaporizes the monster's head, then dissipate. He began to relax, just as he heard Natsuko. Suddenly all of his adrenaline and and anger vanished as Natsuko's angry tone seemed to echo through what remained of the hallways as Daisuke turned around to face the captain.

"Y...yes, Natsuko-taichou." He said, feeling a terrible sense of dread for the future, regardless of what Naraku might do. His four remaining tails stood at the ready behind him as he approached Naraku.

[Draken]

4th Division

Naraku's body does not move, no twitching, no respiration, nothing.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Meanwhile, at the alien abduction...]

This guy was getting REALLY presumptious. Soushi didn't like that. Just because he was collaborating with someone else to backstab half of Soul Society doesn't mean he signed up for the lackey program.

Begrudgingly, Soushi casts Kyokko on both officer Karashi and his impromptu "companion". He also sets said companion's hindquarters on fire. For kicks.

After some frantic jumping around, the stranger drops Karashi to the ground and takes his cloak off to stomp out the flames. Of course, Soushi only hears it, due to them being invisible.

"God damn you! Don't you know what co-operation means, smartass? Sheesh!", a disembodied whisper echoes in the alleyways. Then, there's faint sound of someone raking the ground with his fingers. "Where did I put our patsy again? *grumble* "

Then, after a while, they're moving again, in the shade of those large, grey cubicles dotting the downtown of Seireitei. What are they for, anyway? No-one seems to live in them, and they don't look particularly pretty, either. Maybe they're old office buildings, cleaned up and waiting for demolition... who knows?

In any case, one of them will now serve as a temporary shelter for the rogues. The stranger seeks out a side entrance, then opens the door with few, well-placed kicks near the lock. After a quick peek inside to ensure the place is, indeed, empty, he sneaks in with gagged and bound Karashi. He stops for a moment to listen - no distant footsteps, no wailing alarms.

"We're gonna stop here. Close the door, ya", the stranger whispers despite still having no idea where Soushi actually is. He sneaks into a square rooms and throws Karashi to the corner. "You can make us visible now. They won't be sensing us from here." He begins searching his pockets again, eventually pulling out a silvery ampoule - Karashi's goint to get injected with something nasty, it seems.

[Hachirou's Mindscape]
Jin's Prison

Allan does his best to keep his face blank, but he looks increasingly uncomfortable as Jin continues to address him. He tries to stay focused on Hachirou's words, but this is not made easy by the behavior of the sword spirit. When Jin changes to a fully female form, he actually takes a step backwards, and begins edging away slowly. When Hachirou finishes, there are several seconds of awkward silence before Allan smiles weakly and responds.

"Ah...alright. Got it."

"Awww, he does not like me!", Jin wails, toying with its hair. Hachirou does his best to ignore it.

"Do you really?", he asks, "Let's put that to test, then. What you see here is my zanpakuto spirit - what can you tell of me based on it, what you didn't already know?" He beckons towards Jin.

"Maybe he likes boys instead?", it wonders aloud, seemingly oblivious to Hachirou's words. It remains in its female form, though. Hachirou sighs.

"You're not really helping here..."

[KnightDisciple]

Masaru frowned at Genoveva's actions. Clearly, he had to take a different approach. He glanced around the battlefield, taking stock of the assets currently inside the giant blue pyramid of Kido.

'Step one, relay orders to those who need them.'

A few 10th Division members had appeared next to the bottom portion of the barrier (the part that wasn't buried in the ground, at any rate), and some of them were already moving to evacuate the wounded civilians.

Masaru shunpoed to the closest one and gave a brief burst of orders via hand-signals. He was ordering them to move all civilians away from the Kido, as he was about to place another, and then to find safe havens and begin funneling the wounded and confused there. Requests for others to assist in the larger evacuation of the areas around the fighting were to be relayed as well.

'Good thing Taiki appreciates these enough to keep his people current on them.''

He turned to regard the ongoing fight, a fierce frown on his face. For the moment, he sped through the incantation for another Tozansho. It quickly sprang up, slightly larger than the first barrier, giving extra strength to the cage they had constructed.

