Purification [R, DE]

Hokori's papers pushed at the slightly translucent bubble shield surrounding Iro, but they wouldn't do anything at all. Iro had full control over his objects just as his cousin had full control over his papers, and Iro's objects had strength on their side. Iro's more than powerful reiatsu strength powered these objects, and as the thousands of papers weighed down on the shield, it held itself up and pushed back with a strength of 1200. These objects could tear down buildings and hold back trains moving at full speed with ease. They had no issue putting up with a little bit of paper that was pushing down on them. However, even if Iro was able to avoid having his object squish him from being pushed down too far, that didn't mean that he could see through the wall of paper nor deal with all of it in one go to avoid being cut at. While the Kuchiki just stood under the massive weight of the paper, he noticed Hokori charging a very large attack.

"We're going to get in so much trouble..." All at once, Hokori would feel a massive weight being placed on him. He would begin to feel afraid, more afraid than he had ever been in his life. Not only would he start to fear Iro, as well as battle, but he would start to fear himself. This fear would start to possess him, disrupting his ability to form his attack. In order to focus the reiatsu necessary to perform both To and Sekkenkooriboufuu, he'd burn off twice as much reiatsu trying to form the powerful Hado and the Speed Hana. Iro didn't know exactly what techniques his cousin was using, but if he was going to charge up that powerful of a technique just to prove a point, he was worth reevaluating. "We've released some of our greatest levels of power in just what was going to be a friendly spar and I have no choice but to consider you my enemy right now... Is there no hope for familial bonds here in the Soul Society? In the Land of the Living, family doesn't fight like this, but here in the Soul Society it is normal..."

Hokori pointed his blade at Iro, though the latter couldn't know that, and as he said "Hado 83. Sekkenkooriboufuu" all of a sudden there was a wave of ice that poured out of his blade at impossible speeds. Just as Hokori began to speak, Iro sucked his Carbon shield a little closer to himself, though not restricting all of his breathing space, and fired Surasutoeria, tearing the papers to useless shreds. There wasn't enough time to do much else, however Iro only needed a moment to put up another Cubane shield. The Kidou fired out of Hokori's blade at a stat speed of 8000, which would be too fast for the Kuchiki to try and use his papers to negate this shield in time. The Captain of Squad 5 had his very reiatsu source tainted by the Carbon of Iro's release, and his techniques were just as tainted as his Zanpakutou, causing a fair amount of the Sekkenkooriboufuu to be absorbed and added to the reiatsu strength of the shield.

However, the hado was very large and would have a large portion go around the shield and go for the hastily constructed dome on the outside of the platform. It was three miles away to the edge, but moving at mach 2 speeds, which is approximately .42 miles per second, would allow it to reach the edge and come back in a mere 15 seconds. That was plenty of time for Hokori to negate the Cubane shield, so Iro needed a more... permanent response to Hokori's lack of restraint in this battle. He had plenty of time to prepare his reiatsu and speak the release phrase of his Bankai, the ultimate level of power for a Shinigami. "Rise up and rule over the ..." As Iro was almost finished releasing to Bankai he heard a disgusting voice whisper in his head. "Commmme to the Darrrrk Carrrrnivalllll..."



The voice was slurred, as if there was some sort of liquid that it had to pass through before it made its way into the inner cavities of the Soul Reaper's mind to be heard. The way that the voice probed at his brain was revolting, and Iro felt himself slipping away from reality as it did so. In an instant, the attack from his cousin was gone, and time was utterly frozen. Iro stood upon a grassy hill, overlooking a field of flowers. It was sunny out, and looked like a perfect day to be had inside the Inner World that the Kuchiki stood in. He nervously wrung his hands, obviously perturbed about being there. "Why would you force me here, Muk? Why?" Iro just yelled into the air. There was no danger of asthma affecting him inside his mind, he didn't need to be quiet. He didn't need to stay calm. He was angry, and he was going to let it be known.

_{"you neverrrr commmme to sssssee mmmme... What ammmm I, chop liverrrrr?"} Furiously, Iro began kicking at the ground, churning up grass and flowers beneath his feet, to no avail whatsoever. Whatever he had been kicking at was unaffected by his attempts. "I was busy! I'm in the middle of a life threatening moment against my cousin!" _{"Psshhh, you knnnnnnow that mmmmmmy powerrrrrs arrrrre good ennnnnnough forrrrr himmmmm."} Time was being wasted, talking to the voice that weakly made its way out of the ground. Despite the fact that time seemed irrelevant in the inner world, there was a clock ticking away in Iro's mind, counting down to the moment that he dreaded the most. The sun portion of his Inner World was perfectly fine, completely normal, however every fifteen minutes the rains came. And these rains were by far the most unpleasant thing possible. "Let me out of here before the rains, Muk."

