Application: Kisara Reizei
“... And there you have it.” Kisara twirls her Zanpakutō swiftly between her fingers until the pommel is millimeters away from the Plus’s forehead. “Sunset. You promised me you’d be ready to go at dusk.”
The Plus boy nods, lips twisting into an unsure frown. “I did…” Rays of sunlight drift through the small child’s ghostly apparition. “I-I’m still a lil’ scared, Ms. Soul Reaper.”
“And that’s not your fault, is it?” Kisara only smiles. “You’re fine as you are.”
To dismiss his worries would be heartless, but to encourage it would be cruel. There are things beyond his control that he does not understand yet. One day, he will find the answers he seeks - one day, he will understand why his home is in the Soul Society. But for now…
“You deserve to rest,” Kisara urges, voice gentle. “You’ve been through enough.” As they all have. As he will continue to. Kisara thinks he understands this when he finally meets her eyes, gaze unwavering.
A light more blinding than the sun illuminates on the surface of her pommel. The Plus lifts himself up on his tippy toes so his forehead can press against the Konsō.
“... Thank you, Ms. Soul Reaper.”
Small and hopeful is the spark he reduces to, floating upwards into the sky he once longed to reach. Kisara’s smile softens as she lingers until she can no longer see him.
Green leaves dance in the air, whisking Kisara along with them. In a blink of an eye, Kisara is gone too.
The evening air is refreshing as she glides across Karasu river. These past few days have been a welcome change of peace; the 13th Division was on high alert for anything out of the ordinary from the human world. Though the blood from Karakura Town and Naruki city has been wiped clean and contained and though Karakura Town is just recovering from a recent invasion from the Arrancars, they could never trust to let their guard down. What if there were phantom reactions they didn’t account for? Side-effects their trained eye just
couldn’t see?
High-level threat detection is the basis of the 13th Division. If they could not do the bare minimum, then they are dead weight. Nothing more. Less than less.
Kisara tips her rice hat towards her chin, translucent curtains dancing in the wind. She can hear them - the patrolling unit just a minute away, congregated in Karakura’s shopping district. They must have finished their perimeter checks too, judging from the lackadaisical tune she can feel from their reiryoku. She finds the patrols stationed atop a rooftop, chatting amongst themselves.
“Aimi, Akane,” Kisara greets the two Shinigami she is most familiar with. The other four nod their heads in acknowledgment of her, to which she smiles. “Sorry to make you all wait for me. Find anything interesting?”
“Mmm-mmm,” Aimi waves her hand in dismissal, an answer Kisara expected. “No Arrancar activity, no Gargantas suddenly tearing open the sky. All good for today.”
“I was at Gakuenchou and Mitsumiya like you said, Kisu-chan, and I found nothing out of the ordinary either.” Akane grins. “We get to go home earrrlyyy~”
That’s right. Kisara had suggested they each take two districts rather than dividing into two groups of three. She finds that the division members function better when working with pieces of a whole - it’s easier to ascertain a goal, and easier to focus.
Kisara stretches, walking towards the edge of the rooftop as the other Shinigami prepare a Senkaimon. The height of the building provides a vantage point of the city. The sun has long set since her interaction with the Plus.
Kisara pauses, stunned.
What the hell?!
“Well then, let’s get the Senkaimon opened and ready–”
“Not yet!” Kisara exclaims and quickly pushes off the edge of the rooftop with shunpo. She reappears in the office of the building they stood upon, finding nothing but desolation. Reappearing outside where the other Shinigami have assessed the situation, Kisara’s warm, easygoing nature slowly shifts into high alert.
“Keep your wits up. Feel anything off?”
Everywhere and all at once, silence blanketed Karakura town, snuffing out the life that once walked. Humans had disappeared in just a blink of an eye, all under their noses. How had they missed it? How had Kisara not felt something was
off?
Closing her eyes and tuning out the worried cries of the patrolling unit, she extended the reach of her reiryoku sensing any sign of song. Any flicker of something existing, even the slightest of sounds. Are there any humans unaffected? That should be the number one priority, yet there’s nothing but the Shinigami around her. Nothing but the…
There. Coming from all around. They thought they could hide, but she can hear what their reiryoku sing for her at the very edges of Karakura Town.
16. 17. 18…. 20? 21? More. What a vicious song.
