[BSD-RP] The Valley of Screams

[Shinigami]

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"The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, while dwelling in the deep Perfection of Wisdom, sees clearly that the five skandhas are all empty and is thus freed from all suffering."
Captain of the Fifth Division and Grand Chief of the Kido Corps Tenzen Oda sits in his personal quarters, located on the ground level among Fifth Divison's barracks, reciting The Heart Sutra. It is by far his most favorite Sutra to recite as its message and meaning resonate strongly with him, his beliefs, personal outlook on life, and the people who reside in life itself. Reciting this Sutra also steadies and prepares his mind for battle, what battle awaits this Oda? It is a battle of the utmost importance, in his eyes, a duty that falls solely onto the shoulders of every Captain in the Gotei 13 and that is proctoring for a Shinigami who hopes to join their ranks.
"Oh Shariputra. Form is not different from emptiness; emptiness is not different from form. Form is indeed emptiness; emptiness is indeed form."
In his personal quarters, he sits cross-legged on the ground in front of him rests his Zanpakuto in a display stand the Katana sits on the bottom rack with the Wakizashi on the top. His eyes are closed, his mind in a deep trance, and his voice speaks -no it chants the words of the Sutra in a rhythmic melody. This man was once in the very same place as the Captain hopeful he will soon meet except his mind was plagued with thoughts of being judged for events that preceded his exam. This, Okito Shihōin will be the first person he proctors for, and if the ebb and flow of Samsara wills it, she will not be the last.
"Feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness are also like this. Oh Shariputra, all dharmas have the nature of emptiness. They neither arise nor perish; they are neither impure nor pure; they neither increase nor decrease."
His hands sit limply upon his knees, they raise slowly as he speaks. The right-hand floats over to the left as if guided by the flow of air itself and touches the left hand. His Reiryoku increases subtly then subsides, the hand floats back to its previous position. The left-hand makes the same motion, the same action, the same effect, and returns to its starting position. His hands return to their spot on his knees, from the beginning of this Sutra he closed his eyes and has yet to open them, he does not take meditation lightly. Just as he does not take meditation lightly nor will he take his opponent lightly someone from the Twelfth Division is sure to have their own host of tricks and deceptive tools. Drugs, technology, strange weapons, Gigai doubles, body modifications, Zanpakuto modifications, the list goes on. The very air one breaths around a member of the Twelfth Division could be laced with some chemical or drug they are testing purely for their own amusement. The R&D Institute is akin to a house of horrors for those who fear the unknown.
"Thus in emptiness, there is no form, no feeling, no perception, no mental formations, no consciousness. No eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no form, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no objects of mind. No sensory realms or mind-consciousness realm."
The Captain stands to his feet, still fixed in his meditative trance, and still chanting. He takes his Zanpakuto and holsters them in his waist sash on his left-hand side. His bare feet shuffle across the floor of his room, his form making its way to the sliding door where he pauses for a moment. What could the Captain expect from his coming opponent? Everything. He leaves nothing to chance as his mind gears itself to be faced with all forms of atrocities cooked up by the madmen and women of Division Twelve. His eyes begin to open slowly with his right-hand lifting to touch the back of his neck, Reiryoku flairs as it did before with the touching of his hands then settles, and his eyes close slowly once more.
"There is no ignorance, and no end to ignorance. There is no old age and death, and no end to old age and death. There is no suffering, no arising, no cessation, and no path. There is no wisdom and no attainment."
His hand reaches out and opens the sliding door to his room. Three steps are all that is needed to remove himself from his temple of peace. He turns 180 degrees to shut the door to his room, his temple, and begins to make his way to the Senkaimon located within his barracks. His hands slide into the opposite sleeves of his Shihakusho, his eyes still closed and his meditation still in progress even as his being moves towards the Senkaimon.
"As there is nothing to be attained, the Bodhisattva abides in the Perfection of Wisdom, and has a mind free of hindrances. Because the mind is free of hindrances, it is fearless. Having transcended all illusions, the Bodhisattva finally transcends... Nirvana."
His eyes open at last, his chanting making him seem like a bit of a mad man among his peers but they already think him to be a mad man to some degree. The look in his eyes, empty. His stride, or rather shuffle, carries him to the Senkaimon where members of his Kido Corps await his arrival, the gateway already primed and ready for his entry. He nods, they bow, a mutual acknowledgment by both parties as they understand that their Chief has gratitude and appreciation for what they do even if they are just but humble gatekeepers. Their Chief then enters the Senkaimon, a Jigokuchō accompanying him to light his way.
"All the Buddhas of the past, present, and future follow the Perfection of Wisdom and thus realize unexcelled perfect Enlightenment. Thus know that the Perfection of Wisdom is the great holy mantra. It is the mantra of great knowledge, the unsurpassed mantra, the incomparable mantra that removes all suffering. It is true, not illusory. Therefore, say the mantra of the Perfection of wisdom."
In his chest, he feels... Nothing. In his mind, he feels... Nothing. In his spirit, he feels... Nothing. His mind is unhindered by trivial thoughts. His heart, as it is always, unwavering. His spirit is in a state of oneness with the other two. This is not enlightenment, he has not yet ventured that far. However, this is balanced, this is... peace.
"Thus, recite the mantra..."
The light at the end of the Dangai arrives and as he passes through, his bare feet planting themselves firmly on to the battle-torn ground that is the Valley of Screams he recites the Mantra before Okito Shihōin.
"gate gate paragate (gone, gone, gone beyond,) parasamgate bodhi svaha." (gone totally beyond, Enlightenment, hail).
He stands silently after reciting the Mantra as now that the Mantra has been recited the recital of The Heart Sutra has finished. Does he have any motivational words for the woman before him? Should he repeat what Higen said to him on the day of his trial? Those words still stick with him to this day, however, those are not his words and thus they would feel hollow coming from him. His empty eyes gaze at the Shihōin woman, the only thing that can be gauged from his eyes is nothingness as if staring into the void. He finally decides to speak, however, it is only a singular word that was beaten into him as he grew into a man one that carries weight for him and won't feel as hollow when spoken.
"Survive."
These would be the final words spoken to the woman for the duration of this exam. Much like how talking while riding a horse can lead to biting your tongue this Oda treats battle with the same regard. He now awaits Okito's first move.