He shunpoed out of sight, appearing for just a brief moment near Michiko. He spoke just loud enough to be heard.

"Keep her occupied."

He was then at the point farthest from Genoveva, up in one of the barrier's corners, taking full advantage of his ability to sky-walk out here in the Rukon. Keeping his eyes firmly rooted on Genoveva, he began to chant.

"Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. -"

[Kayne650]

Genoveva vs. Lots of People

Despite the sudden charge of the two captains, Genoveva doesn't seem to have lost her awareness of Seiko, her rapid twist altering it's course to bring her falchion crashing down atop the blade before it can draw blood. He has only a moment to notice her fang-filled grin as she raises the blade in both hands before the six pillars of light slam shut around her waist and freeze her in place. A look of frustration briefly crosses her features before her attention seems to shift over towards the woman charging towards her.

A look of costernation crosses Genoveva's face as the chain snakes out, before the pillars shatter into a rain of golden dust. Too late though! The red chain curls around the petite arrancar and closes in, smoke curling up into the air as the links burn...

...nothing.

"Jus' kiddin!" comes the mocking voice from just behind Michiko, the blond-haired girl raising up her falchion for a great cleaving strike once more as the after-image fades away into nothingness. Just as a hand grabs hold of the captain's haori and rips it from the shinigami. Clutching the garment tightly in one hand, Genoveva rests her falchion against her shoulder as an ugly grin comes to her face.

"Ya reapers have some real gall ta underestimate Genoveva. Ya think Ah don't see what yer doin'? Box meh in close where ya think Ah can't dodge as well?" she glowers at Masaru as the blue pyramid closes in around the quartet, "Ah ain't one ta hit a lady, but if ya try dat again Ah'm rippin' yer pretty widdle face off and not yer clothes."

[Fight against Genoveva]

A non-plussed frown crosses Michiko's lips as the chain meets nothing at all and fades to steam. However, her opponent's attempt at a sneak attack leaves her thoroughly unimpressed in its unoriginality.

The 11th Captain whirls around with speed and force of a hurricane, her left forearm rising up to deflect the falchion and guard her head and neck from it, while her right, steam-covered hand shoots towards Genoveva's jaw in a frighteningly strong roundhouse punch.

"... and you should learn to strike the killing blow when you can, fool."

Seiko + Michiko + Masaru vs Genoveva

Seiko glanced upwards as the Bakudo enclosed them within itself. This could be a problem. Yes, it kept the Arrancar from fleeing, but it also kept the other 11th division members from assisting in the battle. Not that they had been a terrible amount of help before, but they had done something.

He turned to watch the battle. The Arrancar was fast; there was no denying that. And she even had the grace that usually kept the 11th division ahead of faster enemies. This was going to be even harder than they had imagined. But even if she could outrun Michiko, Let's see if she can outrun both of us, Seiko thought to himself.

He turned to the outside of the pyramid, where one particular soldier stood at the ready. "Koizumi-kun! Give us the Tango Appassionata!" That particular member had been chosen not just for his fighting skills, but also for his unique Zanpakutou: its Shikai created music, which made him invaluable for the new 11th division's tactics. As the music started, he looked towards Michiko, hoping that she would hear. She'd give him his signal if she heard it.

4th Division

Naraku's body does not move, no twitching, no respiration, nothing.

...Um, Natsuko-taichou? I'm pretty sure he's dead." But just to make sure, Daisuke moved forward and took his pulse, while he put a tail around each of Naraku's arms. It never hurt to be cautious, especially since he'd seen this person tear his own arms off just to escape from a trap. With that in mind, Daisuke twined his tails around Naraku's arms, stopping at the shoulders.

[Draken]

4th Division

Naraku does not have a pulse. And is cold, cold like the long since dead.

[Kuroimaken]

After some frantic jumping around, the stranger drops Karashi to the ground and takes his cloak off to stomp out the flames. Of course, Soushi only hears it, due to them being invisible.

