[BitPR2] Renewed Revolution: Spirit World II

[Dorizzit]

[Hueco Mundo]
That "Night"

Jehoel takes the second blow like the first, the fist slamming into his face without opposition. As Kiba had hoped, Jehoel's Hierro is weaker around his face; the Arrancar's head moves to the side, forced over by the strength of Kiba's blow. He still doesn't seem to be injured, but at the very least it created a noticeable effect beyond the pain in Kiba's hand.

"Yes, I was able to determine that by the way you attempted to harm me rather than speak. Your attacks don't seem to be doing very much, however. Perhaps you should try both hands? Maybe release your Zanpakuto? Assuming that you have one, of course."

[dancrilis]

[Soul Society]
(The Phoenix Temple)

Sabitsura Sho

She viewed the movements to activate his shikai, cumbersome in her view, he was wise to set that condition prior to the battle - assuming that it was not simply a faint.

Still the belt seemed to be the key and as such it would need to be tested.

The armour itself was unfortunate, most shikai were attack based and even those that were defensive would normally contain some hidden attack measure.

Still the weight seemed top heavy would would move the center of balance further from the ground, and maneuvering in it would likely be more restricted than without.

However calling a weapon implied that one could banish it, and potentially call others - thereby providing the attack focus, assuming her guess was right.

Still maintaining a shikai was taxing after a while, and she was slowly recovering strength so this may benefit her if she was able to hold out and take her openings as given. This was not a universal truth of course some had charge up periods - thought that could generally be seen and felt, others were non-taxing but normally non-obvious until the moment of use. This seemed like it may be of the more normal kind.

There was no obvious need to make the first move, she instead prepared herself.

[Rhyvurg]

[Soul Society]
Academy

The students assembled, Sato taps the microphone before he speaks. "Good morning. I will keep this brief as we have a busy day ahead of us. You are all aware of the Hollow attacks Soul Society has suffered recently, and you are understandably concerned. As part of the greater plan to strengthen our defenses, all current classes are hereby cancelled. Instead, we will be entering an intensive combat-only program, and after the current threat is over your educations will be completed. To this effect, I have requested a Hado specialist from the Kido Corps, and I will be taking over Bakudo training from this point on. After this assembly, you will all be assessed to determine what training you need to bring your skills to where they are needed. Those who show extraordinary skill will receive additional training. When your training is complete, you will be taken in small groups to the Human World and given real combat experience against Hollows. The result will be a special squad under my own command. Anyone who achieves Shikai during their training, or has already, will be evaluated for a command position within the squad. The other teachers are waiting outside the assembly hall to give you the time of your assessment. If you have questions ask them now, but be brief."

[Kuroimaken]

Soul Society - Temple Grounds, DUEL OF EPIC FATE

"Well, that was enough time for ladies first."

Kamen Rider Rei lunged forward. The path and intent of his strike was obvious, a smash coming from the upper right side towards the shoulder. He was perhaps a bit slower than she would have expected, given his rank.

But that made it no easier to dodge. For some reason, there was a tangible but invisible force drawing Sho towards the hammer. She would find that escaping the rather heavy strikes was harder than anticipated because of that force.

Halfway through the swing, the hammer seemed to pick up speed. It looked to have enough force to shatter bone with relative ease; the blow might even put down a lesser Hollow. But if he missed, he'd be wide open, right?

[dancrilis]

[Soul Society]
(The Phoenix Temple)

Sabitsura Sho

He was slower than he might have otherwise been, possibly a function of the armour a sacrifice of speed for power and defense.

It was only as he closed the distance that she saw the insidious nature, it was a thought exercise - normally in a fight one reacted on instinct without realising that one was using practiced moves, but if slowed to consider an individual might might mistakes of second guessing themselves.

But she was an analyst at heart and extra time would not harm her, if the hammer attracted her she would use that.

Use his force against him.

Stepping into the attack she switched to shunpo for less than a second as she moved to catch the hilt of the hammer and twisted her body into his to use his own momentum to enable a replication of an incomplete Ippon Seoinage where her opponent would be directed at force into the barriers being maintained.