 

[Shinigami]

Even with the distance, she could hear his voice pound in her ears as if he was right next to her breathing down her neck.
'Survive'
She wouldn’t allow the sincerity of his words to shake her, they were casted aside along with anything else that would distract her from the final goal.
"Heh "
There was still much unknown regarding this man in a combatant sense, however there was plenty of data that could be inferred just based on minor details from his position all the way down to the slight customizations to their uniform. Her eyes narrowed on his form almost analytically, breaking down what and how he would perform going forward. Although her conclusions were more assumption than fact, she was confident she had enough to work off of for the moment.
‘Alright lets see, Kido specialists are usually long-range fighters. Considering I've faced the same situation in the past, I expect the hailed Kido Corps Commander would surely be cunning enough to use Kido to fill in such a gap. I merely just have to wait for him to use. it
She jolted off to her left, keeping her reiatsu masked, regardless of whether she was in plain view or not. The less disturbances he felt in her spiritual pressure the better, it wasn’t quite the right time to let loose yet and there were too many variables at play and her data currently too limited for her comfort. Similar to a shadow bouncing off the rocky cliffs above her figure raced across the earthy battle field. Watching him from the distance between them, her hands ensued into a dance weaving her spell into fruition. She spoke softly yet confidently as this battle was finally only beginning...
“Crashing Waves.”

Waves of silver wove around her body braiding and curving within flurry large pillars with pointed ends wrapping around one another that pierced through the air around her frame to keep up with her movements similar to giant tentacles writhing violently around prey in the ocean’s depths. Nostrils flared, lungs expanded, as her heart rate increased along her rapid pace. She consistently leaped between each of the four massive waves of threads at random as they rotated. They kept her exact location hidden due to their sporadic movements, and consistent blocking of direct view of her smaller frame. Her body curled and flexed through the threads emphasising her flexibility within her own technique. Sharply turning course and gaining momentum, they pinpointed down on the Captain's position. Before the waves would make contact with her target. She along with one singular wave separated off 30 feet away from the impending collision.
Landing forcefully, sliding her right foot behind her body in a solid stance, she dug her sandals into the dirt for traction bracing her body for the next move. The wave curled around her form in a loose defensive stance as the other three continued on their original path. She exhaled slowly, letting her reiatsu finally go unmasked, keeping her pressure checked, funneling her power only the required path for her high level spell work. Although unlikely, she needed to snag this man up immediately and potentially separate him from zanpakuto as quickly as possible. Although she’d love to stick around just for research purposes, time was of the essence and judging from that “survive” comment, the longer he was allowed to move unhindered the more likely he was going to make that very thing rather difficult. Popping a black sphere-like piece of what could only be assumed to be gum (but nothing is ever what it seems with 12th division, eh?) while chewing she still managed to speak coherently.
'Alight, time to bury you then.'
As her waves would finally collide in a disastrous collision, the sounds the ground beneath their feet would begin crackling under the weight of their onslaught. Their drill-like shape rotates, digging up a substantial amount of debris and thus causing consequential damage.Pushing her palms forward, the muscles of her arms flexed, clasping her hands together with her slender middle digits wrapped around her pointer fingers she roared, her voice vibrating over the beaten wasteland.
“Bakudō #99: Forbid!”