"God damn you! Don't you know what co-operation means, smartass? Sheesh!", a disembodied whisper echoes in the alleyways. Then, there's faint sound of someone raking the ground with his fingers. "Where did I put our patsy again? *grumble* "

Then, after a while, they're moving again, in the shade of those large, grey cubicles dotting the downtown of Seireitei. What are they for, anyway? No-one seems to live in them, and they don't look particularly pretty, either. Maybe they're old office buildings, cleaned up and waiting for demolition... who knows?

In any case, one of them will now serve as a temporary shelter for the rogues. The stranger seeks out a side entrance, then opens the door with few, well-placed kicks near the lock. After a quick peek inside to ensure the place is, indeed, empty, he sneaks in with gagged and bound Karashi. He stops for a moment to listen - no distant footsteps, no wailing alarms.

"We're gonna stop here. Close the door, ya", the stranger whispers despite still having no idea where Soushi actually is. He sneaks into a square rooms and throws Karashi to the corner. "You can make us visible now. They won't be sensing us from here." He begins searching his pockets again, eventually pulling out a silvery ampoule - Karashi's goint to get injected with something nasty, it seems.

Soushi's current companion is bopped upside the head and presented with a diagram displaying the differences between cooperation and servitude. And when the stranger pulls out a needle, he gets bopped upside the head again.

Another note.

Spoiler

Show

"Don't be ridiculous. I've got something more efficient and untraceable. Besides, I'm going to use this patsy after your little child's play is over."

With that said, both the Kyokko over Karashi and the stranger are lifted (though Soushi remains invisible). But Karashi gets the addition of a blindfold. Soushi injects him with... something. All that the stranger would know offhand is that it's the color of blood.

Spoiler

Show

(OOC) The detail about the blood control property of Soushi's Zanpakutou is not public to anybody. He takes great pains to hide it, too.

[tgva8889]

(Didn't know you could move someone bound with Bakudo 61...that one seems like one you couldn't be moved in.)

Officer Karashi - Somewhere in Sereitei...?

Unable to move or respond against the Bakudo, Karashi can't warn his men about the pieces of paper that seem to appear on their sides. He knows better, after years of experience under Taiki's direct training, that suddenly appearing anything is a bad sign. But his men don't know that. Karashi struggles and struggles, but he is unable to get the words out. As the gag is slipped into his mouth, the head of Execution Squad 7 watches his team all simultaneously go up in flames.

Karashi is dragged through Soul Society, watching but unable to move as his captors drag him into one of the abandoned office buildings. Even through his drug-addled haze, Karashi recognized them as tagged for demolition. Perhaps if he survived he might remember to comment on it. He wasn't hopeful, though.

The Bakudo still restricted Karashi's movement and the drug dulled his senses so that Karashi made no response to the injection. Still, he seemed aware of a strange cool sensation at the target point.

[Kuroimaken]

His so-called "companion" slipped another note.

Spoiler

Show

"Alright. For all effects and purposes, you injected him with an agent that controls his pain responses. Make sure to tell him so. When you want him to feel excrutiating pain in some part of his body, mention it out loud. I'll provide. I should be able to help make this guy more docile, but I won't be able to do all the work for you."

It's a funny thing, healing Kidou. Studying it requires study of the human anatomy. As such, and because of great experimentation, Soushi has an intimate knowledge of how his ability to control blood inside another person's body could cause the most damage. He wasn't capable of fine control, of course - but imagine what one could do if he could control the blood flow to certain areas of the brain...

[Frozen_Feet]

"Good grief you're a bitch to work around with. I thought you'd understand we don't have time for second-guessing each other if we don't want to get caught", the stranger complains half-heartedly as he's whacked. "And what about untraceability? You think they could actually trace this stuff in any meaningful way? What do you think I was going to inject to our poor friend here anyway?"

He stops berating his invisible companion long enough to read the second note. "Oooh, kinky. But, you know, not quite what I'm after here. I've heard these rumours that torture doesn't exactly produce accurate information - and accuracy is what we're after, right my friend?"

Who the hell he's adressing his words to is somewhat hard to tell, as halfway through his seeming monologue he chucks the note away and crouches before Karashi, purplish bloodshot eyes with painted shadows under them staring deep into the soul of the officer.