[DiscipleofBob]

[Hueco Mundo]
(Outside Las Noches)

"Yes, I was able to determine that by the way you attempted to harm me rather than speak. Your attacks don't seem to be doing very much, however. Perhaps you should try both hands? Maybe release your Zanpakuto? Assuming that you have one, of course."

"HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHA HAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Jehoel might notice the hilt-less sheathed Zanpakuto strapped loosely to Kiba's back, and the even larger bit of annoyance at its mention. Kiba's fist stays implanted in Jehoel's cheek, and he uses the momentum to lift himself up and and the slight angle to wheel his leg around in a roundhouse kick to the back of Jehoel's head. If Jehoel continues to remain a literal pillar of condescension, Kiba's attack will lead into a barrage of kicks to the same spot before Shunpo'ing straight up above Jehoel, fat lot of good it seems to do.

[5a Violista]

[Hueco Mundo]
Palacio Central: Bath Salts
The world is probably a lot different than Clovis remembers from back when the Hollow King was around. Like most modern-day hollows, Valentina just isn't that trusting of others' goodwill. Maybe the more-recent Visionary Hollow King was trying to return Hueco Mundo to its golden age, but he didn't live long enough to finish that possible plan.

I imagine that people generally don't take baths with their swords, so Valentina's katana is safely just out of reach at the moment.

What with something (or someone! ) touching her leg, Valentina instinctively flexes her knee, trying to get it off. She frowns, and looks down at the slimy surface. Then, she notices the eyes. "Who's that?" she asks, a little surprise in her voice. (She probably asked Clovis, because he's the only one around who can hear her, as far as I know.)


Soul Society
Academy: Assembly
Peredur has arrived slightly late. Figures, with him being down in the face.

He listens to what is said. Honestly, this probably doesn't change much with him. He's a 6th year student due for graduation who just (barely) survived a Hollow attack and has just barely unlocked his Shikai, as well.

Really, from what he understands, this only means that he'll be in the first excursion to the Mortal World.

His sword has nearly regenerated itself, so...that's good.


Combat Division - somewhere
Suou's Zanpakuto spirit is a lot nicer than Kiba's. At least 537% kinder.

After a pleasant (but emotionally charged) discussion with her Zanpakuto Kyuuketsuki, Suou practices Kido. She's never been good at that. Even elemental magic, she's merely passable. Intentionally skipping the Academy entirely didn't really help with that.

She practices the defensive Kido, Seki, and fails miserably. Maybe she needs instruction on how to do it? No, of course not. Admitting she needs help for something as simple as this will hurt her pride.

The results of her practice, however, speak otherwise. Instead of containing a repulsive ball of energy, Nicole only succeeds in blasting herself backwards when trying to use Seki.

[Draken]

Hueco Mundo
Royal Baths

Soon as she pulls, the grasping things simply fray away, apparently.

At her call, Clovis looks up.

"Oh, don't worry yourself too much, that is just the living blight spontaneously mutating, it does that at times. It's perfectly inconsequential."

[Dorizzit]

[Hueco Mundo]
That "Night"

Jehoel's eyes flicker to the Zanpakuto at Kiba's back, then back to the Shinigami's face, his slight smile indicating that he has more-or-less guessed the situation. Again, Kiba's kick has very little effect, and his follow up attacks only manage to shove Jehoel's head slightly to the side each time, like an abnormally hard and condescending punching bag. As Kiba shunpos into the air, Jehoel looks up at him.

"I think I actually felt something a couple of times. Try a little bit harder, and you might be able to break through."

[Kuroimaken]

[Soul Society]
(The Phoenix Temple)

Sabitsura Sho

He was slower than he might have otherwise been, possibly a function of the armour a sacrifice of speed for power and defense.

It was only as he closed the distance that she saw the insidious nature, it was a thought exercise - normally in a fight one reacted on instinct without realising that one was using practiced moves, but if slowed to consider an individual might might mistakes of second guessing themselves.

But she was an analyst at heart and extra time would not harm her, if the hammer attracted her she would use that.

Use his force against him.

Stepping into the attack she switched to shunpo for less than a second as she moved to catch the hilt of the hammer and twisted her body into his to use his own momentum to enable a replication of an incomplete Ippon Seoinage where her opponent would be directed at force into the barriers being maintained.

