[BSD-RP] Soul Society: Central Seireitei

[BSD]

Stone flew Honoka’s way, scattered fragments of the Lieutenant's Hall. The several explosions burned away only but an eighth of the vine before Honoka reacted quickly with a violent surge of her reiatsu, concentrating it within the confines of the Lieutenants’ Hall; its affects only truly seen within the area of the walls. The giant, thrashing thorny vines regenerated and rejuvenated; rapidly. They radiate a green so vibrant one could get lost in their eerie glow as they block the force of the explosions. The shrapnel aimed at her was forced violently against the blood stained floor, under the sheer pressure of Honoka’s overwhelming and surgically-controlled spiritual pressure. While the vines continued to pierce the flesh and lock the joints of the Omnitsukido that hoped to flee with Yugure in grasp, preventing any further movement of his body at all. Even then, he still could not get away fast enough under the sudden, bone-crushing weight of Honoka’s Reiatsu, which slammed his body down; for good.
Honoka stands tall and completely unscathed atop the mighty, reinforced interwoven wall. She knew that such an obstacle would not stop the Captain, but had hoped it would at least catch his attention, cause him to pause for a moment and address the situation. Yet this would not be the case.
Even through her vines, information is relayed. She can feel every single reiryoku signature that’s absorbed, and she can gauge the distance of the closest in proximity to be devoured next. She knows several of them were not caught in her grasp, and the sudden disappearance of their reiryoku intrigues her, she averts her gaze from Kyomu; only momentarily, tightening her hold of her carry-on passenger, she scans over the pillars of light that illuminate the skies; with several of her own vines ensnared within the activation of this technique. Thoughts of her own miscalculation begin nagging at her, hidden away behind her trademark smile. Her eyes scan the environment, watching as the multitude of lights scattered through the entirety of the Gotei Thirteen combine into a giant cube. Bakudo; no doubt. She begins putting the pieces of the puzzle together. The scattered agents, the disappeared reiryoku, and even their unusual death, the powerful barrier now engulfing beyond the First Division.
Her mind going a mile a minute, analyzing; making up possible explanations for these … mutinous actions. How many Shinigami had just sacrificed their lives so that Kyomu could continue his hopeless advance? Did Captain Mukuro really only view souls as nothing but sources of Reishi? This was no longer a child wanting to prove themselves strong, these were deliberate and meticulously plans. But what else could Honoka expect from the Seireitei’s Assassin? Her emotions bubbled violently underneath her calm exterior. A deep breath. She’s once again collected, thinking; the gears in her head turning.
She attempts to recall the entire forest of vines released throughout the Seireitei, or at least those not absorbed by the activation of the barrier. While several dozens of her plants remain scattered throughout, without her orders, her thoughts and wishes relaid to them, they simply withdraw on their own.
What exactly are the properties of this kido? She already found her communication cut from the outside world; from her vines, a difficult thing to achieve, and look at the cost. This barrier fascinates her. After all, a new technique she doesn’t know? Of course she wants to learn all there is about it. Sadly, this was not the time for her to be curious, or even amazed at the intricacy of the barrier. Though she makes a mental note of how the vines reaching for the Captain in hopes of preventing his trek forward suddenly seem sluggish-- their response delayed; making it easier for him to avoid.
“What could possibly be the meaning of this?”
The moment she finishes her question, Kyomu shifts, appearing to phase through her vines and disappear. His usage of Genpu does not catch Honoka completely off guard however. She was prepared for retaliation, and so was on high alert. Only her emerald eyes are able follow Kyomu as he moves past her. No explanation. Not a single word.
Nothing.
His silence speaks volumes. The Captain of the Second Division was a cold hearted man, but he wasn’t heartless. Sacrificing his men to obtain the slightest edge, that was the way of an assassin. But abandoning Yugure, in the midst of all this danger? That was not Kyomu’s way. Empathetic as ever, Honoka assessed what Kyomu was feeling through their brief interaction. There was no ego, nor anger, as was usual for the Second Captain, what she sensed he felt now was... an unwavering sense of duty.
So, that’s what this is all about.
Honoka resigns herself. This goes well above where she can intervene. She sighs, shaking her head as she turns her attention back to the barrier, this time, analyzing it for any and all weaknesses. If Kyomu really intended on confronting the Captain Commander, then this was the most dangerous place for her to be. Honoka, having been by his side for so long, knew exactly how much of his power she is capable of withstanding, and might, were the circumstances different, have stuck around. However, she wouldn’t be able to stay where she is and protect Yasu. After all, she’d barely be able to protect herself if thi-
”Ah.”
