The First; The Eternal Immortals

[Jukuma]

Like many others, Yasuo was thrown off by the unexpected appearance of the member of the 9th Division. Apparently someone was trying to escape, although the name didn't really ring a bell to him, nor did he give it much importance anyways. Sure it wasn't normal for a group strong enough to take on some of the guardians of the 9th Division to actually manage to break out of their cells and engage them and not everyday would you expect the Captain to have to intervene in a matter like this, but then again, something like this probably happened all the time without the rest of the Gotei 13 even realizing and it had been a long time since someone had managed to break free from their grasp. If anything, he was glad that the disturbed Captain had to leave the room. Sure enough, he had been thrown off by her sudden display of non-violent nor irreverent behavior, but since it was most likely just her way of being surprised by the news, it was still good that there was a stir around her Division.

What followed was something that surprised him to an even greater extent. Desmae's report was far from what all of them (or at least him) were expecting; moreover it seemed quite obvious that the situation was far from being controlled (not like the man did the least effort to hide it in the first place) and it was hard to deny that it was beyond help. If Hana was surrounded by over a hundred Hollow, even if she was aided by Desmae, they couldn't really rest assured that she would survive long enough for any kind of aid to arrive, despite her power. It all depended on what Yun would decide to do now that he had been ignored by Desmae. Except it wasn't Yun who took the floor, or rather, he wasn't allowed to. Like practically anyone in the room, Yasuo moved his gaze towards Kuatura with an expression of awe engraved in it. It was surprising that the man had the courage to stand up to not just a Captain, but a Commander General at that, and defy him they way he was doing. A mixture of admiration and rage began to from in Yasuo, partly because he had to give some credit to the man for what he was doing, but the fact that he was fully aware that, had he been the one to speak up, he would've been beaten to death most likely, was keeping him from being fully contempt with what had happened. Nonetheless, and as hard as it was for his very challenged mind, he had to pay attention with what was going on.

A dark thought crossed his mind 'If we really are expendable then why the fuck are we risking numbers to save one of us?' He shook his head violently to brush it off; never had he thought before that a life (so to speak, as technically they were all dead) meant so little that it wasn't worth protecting, and he wasn't going to start looking down on them now. Hana was a fellow Shinigami and Vice-Captain and, even though his relationship with her had never been close, her life was important and not a chess piece on a board. However, it was for that same reason that, although he could understand what Kuatura was saying, he would never get himself to agree with him. That was how things worked in the Gotei 13 though, and whether he was comfortable with it or not, he had to accept it. Either way, he couldn't let the stress he was going through take over and change his principles just like that; he wasn't the only one going through a personal hard time neither the one in the worst situation, so he shouldn't... no, rather couldn't allow himself to turn his back on his beliefs that easily. By the time he had managed to regain his composure, Kuatura had already finished his speech and it was time for Yun's verdict to take place. It didn't really matter to him, since he had no intention to argue in the first place and he was more concerned with what their new highest leader had to say. Apparently, Kuatura's snap wasn't minded to the extent most would have expected and it was amazing that Yun seemed to actually be doing exactly what the Vice-Captain was asking for. The man issued his orders and demanded a force from every Division to be prepared and, as soon as he had finished, Yasuo's eyes widened even more than when Kuatura spoke up against Yun as he came to a realization of what those orders meant for him. After Yun called out a few of the present members to accompany him and offered the rest to remain around if they had questions, Yasuo got up from his seat and headed out with the same surprised face.

Yasuo sighed soundly as he made his way out of the meeting hall; he thought he had been discrete about it, but the truth was that anyone who passed close to him was able to notice his obvious display of frustration. He didn't really need to think about what he had to do and his feet began to automatically carry him to the 5th Division's grounds as he took out the black bandanna from his pocket and tightly tied it on his head. It was actually quite impressive how the man would always remember to put the cloth on at all times; normally, and especially after such an important meeting, one would forget such a useless thing was in his pocket. It wasn't accurate to say that Yasuo felt naked without the accessory, since no one had even imposed on him the obligation to take it off during meetings, but it was fair to say that he had grown used to it by now and it was a routine. In this occasion, however, he had done it half-mindfully so that the small shadow the garment cast upon his face would disguise the expression he had on right now. Had he been more mindful of his surroundings, he would have noticed that there wasn't really much point to it by now, not only because his sigh had already given him away, but also because his hunched stance and dark aura around him were practically shouting what the man was thinking. It was already enough that practically anyone in Soul Society considered him a fool (he knew well enough that he was dumb, but it still bothered it when other confirmed it), the last things he needed was that people began thinking he also held some sort of grudge towards the Captains for the decision that had been made. after all, it had already been shown that he was in no position to complain. Without really minding him that much, people soon lost sigh of him as his slow, almost dragged steps kept taking him closer to his Division.

The air in the 5th Division carried a mixture of tension, although the Shinigami there tried to dissimulate to the best of their ability, which wasn't much from the beginning anyway. An officer was playing shogi at the entrance of the main hall with another regular member of the Squad; he had an easygoing posture, with his arms crossed, one foot on the platform that served as floor of the hall and the other one the ground of the garden that served as a welcoming view for the entrance of the Division. While his posture did indeed seem to be giving off an aura of control and calmness while he waited for his opponent to make a move, his strained expression completely betrayed him; in fact, it had been his turn for a while now. To be fair though, he wasn't the only one who couldn't have peace of mind, there were other four Shinigami who pretended to be looking at the game with attention but, if they were asked, they would not be able to tell which of them was winning. All of them were thinking the exact same thing: what kind of news would their Vice-Captain bring? Truth was that the 5th Division didn't really have that good a reputation lately, and many had at first put the blame on Yasuo. That was why, at that moment, their main concern was to get something to do to regain the trust from the rest of Seireitei. However, the fact remained that they lacked a Captain-level leader and there wasn't really much to do for them at that moment, so no matter how good their intentions were, things looked dim to them, hence why every meeting was important to them by this point. They tried to combat the heavy atmosphere with a more lighthearted approach, but the one to do that with enough energy for it to work was Yasuo, so there was another dilemma there again. That was why, when the silhouette of their leader appeared at the entrance of their Division, light came back to their faces.

"Lieutenant Yasuooooooo!!!!!" one of the lower ranking officers rushed towards their pirate-like leader in a way reminiscent to a dog welcoming its owner, forgetting everything about the shogi game.

"Shut..."[\color] Yasuo started out talking in a murmur, with his eyes still downcast and the same depressed aura around him as before, but once the officer got close enough for him to grasp, his raised his eyesight with a fierce look in it. "... THE HELL UP!!!", he grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and flipped him around in the air, violently making him land on the ground with his back. When Yasuo raised his head again, he looked a lot more lively than before; his frustration was still present, but now it was more in the shape of a challenging expression rather than a downcast look.

]"I guess the meeting didn't go very well..." another one said, checking on the the officer laying on the floor, who had let out a loud "DOAAHH!!!!" as he impacted into the ground. The rest of the Shinigami present formed a circle around their leader with expecting faces, to hear what the man had to say. Yasuo cleared his throat before continuing.

"A new issue has risen up in the meeting" Yasuo said, looking back at all the puzzled faces of the present members. When he spoke as formally as that, they all knew he had something important to say, unlike for his usual gibberish. "During the course of the reunion, two officers were sent on a reconnaissance mission with a time limit for a report of 15 minutes. Instead of the report that was expected, one of them contacted Commander General Saigotschuu Yun to inform of an unprecedented attack from an army of Hollow numbering over a hundred in a town in the Living World. He requested back-up and joined the other one in holding them back" This seemed to cause some stir among those present, but not only because the event itself was a horrible surprise to them, but because they were all thinking that this could be the chance they had all been waiting for. Yasuo continued, ignoring them. "At this moment, both Shinigami are engaging the army awaiting for reinforcements; the Captains and Vice-Captains of the Gotei 13 have decided that each Division will organize a small force to be sent out with the intention to engage this Hollow army and retrieve the two officers with the exception of a few of the Squads. We are not one of those exceptions". Silence followed after Yasuo finished explaining what had happened during the meeting.

"B-But then, doesn't that mean we are going to battle?" An enthusiastic member said with a hint of a smile forming on his face. A vein grew on Yasuo's forehead and his expression grew dim again, as if he had just remembered what had put him in such a bad mood earlier.

One of the lower-ranking officers answered in his place, as he quickly caught up on what had lowered their Vice-Captain's spirits. "We aren't going to battle, they are". He explained with a disappointed face. "We are the Inner Defense Division, in the past maybe some of us would've been sent out, but now we are in shortage of man-power, they won't let the main squad specialized in defensive tactics to go out at times like this, even if some Captains will remain in Seireitei. That's not how the order of priorities works and we do need the numbers after all."

"Even if they did send some of us, they wouldn't be officers" another Shinigami added on to what the previous one had said before. "The leading figures will have to stay here to make defensive tactics more effective, and if no member with a known name goes into battle, the Division will receive little to no credit for what goes on there." The man sighed as he lifted his shoulders. "Furthermore, it's an assault, it's not like we are under attack, so we won't even get remains if shit went south."

There was a collective look of dismay once all explanations were over with; that had been exactly what had been keeping Yasuo down since he left the room where he had met with all the Captains and Lieutenants. He was genuinely worried about Hana's safety, but that didn't mean that he would forget about all the discrimination towards him and his Division and this was another chance escaping their grasp, so none of them could help but fret over it to some extent.

"Hrrmm..." Yasuo didn't bother to hide his frustration anymore, but at this point it's not like that had anything to do with his duties. "You already know what the situation is and what we have to do, so come on, get moving and have the people for that assault group ready in five minutes; have the volunteers for the previous force that had been issued a few days back join this one instead, we'll deal with it later on. We might have to fill in a few more members, a 1/7 of the Division's total forces should be more than enough.". A few puzzled expressions appeared on the faces of the members of the 5th Division; someone struggled to make out a 'B-But...', and everyone knew what followed that 'but'. However, Yasuo cut it off before it could progress. "Whether this assault will involve the 5th Division or not doesn't matter, this has been issued by Commander General Yun, there is no arguing."