Unfortunately, Sho's counter attempt ends up being foiled by that self-same strange force*. As she reaches for the hilt of the hammer, she finds it very difficult to let go of it - as if her hands were metal and the hammer was a magnet. Twisting into the air, Kamen Rider accelerates INTO the throw, but lands on his feet - and uses his waist as a fulcrum point to rotate his entire body, plus the hammer itself, with Sho still holding onto it, in an attempt to pound her into the ground.

Sho realizes, however, that even without that strange force at work, she wouldn't have been able to throw Kamen Rider very far. It appears the armor he's wearing isn't just bulky, but rather heavy - it must be the equivalent of having perhaps twenty kilograms worth of weights attached to one's arms, chest and legs, or so she estimates from her difficulty to throw him.

Spoiler

Show

*Also, what really projects the victim in an ippon seoi nage is not the arm, but the hip. In order for Sho's throw to have worked properly, she would have needed to crouch INTO Koutarou's stance and bumped him upwards with some momentum of her own.

[AnimeKid]

Hueco Mundo-Bath Salts

Kyoki nervously came into the bath salts area looking very uncomfortable and trying to make herself as small as possible. She walks into the water slowly before crouching down in such a way that only the top half of her face is seen above the water. She came here mostly because if these baths did work, then she could get back to work on redecorating her district.

At this juncture she was actively trying to prevent Ragunaroku from coming out. She really didn't want him drawing attention to her.

Soul Society-A whole bunch of stuff later

Naijeru had internally objected to the match, mostly because he felt that Sho was planning something. Well that, and though he didn't show it he wanted to rip the smug woman to pieces for her comment about the Combat Division. However at the moment all he could do was put his trust Vice-Captain Koutarou. From what he was seeing the match was clearly in his favor. However that could easily change, just like the sea.

[dancrilis]

[Soul Society]
(The Phoenix Temple)

Sabitsura Sho

So a attraction affect, and due to the nuisance if that was all likely a repulsion affect also, she could work with this.

As she was carried around she snapped her feet out to position to utilise Kazaguruma against the mans helmet, using the mans own force and movements combined with the attack to allow for maximum destructive force from the technique.

She had no expectations to end the fight right here - but while unarmoured it might kill most - with his armour that would seem unlikely, but if she could bypass the nullify the armour with blunt force trauma carrying through to turn the mans insides to pulp over time it would fulfill the duels requirement on not killing him.

[Kuroimaken]

Soul Society - DUEL OF EPIC FATE

It was hard to tell if she had not gotten through the armor, if her hit hadn't been as solid as she'd hoped, or if whatever that tangible force was absorbed the impact. The fact remains that Sho's kick does not so much as deter the advance of the man's spinning smash. She feels it connect, but the laws of physics apparently weren't looking.

Given that she could not unhand the hammer and she had precious little space to maneuver, the end result is that Sho's torso is smashed against the ground. Luckily, the weight and power behind the hammer cause the ground beneath her to crack and spread in a spidery pattern under her back. It beats having her belly meet her spine, but not by much - someone with less resillience would have surely been splattered in twain.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Soul Society]
Headquarters - Commander-General's office, Captains' meeting

"Kiba-san, your idea of limiting Garganta access to Seireitei is a good one. Likewise I won't deny we have problems with morale - but you're vastly overstating the problem." Li looks at the smoldering Combat division leader. "Don't you realize? 'These are Hollows - they can attack any moment' - everyone in this meeting has said just as much. Do you know why?"

Li walks a circle around the table. "It's because that's what the Academy has taught you. It is what the Academy has taught to every single Gotei trooper. The Hollows have no credibility in the eyes of Shinigami. Not a single one of them will take this offer seriously." Li stops next to Kiba. "So tell me then, why would any one of them take our acceptance of such offer seriously? When everyone is expecting Hollows to deceive us, why do you think they would object so horribly to us deceiving them back?"

"We are not in a position to act tougher than we are. But we can feign weakness. And that is not, like you say, the worst option. I already told you which one that is: it is us being goaded to attacking."

"And if don't accept, we will be goaded to attacking - by Rukongai citizens. Think about it: to the average Rukon Plus, us Shinigami are just as big boogiemen as the Hollows. Especially in outer Rings, their contact is mostly with rogues or uneducated Reapers who can't control their powers. Do you think someone like Sabitsura Sho is any better in their eyes than a common Hollow?"