Is all she could manage to say as a thunderous wave of a very familiar and overwhelmingly powerful reiatsu explodes outwards from the Captain’s Hall. A truly frightening force to go head-to-head against no doubt. Luckily, it wasn’t Honoka going up to face the source of this power, like all those years ago. Dropping down from her perch, she seeks to protect herself and Yasu from the blast of force with her already existing wall of vines. Honoka had of course trained to resist this pressure, conditioning her body for over a century now through exposure to the Head Captain’s reiatsu. However, even at this distance, and even encased in vines, Yasu could be crushed. Besides, simply being able to resist the initial wave of force, didn’t meant Honoka wanted to subject herself to it. She braces herself against her wall of vines, but the moment the wave makes impact, the breath is knocked from Honoka’s lungs, until the wave passes over her and moves on.
Almost instantly, the thunderous sound of the barrier cracking echoes throughout the First Division, as all around the once translucent barrier becomes riddled with a web of shattered fragments, barely hanging on by a trace amount of Reishi. Watching as the Barrier slowly begins to repair itself, Honoka realizes this is her chance. Another opportunity to pierce through the barrier may come, but it might not be one she can live through.
As the vines of her wall turn brown and wither from the blunt force they just experienced, Honoka turns, Yasu still in hand, and scans for the structurally weakest point of the Barrier. Then, something catches her by surprise. A small blip, a flickering candle compared to explosion of power she just felt, but something nonetheless. Perhaps it was only because the barrier was already cracked, that the outside sources of Reiatsu could be sensed by Honoka, perhaps it was simply intuition. Regardless, the Head Lieutenant sensed the efforts of the Eleventh Division Lieutenant Nibui, and Third Seat Jinnosuke. Another assault? Unlikely. Nibui was always fond of Honoka, and Jinnosuke admires the Commander’s strength above all else.
Honoka wanted to say their intentions were good. However, knowing the mentality of anyone who affiliates themselves with the Eleventh Division, she knew that the duo weren’t here to break anyone out, but rather to break themselves in, and partake in the battle. Still, their efforts wouldn’t be wasted, as Honoka decides to capitalize on their raw power. As the two of them initiate their all-out-assault, Honoka is impressed to see their coordination and accuracy. Their power was sure to be impressive to those who haven’t witnessed the Commander’s in person, but to the Head Lieutenant, it was enough to make due.
With fan in one hand, and the cocooned Lieutenant in the other, Honoka raises her closed-bladed fan and initiates a thrust like motion. From the ground, a spire of vines erupt and begin to drill at the exact same point as Nibui and Jinnosuke’s assault. The vines, harden, sharpen, and twist, as they drill against the shattered barrier. Channeling her own Reiryoku into them, the individual tendrils begin to glow green with an ominous power. This green glow starts from the base, growing up from the soil and coiling around the vine-drill until all of the spiritual power is condensed into the very tip. From there, it fires out, pure energy refined into a single beam of green light.
The beam, no larger than a dime, slowly begins to melt the Kido Barrier. Assisted by the duo’s attacks on the other side, their three combined assaults puncture through the barrier, creating a miniscule, hole. The moment this hole is formed, Honoka’s vines spread through, erupting from both sides of the barrier now, their tendrils reach into the hole and forcibly start tearing it further open. They weave themselves into any miniscule crack, and grow, further shattering the barrier. The moment the barrier breaks, it appears to reform, causing a back and forth game of push and pull between the vines and the barrier. Until finally, with the combined strength of hundreds of vines enough to hold the barrier at bay.
They manage to create a small opening, only enough for Honoka to get through while carrying Yasu. The vines are only capable of holding the barrier at bay for a single moment, causing Honoka to shunpo through it at full speed. Even then, mid flight, she barely makes it through. The barrier closes shut instantly, slicing through her vines.
“Thank you for the hand boys, but I think it’s best we all stay out here. If you want to help out, have the Eleventh run a perimeter, make sure no one else is trying to sneak in.”
Cut off from the First Division, Honoka finds herself no better off than the rest of the Seireitei, a mere bystander incapable of intervening with the fight. Still, she knew it would be better that way. Neither the Commander nor Captain Mukuro would allow bystanders to interfere in this fight, and Mukuro had already thrown away too many innocent lives.
Which reminds her….
Honoka releases the vines around Yasu, causing them to retreat back into the flower on the Lieutenant's hair. She holds Yasu by the back of her shirt, like a cat with her kitten, before releasing her, causing her to fall to the dirt with a oomph. Outside of this barrier, and devoid of her use as a hostage, Yasu was no threat. Releasing her would be harmless, whatever was set in motion had already begun. The only thing they could do is wait to see the outcome of their Captain’s actions.