Nobody said anything about how part of that force was already stationed in different areas around Seireitei, or how this would break the organization of the Division; if this had been an order issued by Yun and Yasuo agreed to it, that was enough for them. When the Vice-Captain gave the cue, the entire mass of black-robed soldiers began moving, each with a clear objective in mind. Yasuo remained motionless for a while with a void expression on his face, only to soon after make his way to the edge of the platform the officers had been playing shogi minutes ago and sat on it, his eyes fixated in the entrance of the Division. If a messenger actually did come to mobilize this force, he should be the one receiving him; besides, there were a few things he had to think over.

"Exactly how many things am I getting wrong?" He asked to no one in a low voice that no soul was able to hear.

[Wanzer]

There had been a pause after Makkuro’s brief outburst which quietly prompted him to shift on his feet for a moment; the man having been unused to speaking in such a violent way suddenly felt ashamed of himself for losing his cool. It felt as though he had been Mr. Rodgers and suddenly exploded at a child whom just couldn’t learn to tie his shoes, an apology seemed in order, but it wouldn’t be given. All Makkuro knew that his statement had been true and despite the delivery and his uncharacteristic break of character, it had needed to be said. Now all he could do was sit back and listen as he was either scolded for his impudence or if the sentiment hit home; taking the break he looked over the crowd and expected for something to come up, but nothing did for a good few seconds. Eventually the utter silence began to infiltrate into Makkuro’s sense of lacking, seeing that he may as well see himself out when Tsuno finally spoke up and calmed his nerves somewhat. That was all he really needed was for someone to speak and say what they needed to; if he was scolded so be it, but the utter silence was something that just seemed to assault him more than anything. Listening to the Captain of Squad two speak up and compliment him on his idea; did wonders for his ego, though he knew he was far from out of the fire.

Eyes darting around and waiting for another statement to reach his now at ease mind, Makkuro noted the facial expressions of those around him. While he was no political master or manipulator of minds; Makkuro knew enough to be able to analyze the opinions and thoughts of those around him, to a degree. Around the table, he had to find out tells and slight gestures from most of his comrades whom were hiding their emotions (excluding Sagara whom looked like a puppy who had been scolded for peeing on the carpet), right now he was witnessing some grand scale game of poker, but the chips on the table were the lives of their subordinates. Rubbing his chin once in contemplation, Makkuro made the rounds about the table looking over every man and woman’s countenance, one eye brow raised slowly as the gentle face cross-analyzed every feature he could to get a read on the general feelings on the persons mind.

His first victim happened to be the man who had just complimented him and agreed to follow through with his plan. Makkuro had an excuse to analyze him first as his face slowly contorted back into a relatively flat state, only a few stress lines about his forehead illustrating that he was thinking over something. Tsuno’s face was obscured mostly by the dark sunglasses on his face; covering the expression that his eyes and eyebrows would have added to the equation, as such, he couldn’t really measure much from the man. The curvature of his lips gave a slight indication and from what he could tell, he was pleasantly surprised at what he had just said; however, there was something else there. A slight twitch, almost a regret in doubting the man it seemed, but then that faded rapidly leaving Makkuro only to briefly contemplate if it had even occurred. Shrugging off the occurrence with little thought, Makkuro switched his little game of spot the ‘liar’ to Rin who was sitting directly across from him. Silence having presided over the room long enough for Makkuro make his rounds and gather what he could from everyone.

While the Captain of Squad Thirteen had been looking like a bored adolescent most of the meeting, somewhere between obnoxious cheerleader and popular student sitting in a lecture, she seemed to grow more interested as the debate over his comment went on. He could see in her face that she was no longer bored, but he couldn’t gather anything else, there were signs of worry, but Makkuro reasoned that was over Kubi, the woman’s impetuous tag along….whom he couldn’t figure out if it was a boy or not. Scratching his chin and thinking of speaking to her after the meeting to gauge how well he had presented him; he decided such an action would be better left to asking Tsuno, whom was his senior but also closer to being his contemporary than anyone else in the room barring Ada and her sister and Erik; all three of whom he felt slightly uncomfortable around because he knew little of them. Erik more so than the sisters considering he was of a culture that he literally knew nothing about. Speaking of Erik.

Makkuro couldn’t gather a read off of him, the captain of squad twelve or Yun…all three of the men seeming to be experts at this little game. All of them slabs of so little to read that Makkuro gave up after a few seconds, the scientist being the hardest to read of all; his face set into nothing more than an ‘interested’ but disjointed look that quietly devoured every morsel of information that came his way. It scared Makkuro a little bit; however, he assumed that most scientists had to be able to look like that, especially if they had witnessed so many failures and successes over time. Yun meanwhile only had very small tells that told Makkuro nothing because he hadn’t spent any time around the man. He noted that his hand slid across his face and that he would move in certain ways in reaction to responses; however, there was no way to tell what any of these meant. He supposed that he had to congratulate the Captain Commander, the man was able to contain his emotions and so little of what he said wasn’t said without proper thought first. Finally, there was Erik, the massive Norweign…Swedish…Norse…whatever the hell the man was, just towered over everything, forcing Makkuro to crane his neck slightly to get a good view of his face. The obviously foreign man seemed to be just as stony faced as the other two; something that should be expected of the tactics division and large scale operations captain. Yet, that was something else he could say, Erik was battle-hardened without a doubt; his past life probably full of the wars and strife that infiltrated…whatever time period he had presided from. Feeling slightly inadequate next to these four towering pillars of support to the Seireitei, Makkuro quickly switched to another target before he become more self-conscious than usual. Something that obviously stated that the man’s self-confidence wasn’t exactly a brimming pot of absolute clarity at the moment, rather it was more like a murky broth stagnating in the moment.

Averting his eyes away rapidly and finding himself focused on the twins, he quickly gathered what everyone in the room already knew. Ada was almost cowering behind her sister; whom was doing little about the situation aside from just forming a shield between her and them. While all this was metaphorical, Makkuro had to quickly stifle a laugh of comfort; glad that he wasn’t the only one that was afraid in the situation. At least he wasn’t that terrified, prompting a mental note, he decided he’d pay the pair a visit sometime later and let them know that they need not be so scared during meetings. Holding back the urge to laugh, he turned his eyes toward the last remaining true captain in the bunch, Laetitia. Glancing over her for a moment, he disregarded her completely and found Kuatura giving him a subtle look of….not hatred but dislike regardless. Something that needed to be rectified immediately in Makkuro’s mind; after all, he had meant no harm by any of his comments and in fact, wouldn’t have neglected Kuatura’s request had he realized the dire need the squad had for able-bodied soldiers. It was just then that the officer of Squad Nine allowed himself into the room; glancing at the mind, Makkuro couldn’t believe that he and the three well…cretins that were composing this meeting were from the same region. Still, it took all kinds and Makkuro wasn’t one to object to some normalcy pouring out of the squad, just as he remembered that an interruption of a captain’s meeting always signaled bad news; though, this particular bad news raised more questions that answers as he heard the report.

“Who the hell is Shuja Akame?” Makkuro found himself asking quizzically to himself as he rubbed his chin once; finding that Laetitia was moving her eyes from side to side, as if someone was dangling a hypnotist’s watch in front of her face. A rather concerning fact considering that Laetitia usually went about everything with a…unique way of doing things; something that could illicit her to freeze as she did, was not a good thing. At least…not for her anyway and the last thing the Seireitei needed was another crisis of any level, especially internal to screw up the flow. Just like that, one of the most senior members of the Seireitei had departed from the room and was off to deal with a personal problem, granted it was a personal problem that put a good deal of people’s lives at risk. Rubbing his chin once more, he tried to figure out the implications of the entire issues, but was cut off. An urgent transmission bringing him crashing back to reality in an instant. The transmission pertained to him greatly, Desmae talking about some invasion on the outskirts of the Seireitei and could easily spark an invasion into the area, which was his sworn duty to protect. Gritting his teeth down for a moment, a small tickle of blood formed from the corner of his lip, where he had punctured his lip with the bite mark.

Desmae’s words and pretense of attempting to rush back into battle without aid immediately made Makkuro clinch his fists in pure rage; his immediate reaction would have been to rush blindly into the madness of warfare without so much as a second look back, but Kuatura’s words calmed him a little bit. He could recall how the previous Captain Commander had acted, his pride overcoming his sense of reason and without a hand to aid him; he had been slaughtered mercilessly by the hand of the Horror Vacui. Relaxing his jaw and unclenching his fists, he wiped the blood away and listened to what Kuatura had to say. In the aftermath of dismissal, he rose up slowly and gathered his belongings, which consisted of a small bottle of water and his zanpakuto. Suddenly, his personal effects felt much heavier than before and a small glance down made him realize that his right arm was shaking. His first thought was to think that he was exhausted, but he realized he didn’t feel any pain, no it was out of a need to do something about the situation, to save lives and make up for a past mistake. Slowly, he rose and began to leave as he was instructed; however, without noticing it, he found himself bumping in the confusion of the departure. Grunting once from the unpleasant sensation and pulling back, he bowed to the man.


“My apologizes Blokflake-sama. I wasn’t looking where I was going, much of this has me on edge.”

Moving out of the much larger man’s way and then exiting the building, Makkuro stroked his chin once again; realizing that he wouldn’t have a chance to do much else that night, his mind had already been made up and it didn’t matter what anyone told him. Still, he would converse with Kuatura before he did anything else that night; aside from summoning a hell butterfly and sending it off with a message towards his division. It relayed everything that had just occurred along with the message regarding Kuatura’s plight and how anyone who wished to join his division was free to go; however, he also expected at least thirty volunteers for the transfer when he returned. After all, when one division lacked all of them suffered; running his finger beneath his nose once; Makkuro turned around slowly as he had been standing at the entrance to the Captain’s meeting room, as he did so. He noted Kuatura standing there and locked eyes with the man before bowing respectfully to him as well; slowly bringing his head up before speaking in a level tone.