"They have no stake in this war, expect their own safety. And the Hollow leader promised them just that. It's an easy offer for him to make, because all it requires is inaction. Just keep the Hollows away from there, and he has perfect credibility. But if we were to make that offer to Ruon, we would need to make a show out of it. Patrolling Rukongai is hard enough during peace, right now we just can't afford it. What do you think they will see if we first make a lot of noise about rejecting the Hollows, and then retreat inside our walls? They will not see that we're building up strenght - they will think we have abandoned them."

"If we lose support of Rukon, our food production will be stymied. They don't need to eat, but we do. Seireitei alone does not have the farmland to keep us fed infinitely. So, if we pretend to be stronger than we really are, Rukon citizens will demand us to take action. They either want us outside our walls patrolling, or attacking the Hollow forces head on."

"Neither which is possible! The Combat Division has been decimated! You should know this better than anyone, Kiba. We need our forces in Seireitei. This is the only ground we have left where we can stand up to these Hollows. Trying to over-extert ourselves will render us easy pickings."

"Besides, going back on his offer is not as easy as you think on the Hollow leader. He promised an attack after a week if we don't accept. Do you think his own troops will let him back on that threat? If we decline, we can be certain we'll be attacked within seven days. If we accept, there's no telling when their assault will begin, but it won't be in a week. Don't you see? The Hollows are trying to win the Rukon to their side! If they immediately go back on their offer, they will lose all their credibility in eyes of Rukon too, after which every citizen will fight like rats backed into a corner. No matter how large this Hollow army is, they don't want that to happen, and I think these Hollows are actually smart enough to realize that."

"And what comes to those masks... the Hollows that came to our doorstep were Arrancars. They are not the masked beasts Rukon citizens are familiar with. They look just like us. Right now, they are acting just like us."

Li glares at Kiba. "If Gotei has a problem with morale, it has more to do with its leadership being too short-fused and discordant, than anything the Hollows just said. If we Captains can get our act together, our actual response to this offer will be irrelevant as far as Gotei troopers are concerned. They will be anticipating an attack at any moment regardless. The pretense of peace I'm aiming for is not for their benefit. It's for the benefit of Rukon citizens, those who are not soldiers and have not been trained to keep their heads no matter the situation."

[DiscipleofBob]

[Spirit World]
(Captain's Meeting)

"You don't get it. I'm not saying that surrendering will cause civil war as the worst case scenario, I'm saying that surrendering, even as a bluff, will cause civil war because it's already about to happen. People inside and outside Seireitei are just waiting for an excuse, and a severely weakened leadership that refuses to even try to protect them is just the excuse they need.

"Whether or not you're bluffing to the hollows doesn't matter, because it's the same response you're presenting to all of Soul Society. And they won't see it as a bluff. Most of them will take whatever the response is at face value: That you're agreeing to the hollows demands instead of trying to fight them off.

"You've already fallen into the hollows' trap. You're treating them like you would other Shinigami, or other Pluses. You're assuming they follow the same rules, respect the same diplomacy, and that's exactly what they want you to think.

"If you surrender, even as a bluff, you will see revolts inside and outside Seireitei. And then it won't matter when the hollows attack. We'll kill each other off and then they'll come in and finish off the job. Surrendering doesn't help Rukon, since they'll revolt regardless, it doesn't help the rest of Soul Society, and it doesn't help any of the Shinigami troops. All it helps is the hollows and proves to all of Soul Society that we, the people in charge of protecting them, are weak and will surrender at the first actual threat."

============

[Hueco Mundo]
(Later that Night...)

By all means any other Shinigami should have gotten tired or given up by now, but Kiba only seemed to pick up steam. This was far from the first time he had been severely outmatched by an enemy. Of course those other times rarely ended well for him either. Still he fought on. Now straight up above Jehoel, several stories above the Primera Espada, Kiba Shunpo'd straight down, getting gravity in on helping to augment his force. Every bit helped.

This time, however, Kiba tried something new. His first Shunpo had launched him at his usual tremendous speed, but before he connected, his other leg did a second Shunpo to try and increase the force even more as he tried bringing both fists with the weight of his entire body down on Jehoel's head.