_{"But neverrrr see each otherrrr anymmmmmorrrre..."} A cloud was already on the horizon, coming in fast. Before too long, it would crash upon the knoll in which the Shinigami stood and sweep over him. All he could do was brace himself for the rain. In Iro's tainted Inner World, just as with his tainted Zanpakutou, there had been an original form that had been corrupted by the long time of exile into the Land of the Living, brought about by a Hollow who thrived on drinking the reiatsu out of a subject and leaving the living husk behind. The rains were no longer soft, warm, or gentile. They weren't even rain anymore, but a rough mud that coated everything in sight. _{I feelllll the rrrrainnnnn's} FREEDOM!" Slowly, out of the ground, rose a large puddle of the mud that was tinted purple instead of brown.

This mud shook itself out, revealing a set of eyes and a mouth among the dripping body. Iro, my boy... The rains don't come if you're not around... I get so cramped down there... Iro looked like a four year old, with his back turned to his Zanpakutou spirit, arms crossed, and lips in a pout. He huddled against the pelting of mud that got everywhere, inside clothes, inside ears and all other openings into the body. He had to constantly spit out mud every few words to be able to even talk. "You kn-ptoo-ow as well as -ptoo- I do that it -ptoo- is uncom-ptoo-fortable for -ptoo- me to be in th-ptoo-e rains... The blob of mud just laughed and crashed down on the Soul Reaper, getting more filth on him, if that was even possible. "Yet they only last fifteen minutes of perceived time."

Wiping his mouth clear, and pointing his body towards the ground to avoid more mud in his mouth, Iro was crouched over terribly uncomfortably, but at least it made conversing with Muk all the easier. "Seems like hours of rains and a few moments of sun, as usual... Now do you have anything constructive to say or can I just leave now?" Muk moved its facial area around Iro to look up at the huddled Captain with the most pitiful and sad puppy eyes it could manage. Obviously it didn't look very convincing. "Stay and finish the rain cycle, get to the purge water. We can wrestle for old times sake?" Muk was referring to the pure water that flushed away the mud at the last five seconds of the fifteen minute cycle. It was gone in an instant, but it was sweet when it was present.

Iro stood up and rolled his sleeves up to the elbows. He had once wrestled this beast to force him to give up his name, as well had suppressed him more than once in order to achieve Bankai, a rare feat to accomplish so fast for a Shinigami that spent most of his life as a "human" that aged slowly. It had been only recently, within the past few years, that the Kuchiki had returned to the Soul Society and only recently that he took up the mantle of Captain by purging the Squad of its inept leader. How a half-blind, magic-based Zanpakutou wielder got to be the Captain was beyond Iro, however it was in the past. Squad 11 was his now and he wouldn't let it stay in ruins. He had resolve, he had conviction, and he would let that empower him all the way to Glory. Saix Shinra deserved his memory to be better than "the former Captain of the worst squad in the Gotei 13."

Iro got in a ready stance, and almost immediately was beset by Muk who slammed into his side and tried to push him out of the way. Iro wasn't physically strong, but he was fast, and he'd adjust for the massive size of Muk as he usually did. Being made of mud, the Zanpakutou Spirit did not have much of a weak spot, and physical attacks were useless. However, it did have a face. Spinning around, Iro grabbed at the Spirit's open mouth and wrenched it away from its body. The eyes and mouth were connected by some sort of metaphysical bond, which Iro knew all too well how to break. Slamming the face down on his exposed knee, the bond broke and simply separated the eyes and the mouth. Meanwhile, the body still moved.

Knocking Iro off of his feet and almost causing him to lose grasp of the face, Muk swept his mud torso through Iro's legs forcing him forwards. With a flip, the Kuchiki demonstrated his mastery over momentum, and shoved his hands upwards, holding the eyes and mouth into the air while coating his entire face in a mess of mud.. "I can -ptoo- smell the re-ptoo-al rains." The fresh water came down from the sky, wiping away any and all mud from the area and from Iro's person, and smashing into Muk's face painfully, clawing at the Sprit's eyes and filling his void cavity of a mouth with water that felt unnatural to it. These pure waters were evidence of an incomplete tainting of Iro's Zanpakutou and Inner World, though the release itself may look impure, there was a small sliver of purity in the Inner World itself. With Muk vanquished yet again and Iro clean, the Kuchiki was ready to leave this timeless moment and get back to hunting his cousin. This time, Muk let him return to his senses.