 

[BSD]

Tossed around like a ragdoll, from being scooped up by a subordinate only to have him perish at the power of the Head Lieutenant, and now thrown into the air a bit haphazardly, little Yasu Yūgure was then caught gently and encased tightly enough to keep her from merely falling through. Prevented from moving much, Yasu could only muster a look of distaste as she was withheld despite not being any part of her captain’s schemes. This time. And despite Honoka’s demand to sheath her Zanpakuto, Yasu had left it unsheathed since it would require movement and the fact that the little shinigami had to protect herself at all costs; even against one of her respected superiors. Not long after, the vines began to wrap around her even further, and beneath the lively earthen material, her Shikai had begun to secrete and slither through her skin and shield herself starting from the top of her head down to her toes had push come to shove. She was in discomfort, and she hated crowded places.
Torn from her placeholder, Yasu the Suitcase was born into existence and carried across as a bargaining chip. Unnaturally calm, Yasu kept quiet despite getting rather tired from the reiatsu drained from her being, but she could take the depletion ten-fold, so long as it stayed like this. Listening in to all around her, she could hear the deafening sounds of blades being drawn and strangled confusion before the heavy scent of blood infiltrated her nose and she twitched uncomfortably. Listening to Honoka speak to her captain had caused Yasu to still, not out of fear, but wonder, as to just what he was doing all of this to prove. Other than their meetings, Yasu had no idea of what was ever going inside of his head, despite her best efforts. Sometimes she wondered if knowing anything would have done any good for her in the first place. Still, for a lieutenant of the Second Division to not follow her Captain’s shadow, regardless of circumstance, was taboo. At least that’s what she thought, but she was just an idiot.
The sound of Honoka’s displaced heartbeat was enough to pique the interest of the little owlet captive. Now, what exactly was going through the ever-calm Honoka Oki’s head? After having no response from the Second Division Captain, Honoka’s guard, though still high, wavered as he drifted by without another word. His business was with the Captain Commander alone. Other than the shinigami who gave their lives to their position, Yasu would be left alone for innocence. Her and the handful left in the dark. More or less.
Wild. Erratic. Pounding. Aching. Yasu Yūgure was suffering inside of the cocoon, and Odei had begun to scramble in her head and begin a frenzy that sent the second skin to bubble and lash out all around due to the sudden imbalance of tranquility the Captain Commander had caused. If the great Lieutenant Oki could get the breath knocked out of her lungs, imagine someone centuries far too young succumbing to near unconsciousness and destruction from the influx of raw power. It was an out of body experience, and despite being protected to the best of Honoka’s ability, Yasu suffered within her enclosed space, and even though not wanting to cause much movement, the pink-haired brat began to grow restless in her prison cell.
Managing to regain some sense of touch and smell, Yasu felt around and calmed herself beneath the storm, and the familiar scent of burning wood and hairspray was faint but significant enough to bring Yasu’s head up. What were members of Eleventh doing here? Probably looking for a fight, but hopefully, they knew better. The expense of Commander Murasaki’s reiatsu surely blasted its way farther than the grounds of the Gotei Thirteen. While the three of them worked together unknowingly on the other side, Yasu had sat tight. She would be let out soon enough. She’d have to be. Being jerked around was giving her motion sickness, the bile starting to rise the length of her esophagus when the light was once again shining down on her once more.
Held by the collar of her shirt, Yasu blinked and looked around, coming face to face with the other two present and landed with an oomph against the ground. “Yo.” The halfhearted greeting came towards both Nibui and Jinnosuke. Steadying herself, Yasu dusted herself off and shook her head, the flower sprouting from the pink mop coming down with the thick sludge of her Shikai etched into the confines of its veins. Looking at it, and then at Honoka, Yasu closed the distance between them with a poor attempt due to her still weak legs and held it out for her to take. “Happy Birthday.” Hands on her knees, Yasu looked back at the barrier, her expression sullen. Just what would happen?
To replenish her strength and reiryoku chambers, Yasu began to eat the snacks that she had stowed away in her shirt from earlier and basked in the delicious baked goods that were flooding her taste buds. Putting herself down on the ground to lie flat on her back, Yasu didn’t have time to worry about her captain. He would be fine. He had to. There was no other possible person to lead the Second Division, and she didn’t feel like advancing any time soon, nor felt ready to do so in the first place. She was centuries younger than most Shinigami in this setting — Young, and dumb.
“Ne, Honoka-san…”
At the time she sounded so tired, and almost sad, given the situation at hand. Who wouldn’t? A heartless person, that’s who: a monster. An unfeeling being that didn’t dare have a care for life. Once she grabbed the Head Lieutenant’s attention, Yasu would look at her and hold her hand out towards her, that same sullen look still plastered on her face.
“I’m... all out of snacks.”