Jehoel might as well have been both an unstoppable force and an unmovable object. But that only encouraged Kiba more, made him the perfect seemingly insurmountable goal to strive against.

[Kuroimaken]

Soul Society - Captain's Meeting

"So. Damned if we do, damned if we don't. What you are suggesting is that if we pretend to roll over and die, we face death by internal strife - eventually. What Captain Li proposes, on the other hand, is that if we make a stand like you suggest, we will be destroyed by internal AND external strife. Starting in two weeks.

So here's my question. What do you think we can possibly do, in a little under two weeks, to prevent the Rukon from turning on us while simultaneously mounting a successful defense against the Hollows?

Keep in mind that unless we can pull a barrier like the one surrounding Seireitei out of our collective asses within that timeframe, we're leaving the entirety of Rukongai to face the first waves of invasion. And that's a timeframe that assumes the Hollows play ball - by your own admission, within a set of rules that they won't follow. Which means that, realistically, we'd need that barrier today.

And that's just the bare basics.

So. Risk-wise, pretending to accept their offer is our best shot. Whether or not we try to insert some wriggle room in it.

Keep in mind that when it comes to bureaucracy, we have the advantage."

[DiscipleofBob]

Soul Society - Captain's Meeting

"So. Damned if we do, damned if we don't. What you are suggesting is that if we pretend to roll over and die, we face death by internal strife - eventually. What Captain Li proposes, on the other hand, is that if we make a stand like you suggest, we will be destroyed by internal AND external strife. Starting in two weeks.

So here's my question. What do you think we can possibly do, in a little under two weeks, to prevent the Rukon from turning on us while simultaneously mounting a successful defense against the Hollows?

Keep in mind that unless we can pull a barrier like the one surrounding Seireitei out of our collective asses within that timeframe, we're leaving the entirety of Rukongai to face the first waves of invasion. And that's a timeframe that assumes the Hollows play ball - by your own admission, within a set of rules that they won't follow. Which means that, realistically, we'd need that barrier today.

And that's just the bare basics."

"Which is why we need to STOP finding the best way to appease the hollows when it won't do any good to anyone anyway and START our counter strategies. The fact that people here seem to believe that our only two options are 'surrender' or 'direct attack' only confirms why I need to be here.

"The first thing we need to do is stop the hollows' portals while streamlining our own. If Sawada's right, the SSI's figured out a way to permanently close portals that the hollows open. If that's true, then we have a way to limit their access to Soul Society, albeit one that has to be applied over time. We also need to streamline OUR access over there to the point where we can send multiple squads from here to there and back again regularly. I also know that the SSI has access to Kido which can teleport small groups of soldiers across great distances. Using that we can respond to distress signals even in the Rukon.

"We can still take the fight to Hueco Mundo without launching a direct attack. If we send multiple scouting parties from the Recon Division and the Combat Division, we can start gathering information on their forces and simultaneously leave the skirmishes in Hueco Mundo. Put a Captain or Vice-Captain in at least the first couple squads we send to deal with their potential more powerful soldiers, particularly those adept at concealing their Reiatsu, and that should be enough to deal with any smaller forces they send to retaliate, and they won't be able to send out the bulk of their armies or their leader without leaving the rest of their stronghold vulnerable to other scouting parties. This will also get us valuable information on the enemy's capabilities.

"Meanwhile, our Internal Security can begin focusing on bolstering our defenses, forming more efficient patrols, and forming evacuation plans for the districts outside Seireitei while our newly formed Reserves Division can start speeding up the training of new recruits so strengthen our forces.

"The SSI and this newly formed Division Sawada proposed can research the Kido we need to strengthen our defenses, stop random Gargantas from appearing everywhere, and start researching other Kidos that may help defend us. I know firsthand from the Combat Division's Kido Squad that several Kido users can combine their forces for larger Kido spells, and that might be what we need in order to defend ourselves.

"Until we get more concrete information on the enemy's forces, the most likely scenario is that this hollow leader probably has a few lieutenants not unlike us which probably have a few lieutenants under them, again, not unlike us, but are mostly made up of lesser hollows that even a squad of trained unseateds should be able to handle. If that's the case, then even if their stronger members are more powerful than us, they can only be in one place at a time.