Interesting - they’re not rimming the edges as individuals. There are a few gathered at every intermediate direction, with an abundance at Northern Karakura. What’s more…
Their positioning is shaped like a star.
“Do you feel them? We’re not alone.” Of course, they wouldn’t be. “Don’t panic and listen carefully-”
“
Don’t panic?!” One of the Shinigami exclaim. He haphazardly flashsteps a few paces down the road, breaths heavy and wanting. Thrusting out his sword into the open space, he cries, “I’m opening a Senkaimon back to the Soul Society and reporting this! This is way beyond us - Yori, Kameyo, with me!”
“Wait,” Kisara forces her voice to remain level, gesturing for the other group to stay with her. Aimi and Akane seem uneasy, but they relent, trusting in her calm demeanor. She can feel their adversaries drawing nearer, and can hear their intent to ready their weapons. “Right now isn’t the time to be panicking. We need a
plan - they’re going to attack us.”
The song of intimidation shifts into a song of bounty.
Yori and Kameyo rush towards the panicked Shinigami. “Whoever did this is probably strong as fu-”
“Aimi, Akane!” She thrusts out her hand. “Behind me!”
A ray of energy -
no, that would be incorrect. It’s not a ray - it’s a
barrage, an onslaught raining down on them. It’s far too late for the panicked Shinigami, but with a single point of Kisara’s finger manifests a shield formed in front of her and the surviving Shinigami.
Thud. Droplets of blood. Choked cries of pain. The three Shinigami who had separated from them fall to the ground, arrows lodged in their throats.
The arrows deflect back at their pursuers due to the nature of her
mirror shield. Her mind jolts.
Arrows. Then that means…
“Quincy,” Kisara murmurs under her breath. “And lots of them.”
“Oh?” From above, a tall man dressed in white drops to the ground. What must be the forefront of this operation jams his white boot into the head of the fallen Shinigami, his toothy grin sharp. “Then that saves us familiarizing ourselves with each other. Casär Rathenau, at your service, dear Shinigami.”
The rooftops above are lined with Quincy, arrows perched and ready to fire at the Shinigami. This isn’t the bulk of their forces, but it’s still 8 against 3. Kisara narrows her eyes, never diminishing the smile from her face. “Kisara.”
“I imagine this must be embarrassing for you. The Shinigami is all about the moral high ground when it comes to human lives, aren’t they?” Here his eyes narrow, dangerous and daunting as he glares at Kisara. “I suppose that’s what Gods of Death do, picking and choosing which lives to value and which ones to wipe out.”
“Just a normal Tuesday,” Kisara quips, her smile wry.
So this is their doing. I already was certain of that. “You’re awfully bold,
puppy, learning to bark like that. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but acting out of your jurisdiction could get you in trouble with the higher-ups, right?”
Casär sneers. “Doesn’t matter now that she’s gone.”
So they’re acting as individuals. Kisara narrows her eyes.
Intriguing. Now the question is… Why? Why do something as foolish as this? It’s not like he’ll just say it. We need to buy a little time. “Tell me something. Must we really fight?”
Casär goes on some spiel about how hunting Shinigami for prey is his lifeblood. Kisara could care less, choosing to tune him out as he wastes his breath. There’s nothing useful in his little speech other than the time he’s giving them.
“What’s the plan, Kisara? We can’t stay behind this shield forever.” Aimi’s hands tremble, but her voice remains level and quiet as Casär prattles on and on. “And don’t ask me to come up with something, I’m way too stressed right now to even think. I might shit my pants, seriously.”
“Shut up, Aimi!” Akane hisses.
“... Contacting Soul Society for reinforcements is our priority,” Kisara states, her eyes never leaving Casär. “My
Denreishinki can handle that. After that, it’s our job to hold out until they come. You’re going to have to trust me and do what I tell you until you get the gist to act on your own, alright?”
“Alright!”
Kisara draws her blade, her smile shifting into a smirk. “First order of business: a swift getaway. When I tell you to, fire a Hado spell for me, won’t you?”
“Finally drawing your claws, little kittens?” Casär’s taunts fall on deaf ears. “Then, shall we danc–
WHOA!!!”
In an instant, the mirror shields Kisara has concocted appear behind the Quincy camping above them in perfect angles to encircle them. Around Casär revolve four mirror shields, each facing outwards towards the Quincy above.