 

[BSD]

A collage of crimson and black, speckled with glimmers of purple tainting the skies momentarily as the Reiryoku of the two Eleventh division members gave their attempt at damaging the sadistic barrier surrounding the First division barracks. An impressive spectacle in most cases, if only the Captain Commander had not put on such a display but a few moments beforehand. Still, their attempt was not without result. From the opposite side, the thorny vines of Honoka, the First division Lieutenant, they had begun their synchronous assault with the two. The success was both short-lived and underwhelming but regardless it was something and yielded some results.
At the very moment in which Jinnosuke had manifested his Reiryoku into Reiatsu, Nibui would barely notice the influx, not by choice. But yet, it registered. There was little reaction to be warranted from Nibui, though it would be remembered. Perhaps even making conversation with burly man about it at some point. Regardless, it was not the time and place, what mattered was the task at hand.
The infrastructure of the barrier remained mostly intact, despite the efforts that had been exerted, the only difference was the comparably minute hole that was formed with the combined efforts of the three Shinigami. It was enough for something. Giving Lieutenant Oki an opening, an opportunity to slip past the impressive boundary that sealed the First division barracks from the rest of Seireitei. And had it not been for Honoka’s perceptive view on the state of the barrier, perhaps even this would not have been possible. As vines begun to pry apart the opening in the barrier, Honoka had made her way past with the time given with an impressive speed. Sufficient but only barely. Had it been someone of a lesser caliber, It is likely that they would have found themselves split all the way through, quite like the fate suffered by the vines sacrificed to accomplish such a feat.
With Honoka now free of the barriers containment, bringing along with her a vine composed bag, Nibui had watched as the container was dispersed to reveal another Lieutenant, Yasu Yūgure, a young lieutenant, one Nibui had not interacted with much, but still, he knew of her. Honoka dropping her luggage in the form of Yasu, the white haired male couldn’t help but gaze down at the girl who had just been dropped back to the floor. An interesting display for certain. A casual greeting coming from the pink topped Shinigami.
“Thank you for the hand boys, but I think it’s best we all stay out here. If you want to help out, have the Eleventh run a perimeter, make sure no one else is trying to sneak in.”
Honoka spoke first of the group, running a suggestion by Nibui and Jinnosuke. A wise idea and likely one that Nibui would move on to placing into action shortly, unless of course something else had taken his attention. Prior to this however, his gaze was sent up to meet Honoka’s eyes, who, much like Jinnosuke was quite a bit taller than he. Placing his Zanpakuto back into its scabbard in a single motion as he spoke to Honoka.
”Ah, Head Lieutenant Oki. I’m happy to see you again but today doesn’t seem to be a great day for the questions I wanted to ask you. Since you’re out here, I imagine you’re not too fussed about the happenings inside but I was wondering if I could at least get some enlightenment on this situation, at least from what you know?”
Once he had finished speaking his gaze would be redirected, toward the one who was closer to his height, but surprisingly, still taller. His seemingly exhausted face unchanging, along with his tone.It was odd to see such a change in the intention but nothing else had been altered. Referring mostly to the girl's absurd priority.
”Lieutenant Yūgure, you’re dull.. Is that why you’re worried about snacks over the situation you’re in?”
Then he spoke but toward a different person once again, Jinnosuke this time around, who had shortly before spoken to Nibui with, a request and introduction of sorts.
" I don't think we know much about each other Vice, But if there's one thing i am really good at. It's crushing things. Oh and this might be a bad time to ask, but i would like you to teach me how to talk to people. You know where it doesn't sound like i wanna kill them all the time.
A repeat of the last time, no change in tone or expression, but the purpose of his words were clearly different.
”Jinnosuke, I’ll help you, when we’re clear of this mess, come find me in the barracks and we’ll work on it.“ A pause followed by a few, softened words that escaped his lips. ”Most of the others need the same lesson too.“
Taking into consideration what had just happened and the remaining state of the situation, Nibui would be of no use at such a time. What Honoka had suggested was in fact the most he could contribute. There wasn’t much for the Lieutenant to do there but he couldn’t help but remain in that spot, he wanted to stick around, although there was something in the back of his mind keeping him around. Was it curiosity? Or something else that plagued the mind of the Lieutenant of the Eleventh?