"Of course we won't be able to get ANY intel if we're in some sort of false peace and have to deal with revolts."

[Dorizzit]

[Hueco Mundo]
That "Night"

As always, Jehoel watches the ferocious shinigami impassively as Kiba reaches the apex of his climb, and does not move at all as another strike is directed at him. Kiba descends from the air like a meteor, striking Jehoel with enough force to raise another dust cloud, even larger than the first. As the cloud clears, Jehoel is standing in the middle of a crater punched into the ground by the force of the blow.

Above and to the side of his left eye, there is a small, shallow gash. It quickly makes itself obvious, however, as like all head wounds it bleeds profusely, resulting in a constant stream down the side of Jehoel's face. He reaches a hand up to wipe away some of the blood around the wound itself, then closes it with a thought. With the same motion, he wipes the rest of the blood from his face, and presents the bloodstained hand to Kiba. He smiles.

"There. I knew you could do it. Now, I believe this is the part where you tell me your name."

[Kuroimaken]

Soul Society - Captain's meeting

"Eight months, five days, eleven hours, forty-five minutes, ninety seconds."

[5a Violista]

Hueco Mundo
Baño Real

"Right. That sounds very inconsequential," Valentina says, lifting a foot above the mud so she can inspect it. It doesn't look that bad.

"Speaking of that..." La Sexta Espada turns towards Kyoki, who is submerged in the mud. "You made it." Didn't get lost, or anything.

[dancrilis]

[Soul Society]
(The Phoenix Temple)

Sabitsura Sho

The primary advantage of reducing the output of Reiatsu was deceit, people overlooked you and you can get a feel for powers.

As she was smashed into the ground the raised it to cushion the blow - it still hurt - she didn't like that.

Faster than should have been likely she was in a crouch and still grasping the hammer she slipped through the legs of her opponent bringing the hilt with her to collide with his crotch as she leaped into the air at speed ... castrating him might have an affect on his desire for the duel.

Her senses finally adopting to the flux effect, she moved to fluctuate her reiatsu to match, releasing the hammer mid leap to unbalance her opponent further.

Staring down at her opponent in the air as she considered her next move, mostly prepared for his expected counter to an airborne opponent.

[Kuroimaken]

Soul Society - DUEL OF EPIC FATE

Interesting idea, but bad execution.

This wasn't the first time someone tried to use his hammer against him, and it wouldn't be the last. Granted, few were this imaginative. But as she slides between his legs and he's forced into a lower position, Kamen Rider simply lets go of the hammer - which suddenly feels hideously heavy, granting him precious fractions of a second to avoid being "nutcracked" as he slips forward.

But now she has the hammer instead, right?

Sho feels the hammer grow increasingly heavier as she leaps - that unusual pull, again, trying to force her down along with gravity.

Her opponent, by contrast, is using shunpo to accelerate upwards to meet her with a rising fist. It's likely one of the slowest high-speed accelerations she's ever seen, but considering the weight behind it, he may as well be a wall in front of a bullet train speeding towards her.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Soul Society]
Headquarters - Commander-General's office, Captains' meeting

Li gives Setsurou a freezing glance. The elder does not appreciate sarcasm in a formal meeting. Even if Li is going to engage in it personally.

"Certainly, let us send remnants of our leadership and strongest troops deep into enemy environment and hope they won't be ambushed", Li says, turning back to Kiba. Li then stomps the ground with the bamboo crane. "Are you out of your mind? I've been a Commander for less than two hours, and I already had one of my Captains desert. Right now, he is either telling the enemy everything he knows, or committing assisted suicide! Do you want to be the second one? For all your criticism of Yasunobu Sawada, you seem strangely eager to walk the same path as him."

Li sighs and returns to Li's seat. "It seems we can't achieve agreement at this time. This was to be expected. We need more knowledge on our enemies."

"Hishikawa Setsurou", Li turns to adress the returned exile, "you will be my representative on a diplomatic mission to this Hollow city. Tsukino Hikaru", Li turns to the Reconnassaince Captain in turn, "I can't let you leave Seiretei. I need you here, directing your troops. I do accept of sending Arianna Junrin to accompany Hishikawa-san, however. I expect Junrin-fukutaichou and Hishikawa-san to depart within two days, and return within four so we'll have time to consider their information. Tsukino-taichou, you will be responsible for equipping and instruct them on this mission. They are to meet the Hollow leadership and gather as much data on their city as possible."