"As such, we don't want him to be in pain, oh no - we just need him to feel nice and cozy so he can't put up all those mental defenses I'm sure he has", the stranger continues jovially. He removes the gag from Karashi, trusting after-effects of the drug will keep him silent for a moment longer, then sits on the floor and leans back, wapping his arms around his knees.

"So, how are you today? If you didn't guess it yourself, you have some nice stuff pouring through your veins - something that'll make you hurt a bit if you won't be co-operative. But we don't need to go there yet - let me tell you a little story first."

The stranger's face becomes oddly solemn, and his eyes fill with something that looks awfully like pity. When he speaks again, his tone is dry and grave. "As you've prolly noticed, I'm a Shinigami just like you. You might wonder, why am I attacking you? Am I in cahoots with the Hollows? I can tell you right here - I'm not. Well, I must be a traitor then, you think. Well, I can say right here I'm not that either."

He keeps staring Karashi straight in his eyes, rocking back and forth slightly. "You're from the 10th, right? High-ranking officer even, I take. As such, I'm sure you know the ways and customs of this world inside out. After all, you've been here to witness them for a long while."

"So... what do you think of this place?" The stranger beckons towards the walls surrounding them. "It's a rather conflicted, don't you think? I mean, for these outward trappings of civility... it's quite barbaric, don't you think? Leaders of Gotei, your precious Captains... even these days, all you need to become one is to take your blade and slay one of the old ones."

"Now, that doesn't always end up with the most balanced people in the lead, am I right?" The stranger lets that question linger for a moment while digging up a chocolate bar from one of his pockets - he opens the wrapping and takes a bite, then offers the bar towards Karashi so he could take a bite. "I mean, even you must have seen one or two of the old guard - they aren't really human, don't ya think? I mean, all that power - ordinary folks like you and me, we just pale in comparison. And each has some screws loose - it's terrifying to be around them, isn't it? Watch them go, keeping up a semblance of humanity, while you know they could kill you with touch if they wanted to. Heck, I'd feel really queasy if I had to work with them on a daily basis - I wonder how it must be for you. Mind telling me?"

[tgva8889]

Officer Karashi

The drug dulls Karashi's senses, enough that he only catches a bit of his captor's speech. He opts not to speak at all, half because of his own desire and half because he is physically prevented from doing so by the Bakudo still pressing against his chest.

[Frozen_Feet]

The stranger observes him for a moment, and when it becomes apparent he isn't goint to take a bite, he puts the candy down and grabs Karashi from the shoulders - to shift him into a better position so he can breathe properly.

"Any better, pal?", the stranger asks, picking up the candy and offering it to Karashi again. "We can get you water as well if you want. Just say if you need any."

[Kuroimaken]

Soushi avoids physically facepalming. Perhaps what this fellow didn't realize is that he went to the trouble of blindfolding Karashi and speaking to his partner through notes so that their prey would not realize that this weirdo wasn't doing things alone.

And then comes the speech. THAT just makes Soushi queasy. This whole joke was meant to change the way Soul Society works?! And Soushi was supposed to be the one off his rocker?!

Note to self: the next time someone comes up with blackmail on ME, just kill myself and spare the embarassment. This man is a COMPLETE amateur.

[Wahrheit]

Blindados vs. Magatsu

"Gah!" the arrancar grunts when the other stomps down atop his chest, weaving as Magatsu's zanpakuto abruptly disappears, allowing the Vice Captain to leap away from him and out of the path of the spherical cero. His own blast envelops the rotund arrancar, obscuring him in smoke as the five weapons slam down to where he had been, with accompanying howls of outrage and pain from the shinigami's target.

However..before the purple bolt of flame slams home, Magatsu can hear something from his intended target.

"Crush them all, :a Muerte de La Rata!" accompanied by a bright flash of light from within the dust cloud just before the Haien hits it's target. But...nothing. No cry of pain or outraged, just muffled boom as the purple flames enveloped their target.

...And then a large purple fireball launched itself out of the dust cloud towards Magatsu, the manical cackling of Blindados emnating from within what Magatsu can now tell is an armored and spiked sphere, like a spiny armadillo, that had been set ablaze from his own kido spell.