"... Living, Saisho-Shuuryou" With the release phrase finished, and the time spent in the Inner World not even interrupting the moment except for a small pause, and explosion of reiatsu overtook the platform. The carbon surrounding the Shinigami's arms started to flow over his entire body, forcing its way down his throat as well to even coat the inner organs in a shield. His eyes had started to develop black cracks coming from the pupils, but those swallowed the entire eye into black as well. Out of his shoulder blades emerged two black skeletal wings that immediately caused lift to send him upwards. Whether or not Hokori had tried to negate the shield, Iro would let it go himself and fly upwards to avoid the rebound of Hado 83. The papers were now useless, even in massive quantities. Iro's Reiatsu strength had been at a level higher than his cousins before, but now that it was doubled due to the greater concentration of his Carbon, he surpassed his cousin in spiritual strength by three times.

As the Kuchiki left the ground to see Hokori set firmly upon a mat of papers, the second parts of his Bankai release kicked in. First, the crown of diamond would appear on his head, ornamental but highly polished and refined as normal diamond would appear to be. Spikes of diamond were growing out of the ground, five thousand of them, and though the two Kuchiki were perfectly high up enough for them to be out of the way. The spikes would grow approximately three feet up before the Hado 83 swept over them. These were concentrated diamond trees, with a defensive Reiatsu strength of 7200. The Sekkenkooriboufuu would not be able to do anything with its cold to them as they were not simple carbon as well as the fact that they had nine times more reiatsu strength than the Kidou and all of that reiatsu strength was used for protection rather than anything offensive.

In a few moment the wave of icy doom was neutralized in danger from spreading so thin around the massive platform, and the spikes accelerated in growing speed, becoming massive black trees. "My Bankai is the Origin of your Bankai." It was true that paper was made up of trees, however it was just a joke to lighten the mood. Things had gotten way serious, and the two were family after all. Going so far as to cause permanent injury to each other would be cause for serious punishment, if not execution, or worse, being disowned from the Kuchiki and stripped of the Hana that they worked so hard to master. After the joke, Iro's face again became relaxed. Another wave of reiatsu would stretch across the area, now covering six miles in all directions. Iro, as well as the family members watching the events unfold, would suddenly have a threefold increase to their mental processing ability as well as their ability to process the stimuli around them was increased twofold. "You're afraid, you're weakened by so much reiatsu use, and I'm basically fully rested. What are you going to do about it?"

Remaining Reiatsu: 4950/7500 (-150 Kigi, -150 Surasutoeria, -300 Cubane Shield, -300 Bankai, -600 Joukei)
Carbon Remaining: 1000/1000
Bankai Posts: 1/10
Combat Posts: 1/8
New Speed: 132
New Instinct: 112.5 (x3) 337.5
New Senses: 250

He... was just giving up? No, that cannot be so. Hokori didn't have it in him to just give up, especially when his pride as a Captain was on the line. Iro had basically said that the entire Seireitei thought of him as weak. What better way to show to the Gotei 13 his strength than to have taken down his cousin, considered one of the stronger Captains? On the ground, even though his release had been ended, his ink still layered the ground, sickening the earth with its green taint. That must be the reason that he was gesturing out with feigned friendship. Wait... what was he thinking? Iro was caught up in the moment of being struck out at with a murderous Hado, when they were simply engaging in a spar between family. Was the reserved, prideful kid actually growing up and wanting to pardon what people thought of him? Time would tell.

Iro lowered himself towards the ground, but he didn't step in the ink. Instead, before Hokori could do much, a tendril sprung from the ground and wrapped around his entire body. It moved much faster than the previous objects, moving at a stat speed of 2400, tripling Hokori's movement speeds. The thin tendril snaked across his body, forming a cage that restricted any and all movement, including the jaw. Soon Hokori's entire body save his nose, eyes, and ears were held in the prison. This was simply an intimidation technique, there was no danger to the Shinigami. Iro simply wanted to make a point. Before resting on the ground, two small pads of carbon popped out of the ink, sitting two inches off the surface of the vile liquid.

"Let's get one thing straight. Strength does not mean the power to kill. The power to destroy. Sometimes, Strength is the power to hold back, and show mercy. Hado 83... That was too far. You'll answer for what you did, just as I will for my use of the Hana. Today, there won't be an amicable resolution of this spar, I won't shake your hand. Maybe next time. Maybe next time you'll have Strength of Heart. The man who was rumored to have destroyed a large area of the Rukongai in order to try and defeat one Fraccion... that man doesn't have Strength of Heart. Goodbye, cousin, the rest of the family will bail you out eventually, I guess." As he ended his speech, he drifted off to the horizon, towards the family mansion, his skeletal wings flapping and carrying him forward. Hokori's actions had warranted the lack of a warm attitude between them, he would have to learn quick that if what you do has consequences, and not always for yourself. Hopefully the latter didn't come at the cost of life to any of his squad.

Thread Completed