“You were right to scold Yun, Kuatura-dono, I’m just concerned about the well-being of our two adventuring members out there. It is a good idea to send out members of the Seireitei in a good force to ensure that we aren’t overwhelmed; however, it won’t matter if we don’t arrive there in post haste. If you’ll allow me to interject into your plan slightly, I am the Captain of Squad three and it is my duty to see to the safety of everyone outside of the walls and to ensure that no breaches of security happen into the Seireitei in the first place. So, this circumstance should be my duty and….damn it…I might as well throw out all pretense or presumptions. I’m not an experienced captain, I know little about running an army or even a squad. All I can do is my best and give my opinion where I think it can help; I know I spoke out of turn when I shot down your idea out of ignorance and I offer you my sincerest apologizes. Just, allow me to go as an advance party to increase Hana and Desmae’s survival rate, my zanpakuto is designed for defensive purposes so I can hold out much longer than anyone else and I highly doubt my reserves would give out before reinforcements arrived. In your own words, I am expendable even as a captain, I don’t have experience…all I have is my bankai and the approval of those under my command. Losing me isn’t some big loss, even though everyman counts these days. So please, allow me to do this, for the sake of retribution for my failures as a captain prior and for a chance to become an effectual leader.”

Makkuro cut himself off and glanced into Kuatura’s eyes, showing that he was completely sincere about everything he said. His fists clenched tightly in the resolution that he could be useful and he could save lives in this time of war.

“Please, I beg you….let me be the shield I was meant to be. I can’t sit idly by and watch people die or know that there was something I could have done, yet I sat on my ass and did nothing."

After having introduced himself as he had Kuatura had not stopped moving, he acknowledged his presence but said nothing and kept walking. His face didn't betray his true feelings though it was hard to miss the general feel of interpreting Makkuro's words as political pandering. Makkuro was certainly used to that though, after all few people were as genuinely “kind” as Makkuro and it wouldn't have been the first time that his actions were seen as placation or brown-nosing since few really meant what they said as he did. As he spoke Kuatura had quickly moved down the smaller auxiliary stairs that flanked the room reserved for the Captains Meetings instead of heading out the front, he was only a few steps shy of running and this was causing Makkuro to awkwardly give his speech to the back of the mans head.

Just as Makkuro finished they had reached the banister overlooking the former First Division mustering grounds, unlike other Divisions that had massive open spaces capable of holding armies it was little more than a cleared out stone courtyard here. Already standing in the courtyard were a dozen Shinigami in the heavy black armor of the Deaths Hand, how they had managed to get there so quickly was a question in itself. There was the possibility that Yun had them ready beforehand...though why was anybodies guess. Kuatura stopped at the overlook and turned around to Makkuro, holding out a hand and placing it on his shoulder quite suddenly.

“Very well Shiboo-san, if you want to be of use then do. But just because I stand by what I said doesn't mean I was insinuating we should throw our lives away freely.”

Retracting his hand Kuatura had turned around and in one solid movement tossed himself over the banister before dropping the fifty-or-so feet to land right amidst the preparing warriors. Even from up above Makkuro could see him stand back up from the landing crouch, and hear him ask a nearby man, “Akane-kun, are we ready?”

“The emergency Senkaimon will be ready in two-minutes,” the thin man one assumed was the leader of the Deaths Hand in Desmae's absence responded.

Kuatura had nodded and then looked back up directly at Makkuro, “Well you heard the man Shiboo-san, you coming or not?”

Makkuro allowed his eyes to freely across the region, glancing at the death’s hand soldiers; this would mark the first time he would see them. The obsidian of their armor hiding them in the depths of the night; slowly, Makkuro ran his hand across his arm, tapping the regalia on his arm before jumping up toward the leader of the Death’s hand.

“I heard them loud and clear Kuatura. Akane-san, requesting permission to lead a group of five men on the exact retrieval of both Hana and Desmae from combat safely. I assure you on my honor as a Captain, I’ll see to it that all of them are protected.”


Makkuro stated this flatly as he cleared out his mind and readied himself for battle.
g.”

[Galihan]

It was rather fortunate that events were moving as they were within this meeting. Considering the deliberate effort on his part to incorporate Laetitia's previous remarks into his public declaration to silence any enemy to Soul Society, anyone with the slightest political sense should have been able to get that Tsuno was directing his attention towards Squad Nine. The sudden news forcing Laetitia and Zamaru to depart, leaving only Yokubari in attendance would hinder Squad Nine's ability to gain any momentum from further developments at the meeting. Even if he did appear to be a rather perceptive, cunning bastard that would normally be able to effortlessly manage his own machinations, the fact that Squad Nine appeared to be suffering from within would probably serve as a warm welcome for anyone else with their suspicions against them to step up their own pressure as well.

Of course, if anyone were only thinking about Squad Nine as a potential threat, then that person would clearly be anything but even remotely competent. Soul Society had a much more immediate threat before it in the form of the Horror Vacui, the likes of which nobody could ignore; even if Squad Nine were to be using the chaos and destruction that it brought as a shroud to hide its own schemes, even they would have to stand up with the rest of the squads if they had any intention of surviving in the long run. Any faction powerful enough to deal such heavy blows to the Soul Society directly while also coordinating the hollows into an immediate threat like never before could never be ignored. The second instance of interrupting Captain Saigotschuu only acknowledged that bitter truth even further. Kuatura was absolutely right in chewing the commander out in his outburst. If Irashi wasn't able to handle it on his own, what right did Yun have to think he'd fare any better?

They needed to be more cautious than ever with handling even the most seemingly small threat, so while Tsuno was generally against the idea of risking manpower to reinforce two of their own – given just how swimmingly that went last time – the fact that Hana was only surpassed by Minoru in what Squad Twelve was best at meant that they really didn't have a choice but to make sure that she got the reinforcements that she needed to stop the hollow incursion and solve whatever the hell sort of anomalies were going on life-side. Of course, clearly not everyone saw the need to make sure that Squad Twelve's 2nd most important assests made it out alright as as apathetically as Tsuno did – the moment Desmae had announced that Hana was under attack, you could almost immediately hear a quiet gasp of terror, followed by silent distress in the direction of Squads Four and Seven. It didn’t take a genius to guess who was responsible for that, hopefully she wouldn't do anything too reckless to try and save her friend. Squad Seven really couldn’t afford to lose another important member.

As the head captain had dismissed the bulk of those in attendance, Tsuno looked back, noticing just how distressed so many people appeared. Almost all of the vice-captains appeared to be in some sort of slump, particularly Yasuo and Iko, but even Makkuro appeared to be disheartened – nobody just accidentally bumps into Blokfalke without noticing him unless seriously out of it. Seeing the Squad Three captain like this worried Tsuno, not only as a fellow captain but also as a peer who considered himself a friend and equal even if Makkuro didn't realize it. Turning back, he accompanied Rin, Kaiba, Sagara, and this Kei person to face Yun for whatever it was that the new commander wanted – presumably some sort of specific task he'd require each of their particular talents for, or something sensitive that he'd rather not let someone like that Yokubari fellow catch wind of.


It wasn't a good sign when Hana managed to get himself in trouble. The boy was under most circumstances a godsend when you got right down to it, there really wasn't anyone else who Minoru could rely on to handle venturing forth into the unknown and coming back not only alive and well, but also usually with good results. The fact that Yun's rather humorously straightforward vice-captain made it clear that it was Hana who was holding the hollows off while he, despite being so determined to get himself killed in battle was left to call in for reinforcements, told just how serious the situation really had to be. Even if Hana was usually able to take care of himself, their encounter with Silence Cradle was fresh in Minoru's memory, reminding him that the boy was far from indestructible and would probably be overwhelmed eventually if it really was as bad as Desmae had insisted. Of course, if Minoru himself was concerned about Hana, he knew for certain that young Iko had to be freaking out over the thought of losing her closest friend, especially so soon after Ada and Lani having to replace Mouretsu – something that he was still unsure of considering how they handled back in the meeting.

The hardships Soul Society were facing were a terrible time for all these new captains to be so full of self-doubt and uncertainty. Was it really needed to be said that the most prestigious of shinigami needed to motivate their subordinates with confidence? Overhearing Makkuro plead his case to Kuatura, he felt compelled to approach the young captain and speak a piece of his mind once he got back from the battle if he was still going to continue thinking so lowly of himself.

[kensei]

Blah blah blah blah blah.. Did this man ever shut the hell up? Okay so he didn’t portray himself well enough the first time round so now he had to burst out in a manner that would have gotten Sagara yelled at and possibly kicked out of the meeting.. But Makkuro had “friends.” Makkuro was everyone’s faaavorite little choir boy.. It was obvious that he and Captain Rin where close, though he knew not the degree.. Couple that with the fact that from what he could tell Yun agreed with his idea, and even Captain Tsuno was jumping on board with his idea, there was almost no way to object to him. Not that Sagara even wanted to at this point.. No all he cared about right now was trying to get into Yun’s head..

He studied his movements, the way he leaned back in his chair, and leaned forward while covering any facial expressions. But right now he was tapping his finger against the top of his right hand as Makkuro went on in his boring little speech.. It meant… It had to be mean.. Of face facts! He had no god damn idea what anything Yun was doing meant! For all he could guess Yun was the type that had to keep his hands busy. He had known dozens of people like that, always had to be doing something.. In Yun’s position it was possible he just adapted so he didn’t look A.D.D. in front of all the other Captains. Who was he fooling; the man was a stone wall, impossible to read! No one had any idea what was going on in that brain of his, he was certain of that. As far as anyone could guess Yun was thinking about rainbows and ponies, and ice cream! Eeyup.

Things went on, people talked. But just when Sagara was about to completely tune out of the meeting something interesting actually happened. The meeting was interrupted by the knock at the door before it slid open and some Ninth division punk waltz in and complained about there lack of security measures. The event was almost enough to make one rush out of the meeting to join Laetitia and Zamaru on the hunt… But lets face it.. No one was going to go into Ninth division’s dungeons with Laetitia and Zamaru.. Sagara let his eyes travel back to Yun as the officer finished explaining the situation. To his great surprise he was actually capable of reading the doubt on his face, he didn’t quite know why this prompted doubt from the Commander General, but it did. And he was readable.. This proved Sagara’s theory! Yun wasn’t some stone wall that you had to look for the tiniest things to learn how to read, nope, he was just borderline A.D.D and had to constantly keep himself moving even in the confines of Captain meetings.

Laetitia and Zamaru left the meeting, and before one could ‘shazam alakazam on high’ Yun was interrupted again. This time he bore obvious annoyance, more proof to Sagara’s theory of him being easy to read if you didn’t look too hard. However, there came even more proof with the call, more then Sagara could have wanted.. His hand fell to the hilt of his Zanpakuto as Yun’s face grew colder and more serious.. It was obvious something had gone horribly wrong in the recon. Kuatura’s actions spoke of the fact that this feeling was shared amongst the room. Sagara listened carefully as Desmae was put on speaker. Though there wasn’t much information to go on, Sagara’s heart was already pounding.. No doubt under any other circumstance, and he knew Laetitia would have done it regardless, he would have laughed as Desmae created the static noise with his mouth.. He could envision him kneeling there with one hand cupped around his mouth as he made the noise. Hehehe.. It was actually a rather funny scene, no can’t laugh.. Lest everyone think you a horrible terrible person..