 

[BSD]

Their attack struck true, and as they commenced it. Another from inside the barrier saw this opening and also connected with their own attempt to break a hole in the barrier erected around the First Division. He couldn't of guessed it would be the First Vice Captain and a bundle of vines squeezing out of the tiny hole they made. Not really noticing anything right away, Jinnosuke took the time to wrap the bandages back around his rather large hunk of metal. Setting it back on the magnetic clasps in his Sash near his lower back. Flexing his arms in circles he would then pick up his clothing and return them to an orderly uniform fashion. Then he'd look over to a loud thump and the confirmation that Toad would help Jinno with words. Thankful and wanting to show appreciation. Jinnosuke would try to make light of their rather dire situation.
That was a thorny situation wasn't it! AH HAHAHAHA! He would then look over to the Lieutenant of the Second Division on the ground. " Hey What's with Little Bug? Did No Brows do something crazy or is this something Captain Commander wanted to happen." He was motioning his chin towards Honoka while he spoke, but kept his eyes on the point where they made a minor impact. watching it close up with a snap.
His own Vice Captain had asked what he wanted to himself, So Jinno just stood by and awaited some answers. Listening to The two of them talk along with what Yasu was wailing about on the ground. Snacks huh. It had been a while since he last ate anything. As if on Que, his own stomach started to rumble and groan. ' oh yeah i forgot i did training and had a fight with those injuries today, food sounds amazing...' He would walk forward reaching into his sash and pulling out a cigarette and a match. Lighting it and taking a deep drag, he blew out a lofty cloud of smoke above their heads, watching it drift away in the loose breeze. " It's not my ideal situation to stand around here all day however, Vice Captain Ueki, i am sure we have enough Unseated members to form a perimeter around the barrier. Don'tcha think we should regroup somewhere else. What do we assume the status is of the rest of Second Division. I need to know if i'm Fighting them on sight or not. We really should get the other two Captains as soon as possible." A seriousness crept onto his brow. Jinnosuke didn't like the politics, He left that up to the big brains. This kind of stuff made him uncomfortable. Picking a right side, who was right and wrong was irrelevant. Who was in charge, it didn't matter to him. As long as they protected the souls, and made sure the suffering was as little as could be. His brain was filled with tactics, battle composition, human anatomy, How to slice someone into 4 pieces with one slash. Jinnosuke wasn't stupid he just focused on things that were more important to him than these ideals shinigami can cling too. Since his birth was A product of the Shinigami's Politics itself, Jinnosuke wouldn't play those games. He didn't care about money or fame or another aspect one might wish for in their death. He just wished for peace and pride as a Shinigami. He honestly dreaded the thought of having to end another Shinigami's life, For he didn't attain this massive strength to kill off his own kind, but to kill those that desire them dead. These are things he would never talk to anyone about, well, anyone but his Zanpakuto. A major reason as to why the two were so strong. They had nothing to prove to anyone but themselves. Even thinking about sides made Jinnosuke sick, He knew in the back of his head that The Captain Commander could never do anything to jeopardize the Soul Society, and this had to be some lame attempt at revenge or justice or some other aspect of pride overly sought after by Shinigami who become placid in their place. His mind was spinning now, he took his hands and smacked himself on each side of his face simultaneously. A loud and sharp THWACK would echo out off his flesh. His pupils dilating then shrinking back down to normal. " I do not like what is happening, The flow of Casualty is taking us down an all to familiar path. The Soul Society can not be separated into a Civil War. We need to know what the other Captains are doing. " Reinforcing his statement about getting to them soon. Jinnosuke would then bump the cigarette in his hand with the same finger holding it, Ash spilling off then up into the same breeze taking the smoke away. Lifting it back up to his mouth he continued talking with it hanging from his lip. " I might not be shit to you guy's but i have been around long enough to know this kind of thing is not good. I know i don't look it, but i am even Older than Captain Kagayaki by a good ten years. Weirder thing's have happened, i know, but we best treat this seriously. Shinigami aren't supposed to be fighting each other... It's What our real enemies want." With this he would tighten his sash and prepare to follow the orders his higher ups give him.