"Myself, I will make an announcement in my new role as a Commander-General. I expect it to not be to everyone's liking, but there's something I need you to do regarding it." Li turns to glare at Kiba. "No matter how strongly you will disagree with it, you will not openly question or criticize it. If we want to put up a strong front, we need to first put up an unified front. Disagreement between Captains is fine in a meeting like this. It is not fine if it spills out to our troops, like what has happened during the past week between Internal Security, the Combat Division, and SSI. I need you to support me on whatever I will say. Otherwise, our organization will collapse like a house of cards in the wind."

Li returns to joylessly shuffling various papers and reports on the table. "The next meeting will be held over phone. There are so few of us, it's useless to keep conducting meetings like this. Keep your Reiphones with you and on at all times. Tsukino-taichou can provide tech support if you need it."

"You are all dismissed."

[dancrilis]

[Soul Society]
(The Phoenix Temple)

Sabitsura Sho

The hammer was still in flux, but she could compensate thought it was taxing, she could also rely on her own spiritual power to make up for physical strength.

Expanding it at a crucial second she brought the hammer in at tremendous speed and power to connect with her opponent as he acceded. The force of the blow and her own expanding power sending ripples through the barriers surrounding them causing those maintaining them to redouble there efforts to avoid breaches.

Then she simply followed up the attack to throw the hammer out of the barrier ringing as she landed, she was winded from the strain - which was worrying - but she would recover if she could either end this or go on defense again.

[DiscipleofBob]

[Soul Society]
(Captain's Meeting)

"If you're asking me to lie to my own troops so you can put on a better front, especially when you're currently advocating our surrender...

"Then I cannot support you. Before you make your announcement, you need to decide whether you're willing and able to do what's required of you to sit in that chair." Speaking that way to a Captain-Commander or even a Commander-General must have been something entirely unheard of, but Kiba was only doing what he believed the Kenpachi would have done. As of now he was having doubts as to Li's ability to fulfill his position. If Li really had zero faith in the strength of the troops, both inside and outside the Combat Division, how could Li be expected to lead them in battle.

"I know fully well what our troops are capable of, and what they're capable of surviving, and I would never support a suicide mission for anyone, including me. When I say that we can send teams into Hueco Mundo and take the fight to their side without taking too great a risk, as long as plan strategically, it's because we can." Kiba gets up to leave, quietly for once, if only to give anyone else a chance to catch up to him should they be interested in actually talking strategy instead of just the best way to avoid fighting with the sworn enemy of Soul Society.

===========

[Hueco Mundo]
(Outside Las Noches)

"My name is Kiba! And I'm not done with you yet!" The sight of an actual wound on Jehoel is reinvigorating as much as it is reassuring. He can be hurt. Kiba's attempts weren't completely futile. Of course the strain of such a maneuver, completely untested as it was, did more damage. It was impossible to tell how much his arms and fists had been fractured just trying to do damage, but even though he was deliberately ignoring the pain before, pain shot up Kiba's arms and he visibly winced. Blood started to ooze from several pores on his arms, but the ranking member of the Combat Division wasn't about to let something like that slow him down.

Okay, maybe slow him down enough to not immediately try the double-Shunpo thing again. Though now that there was a crack, there was at least something to aim for. Kiba launched a heavy kick towards Jehoel's face right where the wound is. It's the closest thing he has to a target.

[Kuroimaken]

Soul Society - Duel of EPIC FATE

Kamen Rider ends up barreling through that motion, ignoring gravity as he does. He spins in the air as Sho begins to land.

However, to her surprise, the hammer doesn't fly out of the ring. It begins to spin, and describes an incredibly fast arc towards Kamen Rider's position.

And then a large, circular crest with a zero at the center describes itself on the ground.

"This... has gone on long enough."

He does indeed sound weary. Whether from exaustion or something else entirely remains to be seen.

That same tangible force Sho has felt throughout the fight makes its presence known. And it increases significantly. It now acts as veritable weight to push her against the ground, a weight she has never felt before.