He had managed suppressed the desire to laugh right when Kuatura yelled at Yun. He had to admit, he was quite shocked, and rather pleasantly so, to see Kuatura stand up to Yun like that. Not only did it show that the Shingami DIDN’T have to follow Yun’s every word, it also made him rethink his idea that Kuatura was overtaxing himself to much and couldn’t function as he once did. The passion and reason behind his speech was undeniable, and Sagara agreed with every word practically. The Gotie 13 where just one bad move away from becoming extinct, the old ways had failed and it was time they questioned all there old tactics. Things had to change, lest they all fail. In this one moment Kuatura had won back all the respect Sagara once had for the man, and then some. He had been brave enough to push the truth of there situation and make it plain when so many tried to hide it away and pretend like things where still the same. Now he really did hope Captain Kaiba agreed with him on transferring the two dozen men to Tenth Division to help the man out.. He wanted him as an ally..

Sagara was ready to bolt out the door once the plan and meeting was finalized; however he stopped himself as he heard his name called. He looked over to Yun, and in a uncharacteristic moment of patience he waited for the room to clear out leaving only the five before speaking up. ”Sir. Should not either myself or Captain Katayama go to our division and start preparing our forces? Time is of the essence..” He knew he didn’t have to tell Yun that.. But it felt good anyway. ”At the very least allow me to send a hell butterfly.” He said as he stood there at attention.. Polite.. Have to be polite.. Have to get Yun to not hate you more then Ninth…

_________________________________-

Adala was thankful her sister was so forceful at times. She was a bit shocked with she had grabbed her hand and yanked her back to her seat. She watched as Leni let out a slight sigh before leaning over to her and whispering to her. “Good job setting his ass straight. I’m proud of you.” Despite her near breakdown in front of everyone moments ago, Adala was smiling, and slightly blushing as her sister complemented her. Leni always made her feel safe and secure, as well as gave her the strength to carry on.. Adala would never have made it this far without her pushing her on, that much she knew as a fact.

Adala had agreed so far with Makkuro’s proposal, and so despite Erik’s logical and clean argument against the idea, she still decided to settle with Makkuro. Though for now she decided not to voice her ideas anymore, and instead let Leni voice there ideas as was the status quo with the duo. For anyone looking it was probably clear why Adala had been rejected by Irashi as a possible Captain, she was timid and couldn’t really hold her own against others in a social environment. Leni had the charisma, courage, and confidence needed to become a Captain, but half of her Zanpakuto was sealed away with Adala’s existence. It was enough to make her wonder if she wasn’t around if Leni wouldn’t have passed the Captain’s exam back then.. But those where thoughts for another time.. She was Captain now, even if she would gladly have given it up to have Captain Arashi back..

She sighed slightly as she turned her head to look at her sister, whose gaze was fixed squarely on Captain Laetitia. The look in Leni’s eyes was obviously a challenging one, she wasn’t afraid of the Captain and she planned to make that known with her looks alone it seemed. Adala on the other hand.. That woman sent a chill down her spine like she had never known. Her heart went out to Captain Miyoko who had to sit by her at every meeting.. Adala didn’t know how the Captain managed to do it, especially considering she was in the same mental warzone Adala was in, and possibly even worse..

But luckily the scary dragon lady was done talking, and Captain Miyoko, or rather her Zanpakuto spirits, put forth a rather agreeable proposal. The three of them had been having tea together here lately, and the subject had come up in the past. Both herself and Leni had found the idea to be most promising, so it only made sense that the Captain bring it up formally now. Adala smiled as Iko gave tentative approval before looking at her sister and giving her the go ahead nod. Slowly Leni rose before looking all of the Captain’s in the eye, it seemed she was showing that Squad Seven wasn’t afraid to let itself be heard. Her challenging eyes coupled with the confident smile she turned eyes to Captain Miyoko before saying. “As Vice Captain Iko said, your proposal is most agreeable. It would be an honor to join forces with Squad Four in order to better administer combat aid where needed.” And that was all that had to be said, it wasn’t anyone else’s business if the two squads worked together better, and everyone seemed to understand that as no objections where raised.

The meeting progressed smoothly aside from a slight outburst from Makkuro from that point on. At least until the Ninth division member showed up. His presence made Ada slightly uncomfortable, as she didn’t like having more and more Ninth Division members in the same room as her. But the news he brought was far more unsettling then his presence. A possible escape of a dangerous criminal was the last thing they needed right now, so she was pleased when Laetitia and the rather nasty looking man that seemed to be Ninth’s Vice Captain left to take care of the situation. It must have been a strong prisoner to demand both of them, but to ere on the side of caution was smart in these trying times.

But it was only a few moments after the two left that the meeting was once again interrupted by the call from the recon group. The look on Yun’s face said it all, and Ada started to mentally prepare herself for what was about to be said.. The idea that the Horror Vauci could be attacking again was a horrible thought. Considering last time Arashi and Commander General Kazuma Irashi died in the attack, and countless others.. Her fears where best summed up by what Kuatura had to say. Though she was shocked at his outburst, it was far more called for then the one Sagara had done, so she didn’t get any motherly scolding instincts this time. Instead she simply sat there as he explained his plan.

As Kuatura finished explaining his plan, Leni stood, announcing Squad Seven’s battle plan. “I only have one small thing to add Commander. Blotfalke-sama, the combat branch of the Kido Corps and Squad Seven will be ready meat you at the emergency Senkaimon, along with myself and Adala. Captain Miyoko, I will have the defense branch report directly to Squad Four to aid and protect your combat unit. Despite the rushed nature of this joint force, I believe the situation calls for its immediate deployment. Vice Captain Yasuro, you will have our reserve forces at your command for the duration of this battle. The protection of Soul Society is of absolute importance, and some of our best members are in that force. Use them well.”

Perfect.. Leni had delivered the battle plan and introduction to the reorganization of Squad Seven that Adala had worked with Captain Arashi in the months before he passed flawlessly. After the Hueco Mundo incident, the two of them had decided to work on restructuring the Squad so that it would function better in times of crisis. Rank was now less based off your over all ability, and more on your specialization. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to say it was almost as if they had created three different divisions in doing so. But they where still a single unit, just more consolidated, making supporting different squads was a far faster and easier process now. Assuming no one rejected Leni’s battle plan, the two of them headed off to ready there squad.

______________

(OOC: Okay its 4 am and I gotta be up in five hours.. Soo blah blah blah, Zamaru wants people dead. He tries to follow Laetitia, and curses she is so much faster then him.. I’ll edit this section in when I can tomorrow.. and proof read.. Cause I don’t have time for that right now.. TBC!!!! )

[Zhiel]

OOC: Apologies about the late LATE reply, had connection issues most of the week (It kept going up and down, was able to get the pages I needed up yesterday but it went down again before I could post it), hopefully will be more stable now, also sorry if I missed someone, was a lot to keep in mind, if you need me to add more to the post later I will do that.

---

Erik had expected a great uproar following his own addition to the argument, partly because he was a new Captain and partly because he expected too many of them to not want to admit they had had such terrible inter-squad communication for as long as anyone could remember. The former Captain had told Erik that ever since the large great conflict many centuries ago, long before he himself had joined the Gotei 13 the rift between divisions had become increasingly larger and despite his own efforts to mend it the peace had made them lax... Some of it might only be the Captains own interpretation in regards to it all, though some truth was obviously there given how resistant people seemed to the very idea of cooperation even in this dire situation.

Still, the fact that there wasn't a great uproar and that the Commander General even seemed to like the idea (if his nodding was any indication, anyhow) gave Erik hope toward a brighter future for the Shinigami as a whole. He wasn't like many of those assembled, he had no ulterior motives or complex plans and machinations, like Makkuro he gave his sincere opinion. His argument had been better cooperation between the divisions, and his goal was better cooperation between the divisions which in turn would lead to fewer souls being lost to the enemy and just perhaps that they might win this so-called war. Of course he was more than aware he wasn't omniscient and that there were many things he did not know so he kept an open mind and continued to listen even as Laetitia took the floor.

The girl creeped him out, no doubt about that. Though his attention had been on the one speaking at the time his eyes had continuously been drawn back to the relatively new 9th Division Captain as she continued to scratch the blade in her lap the entire meeting. Erik had not had much contact with any of the leaders of Soul Society short of his Captain and Captain Miyoko but like anyone he had heard the rumors surrounding 9th Division and it's Captaincy and met enough of the Divisions members to know they were a breed of their own and many probably not right in the head. Sure he wasn't one to judge based on hearsay, but given the sheer volume surrounding 9th some of it had to be at least half true. Still, when she then agreed to what he assumed to be the idea of further cooperation he was taken aback, not having expected such from her and starting to reevaluate his previous judgment of the 9th Captain a bit, though that quickly changed when she suddenly drove her zanpakutou into the floor in front of her and changed the tone of her message in an instant.

Sighing at the whole display Erik was glad to be moving on from the still very creepy woman who made the hair on his neck stand as the embodiments of Miyoko's Zanpakutou spoke. Considering his lack of contact with other Captains until recently it would probably come as a surprise to some that he was actually somewhat familiar with Miyoko, the reason why wasn't anything spectacular in fact it was pretty embarrassing. Being the Vanguard of 8th Division it was inevitable that Erik would sometimes be overrun and wounded beyond the care of the regular Field Medics that the Division trained and so he was occasionally rushed to 4th Division on the brink of death. The first few times Miyoko had left before he had awoken, probably due to her introvert nature and him being pretty imposing (Something he wasn't about to deny) due to his size, but one time he had woken up during the healing procedure and though it had not exactly been the most social occasion it had probably been the reason for what he liked to believe to be a form of friendship. It probably wasn't possible to be friends in more common terms with the woman, but he believed that she was at least mostly comfortable with his presence which was more than one could say for some.