 

[BSD]

Black. That is the world Kyomu Mukuro finds himself in. He walks, calmly eyes ever forward, the inscrutable mask of indifference ever donned. The chains that bind him squeeze tautly around him, strangling the entirety of his being as they jingle and drag behind him. The faces of his subordinates drift in and out like specters in the dark, their cries of pain echo within his ear, within his mind. Their lives expended, sacrificed and snuffed out for but a sliver of a chance.
So, the Captain walks, headed towards the belly of the beast, towards uncertainty, and possibly..his own demise. He travels alone, with no further physical support from his subordinates, and no spiritual or emotional support from any who knew him best, or at least..as best as one could know or understand the distant man. Isolated, alone, an island unto himself save the haunting faces of the lives lost because of their duty their loyalty. Because of him.
Finally, Kyomu reaches his goal. He steps into the Commander’s Office.
“You need not say anything...”
The voice of the commander fills the room. Its as if the voice itself comes not from the man, but the emptiness of space, from some inexplicable void filling the senses. Kyomu’s already stern gaze intensifies. He stands. He watches. He anticipates. He waits.
He could feel Shobatsu’s reiatsu burning off him. Kyomu remains silent, but not because of Shobatsu’s command. His voice is lost to him, a man of few words, today he was a man of none. Today he would not speak, only act..or so he told himself. He prepares to advance, but is quickly halted.
Those unseeing eyes of Shobatsu’s begin to crack open, and from that partial crack..it is as if the world collapses. Sekkiseki composed walls immediately begin to crack, splinter beneath the weight of explosive power. The iridescent barrier like the wall, found its body riddled with fractures that etched itself along its sides—a sharp cry of agony pierced through the entirety of the Seireitei, stretching even beyond its walls. The cry was not one that filled the ears, but rather the very hearts and souls of those within its reach. It was as if the barrier itself was a living thing, capable of feeling, capable of suffering...of pain.
This same feeling of agony would ring out once more, resonating with all those within the boundaries of the Seireitei as the members of the Eleventh Division along with the Head Lieutenant hacked away at the Shobatsu induced fractures, even worse when the vines began to pry open the opening made. The barrier was suffering, in more ways than one. Though others could feel the terror and pain felt through the silent spiritual cry, none felt it stronger than Kyomu.