Along the path immediately ahead of her, six dark black wraps would stretch atop the land racing into the distance in blazing pursuit of their target, eventually fading off into the dust and unearthed sediment brought on by her previous maneuver that was still at play. Metal-like plates appeared from the skies raining down nailing themselves to the ground atop the wraps as they continue forward. Lurching upward they'd rapidly begin wrapping around the Captain’s ankles and wrists, winding up his calves and forearms until all limbs were completely encased.
The fifth wrap, had a particular goal as it stretched up Tenzen’s leg up his hip towards the location of his zanpakuto. If Okito could manage to at least seal the sword away, her problems could statistically be divided in half. The wrap would tightly surround and conceal the man’s sword in its darkness, preventing any access to the sword at all. Finally the sixth wrap would continue upward around Tenzen’s neck constricting especially around his adam's apple which would likely trigger excessive coughing but would not entirely stop his access to air. Finally the wraps would collect around his mouth halting his ability to speak. The metal plates would continue nailing themselves to his body adhering to the black wrapping securing their position even further, each impact comparable to getting hit with a brick. The whole technique if allowed to attach would slowly drag his body to the ground beneath them, stealing his ability to move entirely.

 

[Shinigami]

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---Listen while you read---
Any battle a warrior partakes in is like a game of chess, each person wonders what the other is thinking, wondering how they will react and when one person does something the other deems uncharacteristic is when things go awry. Okito darts off to her left and the Captain follows moving parallel with her. He draws his Katana with his right hand, the edge of the blade igniting with yellow Reiryoku as he mumbles to himself during his run. If she thought he would stand idly by while she made her move she would be dead wrong, Tenzen wanted to keep this exchange on the move. As he ran a white outline of spiritual energy appears around his body then sinks into it, the first stage of a spell perhaps or something else? Regardless of what it was the Captain continues his pace keeping up with Okito who has summoned up massive white waves that were reminiscent of the foam made by the raging sea. She weaved between them constantly, perhaps to confuse the Captain and make herself a harder target? In that case, he shall vanquish everything before him all at once. His mumbling continues as he extends his left hand and speaks.
"Hadō #33. Sōkatsui."

Blue flames with a white outline erupt from his left hand and crash against the white waves that were sent to crash down upon him. The mumbling was nothing more than him reciting the spell's incantation increasing its strength to allow it to wash away the white waves and in the right hands, this spell can damage or destroy a Bankai so with the incantation and considering the person who is casting it, it should be clear as day what will happen to those three pillar-like white waves. The flames continue on their path towards Okito who decided to remain idle and besiege the Captain with another spell, one that gave him a good grasp on her Kido knowledge and proficiency. Bakudo 99, Part 1: Kin is a spell used to render the uses of the targets arms or entire body immobile, it is a powerful spell and requires quite the dedication to reach the level required to cast it. The blue flames roared towards Okito while the spell she had just cast race towards Tenzen who, even in the face of the level 99 Bakudo, did not slow his stride, continued to mumble and only for a brief moment halted his mumbling to cast a high-level spell of his own, well a portion of it.
"Bakudō #99, Part 2. Bankin. Prologue - Halting Wraps."
His foot hits the ground and white Reiryoku bursts forth from his singular step and race towards the black straps that threaten to halt his stride. A Bakudo of equal strength yet one with a different purpose, the first phase of part two uses a strong white cloth-like substance to immobilize the target and the target this time was those black straps. Kicking off the ground with Shunpo leaving the white cloth to ensure the black straps and once they were caught the second part of Okito's spell rains down on them, nailing the captured straps and cloth to the ground. Tenzen's location now? The opposite side of the roaring blue flames unleashed by him mere moments ago that race towards the hunkered down Shihōin a pincer attack is what he had in mind as his mumbling finally comes to a stop, extending his left palm outward once again.
"Hadō #63. Raikōhō."