Yes he found her rather extreme nature weird, but during his nine hundred years of "life" he had seen plenty of stranger things and there was far worse personality trait a person could have, heck her neighbor around the table was a prime example of possibly the worst kind... From what he had heard the current seats had remained in this order since before the crisis, though why Miyoko hadn't asked to change seats with anyone outside the meetings for such a long time surprised him. He had to assume she didn't want to "cause trouble" by requesting it, even if it would at most be a minor inconvenience. Perhaps he should speak with the Commander General about this after the meeting, it would probably be better for them all if Miyoko could relax even if just a little more during the meetings. While thinking about this the suggestion for a joint operation between 4th and 7th was laid out and accepted and though he thought such a team might also benefit from a few combat experts he realized it would be hard to make such a team work efficiently as it was, especially during these trying times.

With the discussion between 4th and 7th over the attention turned to the Vice-Captain of former 1st Division who simply gave a questioning shrug while giving a sound reply at first, then making another dig at not receiving any support for his crippled Division. Though Erik had not been Captain for long he had been highly respected among the people of the Division and knew everyone who had been in 8th Division longer or almost as long as him and among them many had said they had applied for 1st Division but had been denied, as with many things probably due to the rather xenophobic attitude of the Nobles who didn't seem to realize that all souls originated from the same place... Of course it was possible they didn't want non-Japanese influences to spread within the seats of power, as it might challenge their own importance or function, but he wasn't a politician so he could only guess and speculate within his limited capacity. Either way he thought he might ask around and see if anyone within the Division were still interested as it was an important function, though he would keep this to himself until having done so as he didn't wish to force anyone to change Division by promising a transfer.

With everything out of the way Yun then took to thinking for a little bit, before deciding that nothing was to be done for the time being. Kind of odd, such long discussions and them not finding any solution? If this was how most meetings ended it was no wonder the Gotei 13 had remained unchanged for eons... Erik had been deep in thought when suddenly Captain Makkuro stood up and began speaking to the gathered leaders as a whole, chastising them for making hasty assumptions and making it damn clear that squad pride should have nothing to do with their decisions as well as agreeing with Erik's own suggestions. Of course it appeared Makkuro's original intention had been along the same lines of Erik's but he wasn't about to say he hadn't realized that, instead a smirk had grown on his face as he was quite amused by the rant. Though he had seemed pretty weak-willed at first glance it was clear Makkuro was anything but, and this gave him a lot of points in Erik's book. Who knew, maybe he'd even invite him over on a drinking binge one of those days!

Things were going quite well from Erik's understanding of a Captain's Meeting, and they seemed about ready to wrap things up when a knock was heard from the doors and shortly a member of 9th Division entered the chamber. The man looked remarkably ordinary which was a nice change of pace from the usual overly psychotic members he had the displeasure of meeting over the years but he guessed few started out that way... The message being delivered was somewhat worrisome, but as Laetitia herself went to deal with it he imagined things would settle down shortly. Erik was completely oblivious to the clear suspicion being directed at Laetitia from many of the assembled Captains and was instead happily waiting for them to move on. Of course just as Yun once again began to speak another interruption presented itself in the form of the cellphone/spirit radar device, it seemed the requested report had arrived.

In but a few moments the atmosphere changed to somewhat calm to extremely tense as it became obvious that something had happened on the other end and soon enough Yun turned on the phones speaker and asked Desmae to report directly on the number of the hollow invaders. From the sound of things all hell was breaking loose and it was likely the town in question was already lost. With the anticipation of battle in his mind he could feel the spirit of Fenrisúlfr rousing from his sleep deep inside him, the runes on the great axe on his side beginning to glow a faint blue. Still listening to the report he was actually surprised to hear that Hana was holding the hollows back while Desmae made the report, obviously there was more power in that little girl than one could anticipate and from the perspective of a large man like Desmae it must be excruciatingly painful to be protected by what appeared a little girl. Desmae was then ordered to remain until backup arrived but out of nowhere strange static noise filled the phone and it suddenly seemed to die, odd... He was about to ask if they thought something might have happened when Yun took center stage again for a few seconds until Kuatura "put him in his place" rather abruptly before going on a rant that was even more impressive than Makkuro's previous one. What the man said was the cold, hard truth and though it was actually quite terrifying to think of it (making it obvious why most seemed to ignore it) it was not too late to even the scales in Erik's mind. Of course he had always been able to keep a positive outlook, even after his disgrace and execution in life, it had been the only thing that had kept him from turning into a Hollow during those lonesome years.

Having his own idea shut down faster than you could say "burn" Yun asked for Kuatura's own plan and it seemed the man was truly more capable than he had ever suspected despite his overworked state, the plan he laid out was both logical and for once actually incorporated 8th Division in a true large-scale operation that wasn't squad-centric, allowing them to do what they were meant to. Erik could do little than smile as Yun gave the official order for him to assemble his Division and in a proper manner stood up and bowed to both Kuatura and the Commander General. "Yes sir!" He simply said, clearly enthusiastic and he was almost about to jump out of his seat when Leni, one of 7th Divisions joint Captains announced part of their Division would be joining Erik's at the gate. Taken slightly aback by this sudden revelation, even if it was a pleasant one he tried his best to reply in a calm fashion befitting that of a Captain "Very well Captain Leni, I will await you and your sister at the gate.". Erik nodded in agreement while responding before he stood up fully beside his seat as he retrieved a small device from one of his pockets which he then held to his ear. "Communications Officer Miguel, I need you to inform Sub-Divisions A to C, E, F and H to gather at the Emergency Senkaimon for immediate deployment, I will give a proper briefing once I arrive. Be advised that members of 7th Division will also be present, I want them to be treated as if they were our own." Erik said this in a clear and commanding tone which suggested experience which was partly true, gathering the different combat groups within the Division had sometimes fallen to him even if he had never done so during a joint operation, though leading them as the Captain would be something entirely new either way. Receiving a quick "Yes Captain!" from the man who was one of those in charge of communication between the many Combat Squads within the Division Erik cut the connection as he put the device back into his pockets while preparing to move out, just for someone to bump into him from the side.

Erik was a little surprised to find it was Makkuro who had done as such and had to wonder what was up with the man as he apologized. Erik could do little more than scratch his head as the man walked around him and exited the meeting chamber, still wondering how lost in thought the man must have been to bump into him just like that. Either way, he had his own duties to perform and so he collected the massive axe that was his Zanpakutou and the smaller (but still big for a normal sized man) longsword and attached both before leaving the meeting chamber with quick steps but waiting until he came out in an open area before he truly picked up the pace with a shunpo.

It was only a few minutes later that he arrived at the massive open area that were the location of the "Emergency Senkaimon", constructed for situations where proper procedures were simply not fast enough though if it were up to Erik they would always use it as it was far faster. Even though just a few minutes had passed he was not surprised to find that most of the members of each Combat Squad had arrived already, they and another set of squads had all been ordered on stand-by by the Vice-Captain since the Karakura incident, alternating in order to remain rested and ready in case of emergencies such as this. That and the members of his division had been hoping to make use of their talents for a long time, and so many were probably even happy about the whole situation. Naturally tense anticipation permeated the atmosphere as it always did before a looming battle but it was mixed with excitement, not fear which to Erik was a positive thing. It was always easier to keep focused on the objective if you weren't about to turn tail and run at the first hint of danger after all. Naturally he didn't expect many to remain quite as optimistic once he would deliver his short briefing... Erik returned his concentration to the world around him as he walked up to the large portal while observing the gathered individuals, noting every person who had yet to arrive on a mental check-list, they were late and would be happy to find restroom cleaning duties waiting for them if they didn't arrive soon. Standing before the large gate Erik turned to face the assembled men and women while he crossed his arms, and waited. Adala and Leni ought to arrive soon, and once they and their people did he would give the briefing and they would move out, regardless of who they were missing or not. The lives of their brethren were at stake.

[Darkoda]

The….well circus wouldn’t be very nice but really, this was just getting stupid now. Anyway, the meeting was interrupted by a member of the Ninth Division, which was sufficient cause for Rin to actually pay attention instead of shunting all of the work onto her zanpakuto spirits. Yun was most displeased, and like everyone, wanted to know just what kind of emergency justified interrupting the chaos – no meeting, it was a meeting.

Laetitia had a remarkably dark look on her face, and when the subordinate brought news of an escape…well, this was certainly the first time that Rin had ever seen the psychotic captain look panicked. Ah, this had to be remarkably bad for her to not be revelling in getting to hunt down and murder someone. She exited with her standard manner, but this was some food for thought. Maybe they would get lucky and something damning would occur to let them get rid of the woman.

Then just before the circus started again, another interruption came, this time from the team sent to the Living World. Things were far worse than they appeared, and most likely the Horror Vacui were at work again. Rin got ready, fully expecting Yun to mobilize the captains to deal with this before it got out of hand –

Kuatara’s interruption was enough to make her drop her bored façade and openly pay attention. She misjudged the vice-captain. He did bring up a valid point; as things were, the senior captains were needed to at the least, give some semblance of hope and security. It was bad enough now, if they were gone, Soul Society really would be screwed over.

She was a vital person to the stability of the universe as they knew it. That sounded like it should feel epic and special, not business as usual. Long story short, they had a working plan going and Yun wanted her for something or the other, likely a backup plan.

“Kang, get the combat forces ready to mobilize.” Rin had fully dropped the bored act, assuming her serious airs as she waited for what Yun had to say.

[GoldenKitten]

Say what you would about the previous Tenth Divisions old motion of secrecy, they had managed great technological strides forward by themselves. True if it had been up to them then they were the only ones who would have benefited from it, but fate had thrust the Dark Tower into the light, and with Yun now in charge he could ill-afford to be seen as hiding secrets...or perhaps sharing was just his way of seeding his own plans. Whatever the case one of the most useful creations to come out of the Division was the portable Senkaimon, for untold ages the creation of a gate outside of the seven permanent gates on that divisions grounds were the only way to leave Soul Society.

With the ability to open gates anywhere a full contingent could quickly respond to a situation within minutes, instead of arriving when it was to late to be of use as had far to often been the case previously. Of course there were complaints about security but the recent incursion of hollows and Arrancar suggested they had found a new way to bypass the dimensional walls regardless, something 12th Division was busy trying to figure out. Beyond that they didn't go giving everyone the proper permissions to request and create a gate, mostly the upper-ranks of the hierarchy, and even then only those that they knew wouldn't abuse them (though naturally this later amendment wasn't one Yun went around talking about). Still the argument raged about the dangers such careless movement between the realms could pose, but then change always brought divisiveness.