"RIDER..."

Holding onto the hammer with both hands, Kamen Rider dives towards his opponent. He seems to accelerate significantly - the fastest Sho has seen him in this fight so far. Indeed, not just that, but also one of the fastest she's seen in years of fighting.

"...RAILGUN!"

As he dives, his aim is difficult to determine, partially because his frame is distorted by the blur of the air flowing around him. For the most part, though, he doesn't seem to be aiming at her head - and heavy as she feels, Sho might still be able to mount some defense, though escape seems to be practically impossible.

[Rhyvurg]

[Soul Society]
Academy

With no questions, students were assigned their assessment times. Peredur discovered that his name was at the top of the list, he would be evaluated by Sato himself in ten minutes in the head instructor's dojo.

[Demidos]

[Hueco Mundo]
Later that night

As Kiba clashed repeatedly against Jehoel, the flashes of Spiritual Pressure crackled across huge portions of Las Noches. The combat remained personal, but that didn't mean that no one noticed.

Her eyes opened slowly, dilating to accommodate the pitch dark of the room. Her room. There was something flashing at the corners of her awareness, but she didn't want to think about it just yet. She tried to sit up and coughed, pain wracking her body and blood spattering her bandages. Bandages? Memories flashed back and she remembered. She smiled briefly before her face contorted into a rictus of pain. A worthy Shinigami. She would have even left him to fight Jehoel alone had Jehoel not begged her help. Not that he needed it. But now...the alert that she had been ignoring finally entered her conscious mind. Another Shinigami? And nearly if not equally as powerful. Where was Soul Society finding all these worthy Shinigami from the trash that made up much of their ranks?

Tinja jumped out of bed, ignoring the pain, and walked to the window. In fact, all of her walls were windows, but she was interested in one in particular, the one which faced out over the side of the city from where the Spiritual Pressure emanated. Jehoel was there, as could be expected. Running a Pesquia, Tinja checks on the other Espada. All seem alive. As does Randii. Good.

This time, Jehoel can handle it. She still needs to plan this "Hollow Army", and in her current condition she would be more of a liability than a help. Besides, it is Jehoel's last request for help that left her like this. This one was farther from the city. He could handle it fine.

Moving to her desk, Tinja ponders for a moment before pulling out a quill and parchment. Despite the advances in modern technology, there was something about writing on parchment, being able to annotate the margins and able to cross things out that could not be replicated as well on a computer. Computers...Tinja had seen some the last time she was in the Mortal World, and had been perusing the shop as the Shinigami of that particular town cowered in terror in the corner. They seemed to be an interesting invention, as were "Phones" and the other technological advancements they had. Tinja had noticed that the Shinigami had been babbling onto one of them as she had been looking about the shop, calling for reinforcements. A way to contact others at huge range? After a quick Pesquia, Tinja had ascertained that there was no one even close, and had destroyed the phone with a Bala. This had had the unfortunate side effect of also destroying the Shinigami's head, but it had been a productive trip. Tinja wondered if the devices could be used across planes, or even at all in the darkness that was Hueco Mundo. Perhaps it was worth looking in to, she thought, the nib of her quill scratching across the parchment.

[5a Violista]

Seireitei
Academy
After the whachamacallitAssemblage

Ryuunosuke Peredur, after the assemblage, finds his way to the Head Instructor's Dojo. He knows where it is, 'cause he's been around here often.

His sword, at his hip, is just over half the size of a normal katana at the moment. Still a little tiny bit broken.

"Hello?" he calls. "I'm here." He hopes that he's not late.

[Rhyvurg]

Seireitei
Academy
After the whachamacallitAssemblage

Ryuunosuke Peredur, after the assemblage, finds his way to the Head Instructor's Dojo. He knows where it is, 'cause he's been around here often.

His sword, at his hip, is just over half the size of a normal katana at the moment. Still a little tiny bit broken.

"Hello?" he calls. "I'm here." He hopes that he's not late.

Sato looks up from his tea. "Come in. I arranged for you to be first because I have heard rumors among the students that you are close to achieving Shikai, if you have not already. If this is true, you could very well end up in a command position very soon. Tell me, what do you consider to be your strengths?"