"You have got to be kidding." He leapt to the side, rapidly chanting as a whirl of his remaining array arced towards the rapidly-nearing Blindados. "Bakudo 21: Sekienton!" A quick and judicious application of shunpo later, and Magatsu left his concealing smokescreen to arrive at ground level.

Looks like a defensive Resurreccion. Heh... it's always fun to crack open an egg and skewer the yolk.

He pressed a hand to the ground as he murmured another Kido as rapidly as he could. "Bakudo 20: Mercurial Network." A webbing of metal sprayed from his hand, crisscrossing the street on multiple levels. "Hado 18: Tetsu no Ame!" Magatsu cast the Hado four times, far more rapidly than the Bakudo; with one this low-level for him, its strength didn't even suffer all that terribly from being chantless. At least two dozen metal spikes sank into various surfaces within the webbed area.

[Kayne650]

4th Division

Naraku does not have a pulse. And is cold, cold like the long since dead.

Daisuke took his hand away from the man's neck, keeping his tails wrapped around the man's arms. He lifted the man off of the ground, holding him up with his four remaining tails, his other two wrapped around the man's torso.

"He looks and feels really dead, but he felt dead last time, and he got back up then. What should I do with him, Natsuko-taichou?"

He looked tired and depressed from his outburst, but determined. If Natsuko-taichou allowed him, he fully intended to take this monster out and burn him until he wouldn't burn anymore.

[12th Division Grounds]

Nasumi becomes yet another shade of red - one of her ancestors must've been a chameleon. She seems to visibly shrink away (must be a spirit world thing) as the ruined carcass of the machine is lowered to the ground. "Y-y-you're welcome, Kazuo-taichou", she stutters, bowing deeply ashamed.


"Indeed! Let's go!", the girl yells, and grabs Shishimary by the collar, half dragging, half carrying him away from the scene. The two vanish from sight with surprising alacrity.

Once they are safely out of sight behind a corner, Nasumi lets Shishimary stand straight again - just to collapse against his shoulder. "Ah, I'm beat", she complain. "Carrying that thing sure took a lot of me..." Then, her eyes widen and she gives a curious look around them. "Wait... where are we now? Where were we supposed to go...?"

Shishimaru was about to respond to Kazuo when he felt a sharp tug on his collar pulling him away from the scene, threatening to strangle him as it pulled him away. Once Natsuko let him go, he stood and attempted to regain his composure.

Just as Nasumi collapsed against him. She didn't push him back to the ground, but she came darn close. Shishimaru struggled to hold up the six-foot woman as he answered. "Um, I think that Koishima-sama wanted us to help evacuate the Rukongai. Perhaps we should go look for our squad?" He asked, just short of pleading. He wanted to get her back to Koishima before she saw something else that interested her.

[horngeek]

"...I'm going to make sure the corpse is burnt myself. Outside the hospital. You're able to carry him with the least contact with the body itself, so please do so."

[Frozen_Feet]

[Abandoned building somewhere in Seireitei]

The stranger just barely resists the urge to glance over his shoulder. He might not see Soushi, but he can guess what he's thinking - and it's stroking his twisted ego.

It seems Soushi has failed to take heed of his own existence, if he's taking the oafish exterior and mocking words of the stranger at face value...

When Karashi still stays unresponding, the strangers snaps his fingers a few time. "Okay, I guess we need to get you in a bit less restricting outfit. How about... hmmm... what the hell it's called...? Oh yes, Hainawa. Something like that'd be swell, don't you think?"

[Draken]

4th Division

The body remains still.

Do not read mon.

Spoiler

Show

Naraku exits the body through the rear exit and hides under the skirt of the shihakusho.

[Terry576]

[Battlefield]

Karite watches the inverted pyramid with distaste, scratching at his arm. He feels... unsure that it will hold but at the same time...

He felt tired. And that's fairly unusual for such an active Shinigami, as he hasn't used his abilities very recently. He feels a gnawing inside, one that just won't go away.