For now though it was serving its purpose admirably. Had the Deaths Hand been forced to move to the Third Division they could have tacked an extra fifteen minutes on their deployment time. As it was once the garden was cleared Kuatura held his blade up and siphoned energy through the necessary piece of equipment attached to the hilt of his Zanpakutou and a temporary gate just like those a Shinigami could call forth in the real world arose. Holding the gate open as he plugged in the proper “coordinates” through reiatsu manipulation he turned toward the group and yelled, “I don't know what we'll find on the other side but it doesn't matter, our job is stopping the hollow wherever they arise and that is exactly what we will do. Now GO!”

The Deaths Hand gave a mighty roar before they followed Akana into charging through the gate. As Makkuro came up from the back Kuatura held his hand up to stop him and waited till the last Deaths Hand was through then looked him straight in the eye, “You're my superior but you should know the Deaths Hand are weary about outsiders. My position has allowed me to cultivate some level or relationship with everyone in the upper-caste, so for now I ask that you leave their commanding to me. They may see your interjection as demanding, or worse see us as an uncombined unit. Well then, let's go.”

And as soon as Makkuro passed through the gate Kuatura pulled his blade out of the “hold position”, waltzing into the bright light just before the doors shut and the gate disappeared completely. What followed was a brilliant flash of light before they were released at their destination, since they had permission there was no “Passage” between the two points. Having utilized the coordinates Desmae had sent they were able to open a gate right outside of town instead of where Hana and Desmae had entered.

It was exactly as expected, calm and peaceful. Kuatura hadn't even bothered checking into the details before taking control, the location meant little to him but his experience with globetrotting for the Division allowed him to note geographical features unique to the Northwest United States. But while the landscape around them was one of utter stillness there were now signs of the danger just before them. One of the buildings in the small town before them had been utterly crushed with the indentation of a massive footprint being the cause. The perpetrator was nowhere to be seen but Desmaes message let them know that the foe was in fact right before them, Kuatura spent a minute considering who could possibly have had the technology to cover them up in full like this but it was not the time for such thoughts, they had a job to do.

Walking to the front of the group he spoke with his back turned toward them, “Makkuro I'll trust you to know where you can be of use. The rest of you spread out into groups of three at several meter marks along this line, and cover each other at all times. We can't see it yet but there could be anything in front of us; top priority is keep the enemy occupied until the Eight Division prepares to surround the town, if you see either of the Fukutaichous then aid them if they seem to be in trouble...otherwise continue with your-”

But his speech was interrupted by a loud wham, and then a deep yell which it took a minute to realize was of Desmaes pitch. Looking up a tentacle the size of a small building broke out of the barrier, seeming to end in mid-air where the apparent barrier began. At its very end it was twisted around the wriggling form of Desmae as it plummeted toward the ground. There was no time to stop it hit several meters from where any of them were standing, it instantly began to pull up but seemed to be having trouble. Taking quick stock it was clear that Desmae had his hammer in hand and had wedged it into the ground upon impact, forcing the tentacle to heave and pull futilely.

Kuatura unsheathed his blade and made his way toward the towering appendage but just as he arrived it finally ripped the man and his weapon, along with a sizable chunk of earth from the ground, into the air. But before it had the mens eyes had met and as the leader of the Deaths Hand along with the aggressors arm disappeared back behind the barrier he yelled out, “WOULD YOU GET THE FUCK IN HERE?!!!”

There was only the briefest pause at the absolutely absurd situation before he held his blade into the air and gave a mighty roar, edging the rest on. The Deaths Hand were some of Soul Socities best Hollow killers, there were better swordsmen or kido users out there in there particular divisions to be sure, but nobody had the visceral hands-on experience they did. Even some of the most skilled shinigami froze up in actual battle since being good in training and facing your own death were two entirely different things. But even in the face of certainly insurmountable odds the Deaths Hand charged right in without a second thought, Yun was a terrifying leader, whether this was a good or bad thing only time would tell.

Regardless what awaited them on the other side was beyond what Kuatura had expected. One large tentacled hollow lay on the ground but despite bleeding gratuitously from multiple wounds and missing limbs it was still flailing about on the ground, a second even larger hollow which was the one holding Desmae in its grasp was thrashing high above. Quick eyes could spot Desmae being spun around but even so he was still raising his hammer and smashing the appendage over and over, it looked like it might give at any moment. He almost missed Hana, only catching a flashing glimpse of her as she slit the creatures backside causing it to roar and spin about, but by the time it did so she was long gone and Kuatura himself had lost sight of wherever she was.

But that wasn't what worried him, he himself had dispatched several large hollows solo before. They were dangerous, and the town was almost without a doubt a lost cause, but they could be beaten especially with backup having arrived. No it wasn't them, it was the number of smaller hollows present, dozens were digging their claws into the larger hollows and climbing up toward Desmae and presumably Hana. Similiarly an almost impenetrable blanket of hollows in all shapes was covering the downed behemoth though if they were cannibalizing it, helping it, or whatever else might defy his logic he had no clue. But that was nothing, Desmae hadn't even scratched the surface of what they were facing.

All it took was one look over the forward battlefield to see a moving, writhing, landscape of white hills behind them. But it wasn't the white sands that existed within blowing in the wind, uncountable red and yellow eyes peered back from the living dips and valleys. He couldn't tell from where but it was quite evident that with every passing moment more of the beasts were vomiting forth from the Earth, adding to the already fearsome numbers. So far he didn't sense anything near the strength of one of the Horror Vacui but numbers could be troublesome on their own, especially when it came to containment, this number of hollows simply could not be allowed to leave the local area for the world at large.

As he held his blade down and called to it, “HARUT MARUT!”, he watched the Deaths Hand charge into battle before him, many engaging smaller beasts that had taken note of them by now and were moving in their direction. He sincerely hoped the 8th Division was prompt in their preparations, this small group could keep them occupied but even with Makkuro, Hana, and himself on their side it wasn't something they could do all day...especially if those numbers didn't stop exploding soon.

[Wanzer]

Such things were never meant for the eyes of mortal men, which is why it was a good thing that neither the members of Death’s Hand, Makkuro nor Desmae and Hana. Each and every one of them was a Shinigami, a Death God so to speak. In this land they were the universal rulers whom did but one job which had been decreed to them since the dawn of their existence. They aided those whom could not help themselves and fought back a force of entropy, such feats were beyond the comprehension of those of mortality, yet…he often wondered whom was the higher ranking of the two. Sure, the Shinigami were powerful beings and they fought constantly with strength that humans could never possibly understand, yet whom was subservient to who? It seemed obvious to him that as a Shinigami, his job was to protect humans, ensure that the cycle of reincarnation never broke and that their lives were peaceful, calm and serene to the best of his ability; however, was that really the right way to go about things? A question like this would have plagued him during a battle with a Arrancar or other hollows if the circumstances had been the usual, but now…no such thought plagued his mind.

All apprehension, all thought and all manageable processes went immediately onto auto pilot, no thought went to breathing, no thought went regulating his muscle functions. He just began to move, reacting on the instincts and impulses that were flowing through him readily without so much as a single neuron firing off at his discretion; the toned, tightened muscles of the ‘farmer’ Captain knotted up rapidly, seething with the flow of lactic acid around them, but was ignored immediately, he had no time to be curious over his natural functions, no time to really think on what exactly he was doing, he just had to make sure that Desmae and Hana along with the members of Death’s hand did not come to harm. Looking forward he could see it, see the writhing mass of hollows spreading out of the remains or soon to be remains of their gigantic octopus-like companion; had this been any other situation, Makkuro’s curiosity over the creatures exact form would have found him hovering over to analyze the situation better, but lives were hanging in the balance and such negligence would only lead to the deaths of those he wished to protect. Despite, knowing neither Hana nor Desmae personally, they were his comrades, they were part of the diminishing race of Shinigami who could actually be dispatched into battle, for that very reason they became special to him. The men beside him, those of Death’s hand, those who came as members of the Gotei Thirteen alone and even those whom were unaffiliated with his own division…they were all the same in his mind. All of them were shinigami, they were all of a proud order and they were all family to him now and families, regardless of their differences always had each other’s backs.

Dread vanished and the emotions of doubt that had presided over Makkuro’s form only moments prior had faded, even the words that Akana uttered were of little precedence to the male at this point. His head turning towards him as they stepped through the gate, a sort of lackluster gaze having managed to borrow its way into his hazel colored eyes, a smoky glaze having filmed over the man’s countenance as a response grew on his lips. As usual, the man’s voice was polite and exuded the tone that he was known for and made many mistake him for a suck up; however, there was power in his voice this time around and when it was coupled with the growing force of his reiatsu from behind him, it made one think about what he had to say. “As you wish Akana-sama, your men are your own to command. I’ll provide cover and do what I can to prevent the horde from spreading into the ranks of Death’s Hand, Hana and Desmae are my primary concern at the moment though as I’ve been assured that the combat prowess of your men is capable of holding out for a good deal of time. God Speed and be safe.” The Captain finished before casually swiping the dust up at his heels and pushing his blade from his sheathe. While it was true he was probably the least experienced of the Captain’s when it came to combat, he was still a Captain and that meant being clearly more powerful than most others around him. While there were lieutenants, seated members and even people like Akana whose prowess in battle and knowledge had surpassed his, but that didn’t matter when they couldn’t withstand any of the onslaughts he brought down on them.

Acknowledging the fact that he had no time to be depressed over his previous failures, the Captain of Squad three entered the fray without so much as a warning to those around him. His reiatsu stretching out like a sea and igniting into a pillar that simply dwarfed almost everyone else’s in the region; his first concern was to get to Desmae and give the male as much aid as possible, regardless of if he wanted it or not. This was no longer some petty squabble between him and single hollow or arrancar, this was an all out war that was going to leave this plain drenched in the blood of numerous fallen. It was something vile and utterly repulsive to him; however, the time for all of that was over, war was war and it was either fight or die in these situations. Should he find himself colliding with a creature with enough power to be his equal, then maybe he could speak to them on a level tone, but not with all of this blood shed going on around him…it just couldn’t be done today. Exhaling once, he could smell it, the freshly spilled oxidized iron that gushed through everyone’s veins; it was an utterly putrid scent that had no right to exist, but…it would infect all of them and they would leave stinking of it by the time this was over. In flash, Makkuro appeared by Desmae’s side, the Captain glancing around rapidly trying to take it all in and understand what exactly was happening before him, but it was of little use. All he could see was a multitude of hollows dashing around, clawing, scrapping at their former comrade, blood coating their talons, the red liquid smeared about with little thought to what was occurring around them, or maybe it was part of some hideous plan. Regardless, Makkuro couldn’t exactly fathom what was going on around them, he just had to simply watch and listen like everyone else and that helpless feeling began to wash over him anew, at least it was until he struck out heavily.