Every time this man speaks a spell it is in a calm voice, he does not shout and because of this, his opponent does not know what spell is headed their way until it has already been unleashed. This time around it was a mid-level spell, one the teeters on the threshold of the high end. A large thunderous explosion erupts from his palm and meets in the middle with the charging flames creating a large monumental explosion that rocks and shakes the landscape of this empty Valley. The resulting explosion creates a large crater that would possibly hold a heavily injured Okito at its center. Ever calculating is the mind of Captain Oda he suspects this Division 12 woman to have something else, something more up her sleeve than just Kido spells and large white waves that he now theorizes to be her Zanpakuto. He waits patiently and silently for this Captain hopeful to stir and rise from the smoke.

 

[Shinigami]

It seemed the man was keeping pace with her toe for toe, He’d managed to counter two of her techniques. She admired his cleverness, with using a sealing spell to literally seal another sealing spell. She knew it was merely wishful thinking hoping that her spell would've found its target, but he was far too smart to remain ideal long enough for such a trick to really stick. No matter, there was more to come for the both of them, for that she was sure.
‘Good to know, the title isn’t just for clout.’
The greatest thing about her personal techniques was that they all consisted of the same main ingredient: threads. Because of that, one move could easily transition into the next with relative ease. Something stuck out that she honestly didn't expect, he actually still used incantations but they were whispers, inaudible. She assumed it was a strategy used to keep his opponents guessing or something along those lines..
“Very clever, goldie locs.” , she smirked.
Honestly, it's a smart tactic that probably would’ve worked, had she not been a former seated position in 2nd division. Reading lips basically one of the prerequistes to even survive daily training in 2nd Division, espionage was their forté and they'd NEVER let you forget it. Granted his movements made it a little difficult, but taking into consideration her memorization of most kido incantations she could easily put together what spell he’d been preparing with the aide of some obvious contact clues which gave her the much needed seconds to present her counter maneuver.
The moment the blue flames appeared before her eyes, she knew her assumptions had been correct. Watching as the flames consumed her simplistic technique. Being already familiar with the spell, Okito knew it was finally time to get a bit more crafty. Pushing her hands outward, fingers curled, separating them harshly in a claws tearing motion. The ferocity she displayed resembled an carnivore clawing into the flesh of its soon to be prey.
“ Daburu Sureddo.”
The threaded wave that had originally surrounded her instantly dismantled into thousands of threads, rapidly taking on a new shape, color and overall size. Forming within a single breath, there were five identical versions of herself surrounding her position like the wave from her previous technique had.The honey tone of her reiryoku clung tightly to their bodies like a protective second skin, Okito merely flexed her left hand and they went into motion, knowing their orders. Four of the five simultaneously spoke while facing down the harsh blue flames of the Captain's bakudo before her, their voices the same as her own combined as a resounding chorus.
“ Kao Janai! ”
Each of them spread their hands out exerting all the reiryoku dedicated to their vessels. Hundreds of threads scattered covering the surrounding space above. Forming small intricate box-like patterns as more and more threads appeared lining up in fishnet fashion surrounding them in a large three-sixty shell. It's true that a spell of that nature could seriously damage an average Bankai. However, her netted barrier was no average barrier, she’d tested this barrier against the majority of different projectile type kido in countless training simulations over the years.
The confidence she held in her own technique was evident, but regardless of her confidence she was also no fool. She was well aware of her opponent and his reputation preceded him in regards to Kido. Okito was sure that if there was anyone who could puncture her pure defense, it was him. Which caused for special precautions, one barrier could easily be destroyed by someone of his caliber, yes. However, what they had formulated together was a combination of 4 individual barriers layered and interwoven onto one another. Increasing the durability of the original technique 10-fold, he’d better be prepared to release a few of those spells in succession if he planned to successfully get through.
The blue flames slightly impeding on her view, it was safe to assume he would most likely try to pummel her with some more long distance kido, so she’d do likewise and give him more than a run for his coin. As her dopplegangers held up the protective netting, she was free enough to send the Captain some well deserved gifts. Closing one eye, rearing back she spoke firmly and quickly through her first incantation of the match...
...Bakudō #62. Hyapporankan.
A translucent lavender rod appeared within her grasp, the rod being narrow enough to skim through the fishnet pattern of her technique, she lunged her body forward, thrusting the spear through the air towards her target. Once cutting through the flames with ease, they’d immediately multiply into a hundred rods, several of which would offensively counter the Captain’s spell causing an midair explosion before his technique could even reach her barrier. The remaining rods would continue their course towards the Captain, meaning to immobilize and pin him to any rock face in the immediate distance. If she could land at least one rod, it wouldn’t cause him to be completely immobilized but it could definitely slowly down his movements which is always a much desired advantage. Given the situation, Okito wanted to take advantage of all the obvious noise pollution, she flexed the muscles in her right hand. Immediately her fifth reflection dropped to her knees pressing her mahogany palms to the gray beaten gravel beneath her feet, pronouncing the spell audibly, though her voice was drowned out by the collision of various techniques colliding with one another.
...Bakudō #21. Sekienton.
A massive plume of thick ruby-colored smoke would burst forward, obscuring her and the dopplegangers locations among the battlefield. The Captain would find even himself eventually succumbed by the velvety red smoke screen. He’d have to rely on way more than just his eyes if he wanted to safely proceed, a practice she was well versed in.