Instinct told him to retreat back the moment the monstrous wave of power was felt, but his body disobeyed his commands, betrayed his will. Knees buckled beneath that fraction of a fraction of Shobatsu’s power, the Phantom quickly winded as he struggled to command his body to breathe as it skidded back several feet, streaks marring the ground. He began to perspire, clenching his teeth as a sharp pain jabbed through his heart several times. He could feel the pain of the barrier, born and powered by the lives of his men, their very souls. Every damage dealt to it, every blow, every crack, every splinter was almost as if he himself was subjected to that grueling torment. It was maddening, enough to drive a man insane and rob him of youth and life a thousand times over, yet those cold chains binding him reminded the man of his duty and cause.
It was torture, but Kyomu has endured torture before, has been tortured before. He would endure, he had no choice but to endure. The barrier quickly began mending itself, the combined reiryoku and life span of those who died to birth the field encompassing the First Division ensuring it would not be so readily dispersed, the restraint on the Commander’s part undoubtedly being pivotal in its maintained survival.
The ordeal ended as quickly as it had begun, despite feeling far longer than that single brief moment. With the closing of his eyes, Shobatsu’s monstrous reiatsu once more became ‘tame’. Panting, in want of breath Kyomu works to compose himself once more as Shobatsu finally turns to face him. The man’s shadow was as massive as both him and his power as it seemed to etch Captain Mukuro’s already bleak and dark world black.
He grits his teeth, his heart usually calm, composed, silent pumps and beats loudly as the man grips the handle of his zanpakuto, ripping it from its sheath, blade now brandished in his right hand. Now faced with Shobatsu, the Head Captain’s housed zanpakuto reflecting the stray rays of light off its pristine surface towards the eyes of the perceived conspirator. Beads of sweat trickle and roll down his face and chin. Kyomu closes his eyes, rather from the flash of light or the sweat a mystery, one might say even both were the cause.
He was now forced to climb a mountain, no. The weight of Shobatsu’s power was larger than even that. He was forced to cross worlds to see his task done. He paused, and breathed. He reprimanded his own beating heart, scolding it to steady itself, to slow and still its movements. He centers himself, though still bound by chains, and surrounded by spectral faces he stands. Firm and resolute. His bones and body ache, yet he remains intact. A single bead of sweat, one which rolled down his face had been dangling from his chin.
“I have already decided your fate.”
With the voice of Shobatsu, that single bead falls, and plummets to the ground. Though silent to nearly all ears due to its inconsequential size, Kyomu hears it all too clearly. His eyes open with a fierceness they lacked up to this point. He stares at the man chosen to be his adversary. Still he says nothing, offers no retort to any of the words spoken to him. There was no retreat, no alternate path.
His left hand covered by his sleeve, Kyomu stares...and then...he advances. The Twenty Yard gap closed within a single step, four marble sized spheres in total float as if suspended in the air in front of Shobatsu, left in free-fall. Without any visible cue or discernible cause, they erupt in that same instant into a heavy plume of black no sooner than they are perceived. The mass of dark clouds quickly billows out, obscuring the entire portion of that room. Where the pellets, most certainly thrown from the Captain’s left hand erupted while but two meters from the Commander, Kyomu himself barely a meter behind them, his image as temporary and distorted as it was, became veiled in the billowing veil. His already suppressed and obscured reiatsu, now further obscured amidst the smell of charcoal and sulfur.
Shobatsu himself would find himself immersed in this sea of dark clouds, though the Commander undoubtedly has the ability to sweep aside such a juvenile attempt by Kyomu to veil his actions from his ever watching ‘eyes’.
Not even a silhouette was visible within the smokescreen. From the lingering dark veil came a volley of blades, each unique in their design. Kyomu’s tools of the trade, appearing no more than a dozen in number they assaulted Shobatsu from several angles; hands, fingers, shoulders, and forehead all appearing to be the areas of target. They traveled without a sound produced, matching the manner in which they were thrown. Swift and silent.
Still, such gimmicks were not even worth acknowledging as even child’s play to the likes of Shobatsu...so, why still go through it? It was clear that in terms of power, physical strength, and reiatsu Kyomu came up short, a fact that rung true when comparing him to even others within the Gotei 13, so why such an approach? Kyomu was never one to shy away from foul play, and as an assassin he’d fair better in launching a surprise assault, away from the eyes of others, in a method that couldn’t be readily tied to him. This method of his was...bold, and surprisingly upfront, all things considered. This wasn’t like Kyomu, not like him at all.
The bladed weapons moved with the intention to strike their respective targets upon the Commander’s body in one, brief, instantaneous moment. Shobatsu would undoubtedly see to their failure, such petty tricks were beneath such a man, yet the fact they were thrown would leave Kyomu no room for retreat or negotiation, he had rung the bell, and it could not be unrung. Still he had seemingly yet to emerge, as if turtling himself within the shifting black fog. Was it fear that kept him hidden? Regret? Doubt? Whatever the cause, it would be irrelevant in the face of absolute power. If he had any hope of survival, he would need to tread carefully, and use every trick at his disposal, and move faster than even he believed possible to have a sliver of a chance.