The air around the Captain began to crackle rapidly as he turned his head to face Desmae, obviously a hado was charging up in his hand and being prepared for cast. “Desmae-san…if you would be so kind, could you fall back in with the Death’s Hand group, namely sticking near them and fighting in conjunction with them. If you have a problem with this, then you may be dealing with me babysitting you during your fighting, seeing how it is my job to protect everyone here.” Glancing toward the horde of hollows now traveling towards them, the Captain felt that the best course of action would be to eliminate as many of them as possible; his body relaxed for a moment as the incantation slipped from his lips, the lightning based blast of power exploding from his hand and aiming to slice through the horse that was powering its way towards them. “Hado Number Eighty-Eight, Hiryūgekizokushintenraihō!” The Captain called out and without a moments notice a massive burst of reiatsu, crackling with electricity powered its way forward towards the hordes of hollows. Hoping that the blast would do a great deal of damage to the horde that was disconnected from the charging horde, his idea was to draw in as many hollows to himself, then to seal him away with his crystals from his release.

“Desmae….scratch what I just said…stick close to me. This isn’t a command, this is a request…I want to run containment on the mass of hollows surrounding us. That way we can keep most of the hollows away from the main force of our attackers, doing so will allow us to easily pick of the hollows that are uncontained, then annihilate those remaining once we’re finished.” Makkuro stated simply as he kept his eyes leveled on the battlefield around him, keeping his blade clutched in hand.

[kensei]

The walk back to the Squad headquarters was a long and depressing one. Ada’s mind couldn’t help but be riddled with doubts as this was her first battle commanding the entire Squad. “Hey Leni..” She said as she looked down towards her feet, feeling the begging of tears forming in her eyes. “You know, the week after Tokyo was going to be our third Captain’s test..” Her mind flashed back to the Tokyo battlefield, the place they had lost Captain Arashi, and Commander Irashi, along with so many others. She couldn’t help but wonder how she was suppose to protect her Squad, not to mention Squads Four and Eight, when she had failed to even protect Cpatain Arashi?

She couldn’t hold the tears back any longer as the sight of Captain Arashi’s burnt body laying on the ground and that Espada’s grin came flooding back to her.. All she could do was shield herself from the flames and intense heat. So much hatred and fear was being attached to the Horror Vacui these days it almost seemed like the rest of Soul Society had forgotten the terror that was the Espada. But Adala would never forget Arashi’s killer, his blonde hair, twisted emerald eyes, and sadistic smile plastered across his face. She could still his cold laugh in the back of her head, mocking her as he simply stared her down, cowering behind her Zanpakuto with tears in her eyes. She had been so pathetic he simply walked away, not even considering her worthy of a fight.. What was the point of having Bankai when all she could do was cower in fear? How could she ever be expected to lead when she couldn’t even move in the presence of an Espada? Even when he had turned his back to her, all she could do was stare at the three tattooed across his shoulder. With every advantage to her she couldn’t even move a muscle.. She truly was pathetic..

The embrace she remembered so well, the one she had felt all her life was once again upon her. Leni’s light frame pressed tightly against her as her fingers softly stroked her hair, while her other hand whisked the tears away from her eyes. Her soft voice rang in her ears with the beauty of an angel’s as she whispered. “It’s okay Ada..” Her vision was still blurred, but she could see her sister was struggling to find the right words to say to her.. As she figured out what to say to her, she took a step back and placed a hand onto Ada’s cheek, smiling softly as she said. “Remember when we first got into the academy? We promised that no matter what would happen we would be together, that one day we would become Captain’s together, lead together.. Well we finally made it.. And right now we can’t be filled with doubts. We have to be strong for those under our command. Otherwise how can we lead them into battle?”

A sigh escaped her lips, she knew Leni was right.. She could no longer act like this.. But how was she going to change? All her life she had relied on Leni’s strength, she had always been counting on her to take care of her.. The only thing Ada had ever been good at was Kido.. Calling her a prodigy was probably a stretch, but her skills in binding Kido was unmatched even by Captain Arashi. Leni was stronger and faster then her, to the point where she could have easily fit into other combat divisions. This alone plagued Ada, as she could only imagine how much better her sister would have fitted in with the other Squads had it not been for her.. But yet she couldn’t be a shingami alone.. She had practically forced Leni into Squad Seven because of it. She often wondered if Leni would have been better off if she gave her, her half of there Zanpaku-to and retired from being a shingami long ago..

Her sister tugged on her arm, dragging her along as they made there way to the Squad headquarters once again. She gave one last sniffled as she whipped her eyes on the sleeve of her oversized Haori, pausing as she brought her arm down to stare at it, remembering the burden of responsibility this single article of clothing came with. She inhaled deeply before looking at her sister and smiling slightly, trying to remain determined and not show any weakness. Leni pushed open the large wooden doors that marked the entrance to the Squad. Trying to remain confident Adala walked through, and the two made there way down the long stone walkway.

The scent of cherry blossoms filled the air as the beautiful trees lined the entire path. The air was filled with sounds as dozen’s of members practiced there Kido in the further off area’s. The two stopped once they reached a wide open courtyard large enough to have the entirety of Squad Seven standing in it. Leni started to softly whisper an incantation before thrusting her hand into the air. “Hadou 13!” A golden ball of light flew into the air, moving over 100 meters above them before exploding in a wonderful display that could be seen all across the Division. It was a rather weak Hadou, but its entire use was to summon the Squad whenever they had a meeting. And in this it worked beautifully as the entire Squad flocked to the gathering point in less then two minutes.

Squad Seven may have been able to be called many things, but disorganized was not one of them. The Squad was broken up into three different bodies; each one having a different purpose, Hadou, Bakudo, and the reserve unit. They where arranged in rows, four members abreast, at the front those most skilled in the group, and at the back the least skilled, and in front of the first row stood the current most skilled of them all. Normally in a gathering like this Iko-san would have been placed in front of the Bakudo group, however with her being with Yun at the moment the Third Seat had taken her place, fifth seat stood in front of the Hadou group, and fourth in front of the reserve unit. The entire design was based to make each group equally skilled and powerful, and in that regard it was proving to work beautifully.

Leni took a step forward from Ada’s side and looked the members of the Squad in the eye, standing in silence for a moment before she began. “Unfortunately we have limited time so I will make this as frank and clear as I possibly can. An enemy force has appeared in the Human world, current estimates are sketchy at best, but they are known to number over one hundred at the very least. The enemies we are dealing with seem to have great strength. It is unknown if this is an attack by the Horror Vacui or some other force, but either way we will be deploying to the front lines to support Eighth Division. Given the nature of this encounter Captain Adala and I shall take charge of the Hadou group to accompany Eighth Division into the front lines. Bakudo group is to report to Fourth Division where they will be placed under Captain Miyoko, the reserve unit is to report to Fifth Division and will follow the commands of Vice-Captain Funanori. I expect you all to treat there commands as if they where my own! Seventh Division does not allow insubordination in the ranks and that applies to all join operations as well!’

“That said..” She smiled slightly in order to ease the tension amongst the division members. “You will all be representing the Division today, I expect you all to do your best! Show them that we have as much to repay those bastards for as any other division!” She unsheathed her Zanpakuto and thrust it into the air as she raised her voice once again. “Shi Made!” She shouted as loud as she could, and in unison the entire Squad unsheathed there Zanpakuto’s and thrust them into the air, resonating the battle cry.

Ada couldn’t help but look at her sister with admiration as she stood there, shining in front of all the soldiers with such confidence. Leni wasn’t a shingami.. No, she was something more, she was a Valkyrie. A Death God still, but the title of shingami just wasn’t enough to describe her beauty and power, the entire Squad looked to her as there Captain, she was the one that they trusted to lead them into battle. She was the lance that struck deep into there enemies heart, and Ada was the shield that kept them from death. That was the way it was, that was the way it had to be. A shield couldn’t have any weakness in it or it would fail to protect, and as such, she had to be strong enough to be the division’s shield, and more importantly, her sister’s. Whatever doubts she had about herself she had to shed, otherwise this whole operation may well fail.. With a slight tug of her Haori, Ada’s eyes burned with determination and pride, she would not fail again.

[kensei]

…Shi Made…..[/color] Till Death…. How many of them would find the end of there service on the field of battle this day, she wondered. How many souls had she just ordered to there end? Was there no end to these conflicts? Had they not lost enough men to satisfy God’s twisted bloodlust? How many more of her friends would she have to order to defend the Shingami order? And if they kept falling at this rate… Then what would be left to defend? The pain she felt in her heart as she knew she would not see many of these faces again burned like a fire, engulfing her faith and hope.. But yet, she could not show it. She could not show her sorrow of the deaths to come, or her fear of the battle ahead.. No.. She was cursed with keeping up this strong façade, this hollow mask of courage for all her soldiers to see. After all, was that not why they called it the “burden of command?”

But underneath this mask she had adorned, Leni’s very soul cried out for comfort, to have a pillar of her own to lean on when all of them leaned upon her. Her eyes of captured snowflakes turned there gaze upon her twin sister, hoping to find the comfort she desired there. But alas, fate had cursed her in even that regard. Her sister stared into her eyes, brimming with the same hard headed confidence she had whenever the duo would face an insurmountable challenge. The confidence she professed to obtain from Leni’s own actions, and from the word’s she spoke. Even now, when her spirit was about to crack, she had to support her sister, to server as the medium for which her strength to travel..