 

[Shinigami]

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---Listen while you read---
Not a spell but a Zanpakuto, that is what those silk-like pillars seem top be comprised of, interesting. He reached this conclusion when witnessing the last remaining silk pillar disperse and reshape itself into what he would describe as puppets. These puppets would also speak in unison and form a fishnet barrier that surrounded her in a three hundred sixty degrees radius and that barrier was quite durable. The blue flames with that white aura washed against it while on the opposite side of the flames the thunderous lightning spell crashed against it, she had honed her Zanpakuto well and with that knowledge in mind he cycles through the "Rolodex" of spells he has at his command that could break this barrier down. His senses are piqued as he hones in on a Kido spell being cast and he braces himself only to find nothing had been sent his way, a bluff perhaps or maybe even confusion? She had thrown the spell, Hyapporankan, in the direction of the flames however Tenzen was no longer in that direction as he had gone for a pincer attack with Raikōhō on the opposite side. Regardless of that matter he takes a mental note of that spell as the air around them roared and rumbled. He takes this moment of deafening noise to draw his Wakizashi and activate his Shikai.
"Open sky falls mute and the empty sky screams, closed void stands to speak and the full void is silent. Kokūzō. (Lit. Space Repository)
The katana in his right hand grows to become a Nodachi while the Wakizashi changes its shape into a chain that wraps around his left arm and connects to the pommel of his Nodachi. The edge of the blade still glows yellow with Reiryoku along with a golden mist flowing from the entire length of the blade itself. By the time his Shikai was formed Okito had deployed Sekienton in an attempt to impair the Captain's vision, however, this spell would prove useless against Kokūzō's mist which rapidly released from the blade to wash away the crimson mist that was gathering in his direction. Spiritual energy builds in his left hand as this moment of pause from the Shihōin allows him to formulate his next move. While in thought he raises his left hand and snaps his fingers, this act is unrelated to the energy building in this hand however it is very much so related to the earlier casted Hadō #33, Sōkatsui. When that spell was fired it had a white outline around it, those well versed in Kido should know what the spell looks like when fired and in this case that small missed detail will allow Tenzen to pierce that fishnet barrier with a spell, regardless of its strength.
With a snap of his fingers, another Sōkatsui is unleashed from within the net itself in a large and wide arc filling this protective bubble she had placed herself in. The level of damage this spell can cause is already known as it wipes away the puppets and eventually scorches Okito herself. How did this spell get inside or how was it even able to cast itself from within the barrier? It is a testament to the Oda's standing as the Grand Kido Chief as he used a simple technique called Kido Displacement. The white aura around the first blast was the Chief hiding another spell within the first when that first spell made contact with the barrier it transferred the hidden spell into the said barrier and from there all he needed to do was trigger it. He has turned her protective haven into an incinerator all while he remains outside the barrier, his mist washing over the ground he stands upon wondering if he will be retrieving a corpse once those flames have had their way inside that barrier.