“Do it now!” Kisara commands. The sheen of her blade shivers with reiatsu as the two Shinigami simultaneously fire Hadō. #4,
Byakurai against the mirrors. Kisara lets loose a bombardment of Hadō #32.
Ōkasen from her blade.
Expecting to be hit, Casär tenses to swipe away the Hadō with a hand… Only to find that that wasn’t the intent at all. The fusillade of Hadō spells volley repetitively against the mirrors, never absorbing or cracking the mirror shields Kisara has created. Like a pinball machine, the sheer speed of each spell reflecting from the shields is overwhelming.
All this was done in under an instant - and even if they could absorb the Kidō spells, it has served its purpose.
The three Shinigami had flash stepped away.
“There,” Kisara says, pointing to an electronics store lighting up the night. They slip inside. “Watch the shadows, both of you. The sun has set and this entire town is their playing field. Aimi, keep focused and track down where they are. If they get too close, we’re going to engage.”
The two Shinigami set to work. Kisara turns from them, mind racing.
“Hey
Denrei.”
Located in her pocket, Kisara’s Denreishinki lights up.
“Connect me to the
S.R.D.I.”
Kisara quickly explains the situation to the operator: Exactly 11 minutes and 3 seconds ago, Karakura Town showed no signs of its former inhabitants. They vanished. The situation reminds her of the Fake Karakura Town, except this time, the swap clearly wasn’t meant for protecting its civilians.
The Quincy’s positioning earlier intrigued her - that five-pointed star is their signature seal that screams what they are. The very fact that it’s just lining Karakura town tells her that it has something to do with the swap itself.
Furthermore…
The Quincy have stayed to engage in battle. This would be considered a success for them, all things considering - they’ve made a fool out of the 13th Division. To do this and raise no alarms, yet stay to fight? They’re keeping them from something, that much is obvious.
As for motive, Kisara can only speculate. Karakura Town beats like a living heart, its lifeblood the spiritually sensitive beings that live unassumingly in its shade. Yet, what would they need them for? Or perhaps they had done something similar to the Thousand Year Blood War - hide in between the shadows and overtake Karakura town that way, but the reishi here isn’t as abundant as the Soul Society… Just kishi.
Kisara’s eyes widen.
Are they using some kind of device to convert the kishi in Karakura town to reishi? Could that explain their positioning earlier - are those intermediate directions the location of such a device? Had the real Karakura Town been placed in the Schatten Bereich?
If that really is the case… No, no. I mustn't get carried away. Kisara focuses on the present.
“Two kilometers away,” Aimi announces. Kisara nods.
“Their numbers will be their greatest advantage,” Kisara tells the operator. “I counted at least 20, but there could be more. How long until backup arrives?”
25 minutes, give or take. Could be half an hour or more. The line cuts off, and Kisara unsheathes her blade.
“They’re closing in on us. 43 seconds, give or take,” Aimi says.
“Onto the rooftop,” Kisara states simply. A single flash step and they’re gazing at Karakura Town from above.
“Ready your shikai. Ideally, we’re going to want to defeat them, but with their numbers, it’s going to be reckless. 13th doesn’t need another couple of deaths to add to its ledger.”
“Positioning?” Akane asks.
“Like a triangle. I’ll take the point and cover your blindspots,” She taps her shoulder, signifying that an attack from the back is their greatest vulnerability depending on where their shadows lie. “But that means you’ll have to look out for mine. Can I trust you two to do that?” Kisara relaxes into a battle stance, loosening her limbs.
The two shinigami nod. They’re much calmer than earlier, ready to face their adversaries.
In less than a second, five Quincy appear before them, bows drawn.
“Alright, then.” Narrowing her red eyes, she sneers at the Quincy, expertly twisting her blade. It's been a while since Tasogare Musume has
sung. Rest assured Kisara will use its abilities to the fullest. All she needs is to be able to reach her enemies and overwhelm them... Or if the situation calls for it, play defense and control the power of incoming attacks. They've already lost three members.
No more.
"Your childishness irritates me," she states, eyes turning cold. Lifting her chin, she glares down at the Quincy as if they were dogs to be scolded. “Until our backup arrives,
we will hold the line.”