With an inward sigh, and a tearless cry, she hollowed out a cheap smile as she looked into the same snowflake eyes as her own, feeling the warmth of a summer breeze behind them that was Ada’s very nature. She envied her.. Ironically, she envied her little sister, she wished she could have been the insecure one, the one who didn’t have the confidence to lead, despite having more then the power and capacity for it. No one had ever seen what Ada was capable, not even herself, and that was the true tragedy of there lives. She was so much stronger then anyone could see, it was her will that had dragged them this far, her smile no matter what was a shield no weapon or horrid circumstance had ever been able to break.. And for that smile to continue, she had to persevere, to hold true to this path of war, and lead them home, and take the burden of death off of Ada’s shoulders where ere possible.

And it was with the acknowledgement of this gift and curse that came from her sister’s comfort that Leni lead herself and her group of combat specialists towards the gates of Eighth Division. A force of two-hundred and fifty strong stood before the great gates of the Division, and upon there arrival the massive wooden doors where opened, ushering in the long range fighting force of this operation. Elsewhere a group of around a hundred would be gathering with Fourth Division, and another group of seventy-five with the Fifth Division. In truth this was the first assault in which Seventh would be deployed to the front lines of combat, for the last two engagements Seventh Division had seen minimal combat, and as a result, minimal losses. It had only been in the Tokyo incident that they suffered there first deaths of the war, but that sorrow was a fresh wound in every member’s heart now, and they would exact there pound of flesh for it on this day.

It hadn’t taken long since there arrival for Leni to locate the massive Shingami that had taken command of Eighth Division. The behemoth Erik Blotfalke, a Shingami who she had heard was as feared as any enemy upon the battlefield, a man who ran mad with bloodlust they said. A rumor Leni hoped whole heartedly was a fabrication, for as much her Division’s safeties, as the man’s own. The man stood there, towering above his men and giving explicit instructions as the Division readied itself for combat. It was truly a sight to behold as the tiny woman warrior approached him, not at all intimidated by his stature or presence. She carried herself with such a fire that any who saw wouldn’t doubt she was this man’s equal. Her eye’s locked with his as she gave a salute, speaking in the same tone she would when commanding her own men, how he decided to take the tone, well that would be up to him. “Squad Seven, reporting to your command Blotflake-sama. I acknowledge your seniority and you as the head of this operation, please give us our orders Sir!” Perhaps a bit too formal in all honesty, to the point it may have come across as slightly hostile, though that was far from the intent. In truth it was jut the jitters of a new command, hopefully he saw it as such.

[Zhiel]

OOC: Sorry for the delay [insert excuse here]
Dark, if you have any problems with the second portion of the post just contact me via IM or PM, or if you want to discuss how to move it along. The second portion is something that's likely going to play out slowly for now, so no rush in you getting a response to that ready anytime soon.


As the active force of 8th Division assembled Erik stood before them gazing out over the large open grounds. Overall 8th Division was a well-oiled machine, they just had a few kinks to work out as most did not have more than training to go on for how to act in situations like these. With little to do but wait at the moment Erik took the moment to reflect on the Divisions past, once long ago, before the previous Captains time they had been a great Division of nearly unrivaled worth to the Gotei 13, but ever since the previous Captain had begun to argue the way in which those who weren't of Japanese descent were often passed over in favor of less skilled but "pure" souls... Whether it was because the basis for Soul Society had begun with the Japanese or that the Japanese had somehow developed after Soul Society (Subconscious memories from "previous lives" emerging as dreams were not unheard of) was impossible to say without extensive study. However the fact remained that people who weren't of Japanese Origin (a very small minority of all souls) were often ignored if not outright discriminated against. As a result of his Captains stance on the matter most of the "outsiders" who passed the Academy were shuffled into his Division and they became less and less relied on over time... According to the Captain it was not really the fault of the previous Commander General, who could do little when faced with the entirety of the Central 46, a collection of stubborn nationalistic nobles who had never had a proper hardship in their lives. Hopefully with the change of leadership (and the looming war) 8th Division was actually given the chance to prove their worth once more. Peace was always preferable to strife, but Erik couldn't help but feel that if Soul Society persevered it would be due time for a proper reform.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the sight of the gate opening behind the assembled Division, being as tall as he was had more than a few perks. Erik began barking orders to the assembled combat squads, getting them to create a wide opening allowing the members of 7th Division clear passage to the front of the group. After about a minute Ada and Leni, the Captains of 7th Division had come up before him with a large portion of their Division in tow. Leni, the one of the two sister Captains who seemed the most reliable and determined walked straight up to him and locked eyes with him, he could tell she truly had a fierce determination to her but at the same time he couldn't help but feel there was something else there as well. After giving a quick militaristic salute the young woman began to speak in a tone that could be taken as commanding or at a stretch even hostile, though Erik knew better than to make such leaps of logic. It wasn't as if he was all too comfortable with being in command as well, and he had almost 500 years of being a Shinigami, half of which he had spent in indirect tutelage to the previous Captain. To top it off, right now was probably the worst possible time for the new Captains themselves, but at the same time the most vital for Soul Society.

“Squad Seven, reporting to your command Blotflake-sama. I acknowledge your seniority and you as the head of this operation, please give us our orders Sir!”

Erik gave a short friendly chuckle in response while bowing slightly to show he didn't consider himself above her. He couldn't help but feel the addition of words such as "-sama" didn't fit well with his old Norse name. Sure he could have adapted his name to the standards of Seireitei, but there were simply too much attached to the name for him to simply give it up. In life he had fought for what his people considered the greatest honor, even if he recognized it was petty squables now. "We're all equals, Captain Leni. For this battle you may need to follow my lead but who knows what the future holds? I'm sure we will all learn much in the coming days. For the sake of simplicity, please call me Erik." He said in a friendly but also determined tone of voice before giving an acknowledging nod to Ada as well, to show that his words also corresponded to her. After speaking Erik took one final sweep of the assembled masses before he bellowed loudly "Open the Senkaimon!", after which he gestured for Leni and Ada to follow him as he walked up beside the large gate that was being prepared before turning back to the members of both seventh and eight Division and spoke loudly once again as to be heard across the whole area. "As you may know a situation has arisen in the living world, Hollow are massing in a town and we need to contain them. Whether this is related to the Arrancar or not is unknown at present so stay on your guard. You will form into six main groups, four defensive groups will each cover a quarter of the perimeter, while the two remaining groups will act as a mobile defense, fortifying any areas that is in risk of being overrun. If the situation calls for it we will begin an offensive and push into the area, but until I give the order to do so stay on the perimeter. You already know how to form the groups, I will leave it up to Captain Ada and Captain Leni to decide whom from their Division is most suited to join which group."

After giving the briefing and telling them of how it would be organized he turned to Leni and nodded for her to speak, and after waiting for her to give her decision turned back to the crowd and raised his right arm. "First group, enter the Senkaimon!" He shouted just as the portal opened fully, and after but a minute every member of the first group had entered, shortly followed by the second after the end-coordinates of the portal had changed slightly, followed by the third and another change in coordinates, up until the fifth group had passed through the portal and only Erik, Leni, Ada and a couple of people from either Division remained and Erik gestured for them all to enter. "We are the sixth group, a mobile Command and the first line of defense whenever possible. We will attempt to prevent the bulk of the enemy from reaching our perimeter. Any questions before we head out?".

On the field a Senkaimon opened outside the barrier surrounding the town in each quarter, one at a time as the large groups exited and began to set up their defenses just inside the barrier, soon having completely surrounded the town while the fifth group split into two smaller groups to cover both halves more easily. While the strategy was not particularly advanced or complex it was the fluidity that it was performed in that would have you amazed, the communication between the squads and wihin the squads themselves were second to none, there were no wasted chatter and everything deemed important was reported. Once they arrived Erik looked at a small radar-like device that showed the locations of each squad leader and the communications officers out on the field and nodded to himself, satisfied things had worked out perfectly so far. Still, the sight of the massive horde of Hollow, not to mention MANY huge ones had him wondering how they would avoid sustaining a large number of losses... He had to put such thoughts out of his head right now however, now he was a Captain, a leader of men and so he had to act like one. "This is Erik Blotfalke, 8th and 7th Division has arrived and our defensive perimeter has been set-up." He reported over the comm before he began to walk toward the battlefield, his eyes scanning it for the first sign of attack against the defensive perimeter.

-

The time had come, only one thing remained... Kalverian Kehieleth, former Vasto Lorde and now a parasite living in the soul of Zhiel Azerin had prepared for this day for many years now, waiting for the right opportunities, putting plans in motion and making sure they succeeded. Everything had gone as predicted and he had even gained the most intriguing of subordinates in the process. And yet it was still not enough... Something was missing, but what?

Over the past year Kehieleth had used Azerin's body to hunt and consume spirits, hollow and lowly shinigami, corrupting their very essence and adding it to his own with his growing power, eventually he had gained enough power to draw the reborn pieces of his shattered soul toward a singular point in Finland, an area far from the Shinigami's eyes and with the aid of Death, the "leader" of the Horror Vacui he had remained undisturbed as he harvested the spirit particles of all those who died in the city as it broke out into a complete warzone under his influence. They might not have known it, but the Shinigami that tried to bring peace to the area and close the dome-like Garganta that cut the city off from the rest of the world was only furthering his own goals and it did not take long for him to have collected a large part of the power previously lost to him. It was just a short while after this that the incident in Tokyo took place, and though Kehieleth had no large hand in it he accomplished what he had set out to do; namely announce his return to Yun, the man who had destroyed his previous form a century ago.

After this Kehieleth returned to his former seat of power, the war-ravaged Citadel at what he believed to be the center of Hueco Mundo that had been covered in a maelstrom of deadly reiatsu and sandstorms for over five thousand years. Sitting upon the crumbled throne of obsidian Kehieleth concentrated his mind inwards, drifting off into a trance as he began to store the power he had attained into the very core of his being, preparing himself for the next step of his plan. The reason he had chosen such a desolate place was quite simple, he could not afford to be disturbed and the maelstrom provided perfect protection from the mindless hordes of Hollow that would otherwise flock around such a nexus of reiatsu, which was the second reason for him being there. All the death and destruction and unleashed power that once created the maelstrom itself was also generating a massive amount of power that those with enough experience and skill could tap into if given the opportunity. Weeks later he emerged from the storm and traveled deeper into the white desert, exactly what he sought was anyones guess but not long after he had either found it already or had given up as he stood before a massive quartz tree within the depths of the Menos Forest that was the home and fortress of the Vasto Lorde Reina Nightshade and her 'Maestro'.