Ultimate Distraction: Destroy the Fourth! (NDE, R)

It had been a calm afternoon. The Vice-Captain of Division Four had very little on his plate at the moment. Things had been going smoothly as of late, with only minor causalities coming back from routine missions. Hibiki had taken advantage of this downtime to enter his inner world and have a chat with Hitsu, his zanpakuto. His inner world took the form of a diner that appeared to be ripped straight out of the early 1940s. Pristine white and black tiles lined the floor, leather booths and wooden tables filled the space, and a counter with matching stools was around if anyone should want to sit alone. Overall, this world could easily be called quaint. The only thing worth coming here for was if you wanted to talk to Hitsu, or if you wanted the best damn cheeseburger you’d ever had.

The one truly sentient being aside from Hitsu in this space was of course Hibiki. Today, he was dressed up sharp for no particular reason beyond that he enjoyed how his own body looked in a suit. He was wearing a white dress shirt which was starched, pressed, and had such a high thread count that the cotton almost felt like silk. On top of that was a red tie, complete with a silver tie bar to fasten it to his shirt. Over both of these items was a perfectly tailored suit jacket. This particular one was black with a subtle black shadowstripe. His legs were clad in matching pants, and a pair of black dress socks and loafers covered his feet.

Just as Hibiki was about to take a bite into one such burger, a deluxe triple bacon cheeseburger mind you, his inner world was invaded. It was not a person, nor a monster, but a voice that had intruded. The voice belonged to the Captain of the Fourth Division, Griswald P. Lorilad. “Everyone, this is a direct order. You are all to evacuate immediately and head to the First Division. I repeat: Everyone, this is a direct order. You are all to evacuate immediately and head to the First Division. We are under attack by an unknown force, believed to be an Arrancar. Vice-Captain Kamikawa will stay behind and try to buy time for reinforcements to arrive. Your orders are simple. Protect our supplies and equipment. If you must sacrifice yourself to do so, then consider it a good cause. However, do not let yourself die in vain, for if you die without taking the enemy with you, your death is for naught. Good luck.”

No doubt this invasion into the vice-captain’s inner world had been the work of Bakudo 77: Tenteikuura. The orders of Ishi-Taicho were absolute. The Captain had almost no fighting power so it made sense that he would elect to leave Hibiki on the defense rather than staying himself. The man set his food down before he had even been able to take a bite, tipped his head in farewell to Hitsu, and let his consciousness return to Soul Society. This was war. Hibiki had experienced this only once before in his life, and even then he had been on the sidelines. He had lived through Azeru Cho’s betrayal, though he had nearly died during that war. Back then, he did not have the strength to make much of a difference, but this was different altogether. This was a war that he could do something about. He was the one who could defend the Fourth Division.

Hibiki stood from his chair and retrieved his vice-captain’s badge from a desk drawer. He took the length of yellow silk and wrapped tied it to his left shoulder. Then he grabbed his zanpakuto from its decorative black bracket on the wall and strode out the door of his office. A quick thought pained him as he remembered that this Shoji door was not the one he liked. This was a cheap replacement for the antique wooden one that had once filled the space. Kubi still owed him a new door for destroying it. Hibiki shook these thoughts aside as he set out to defend his home. He could reminisce about the finer things in life once they were not at risk of being destroyed by an enemy.

His office door led directly into the main courtyard of the Fourth’s Barracks. He felt at home in this space. He walked through it several times every day, and so he knew it was perfectly square, with sides exactly 100 meters long. The east side was the entrance, the west housed most of the surgical facilities, and north had most of the supplies, and the south side was where offices and paperwork were. His door was just east of the center of the south side; the center door belonged to Ishi-Taicho. As he stepped out into the courtyard, he detected the spiritual pressure that was the threat. It was clearly not a Shinigami, and it was still outside the main gate of the barracks. Calmly, he walked into the center of the courtyard and waited for his opponent to enter the barracks. He would allow them inside, but that did not mean he would allow them to escape.

Reiatsu: 4000/4000

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There was a reason Hibiki was not worried as he slowly walked into the center of the courtyard that had nothing to do with his adept ability to keep a calm mind. He knew that whatever was on the other side of the east wall was an enemy. He knew that he was only one stopping them from destroying the Fourth Division. Above all, he knew that it would be in his best interest to end this quickly. He could stall for reinforcements as Ishi-Taicho had suggested, but if the opponent was truly strong, then it was unlikely he could hold his own long enough for that to happen. Instead, he would see if he could not simply end the fight before it began.

As the medic walked into the courtyard, an incantation was on his breath. It was barely above a whisper, for he saw no need to broadcast his actions. "Ye lord. Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man. Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws." This incantation had taken him an important few seconds to speak, but he had plenty of time to do so before he arrived at the center of the courtyard. The moment that he arrived in the center of the courtyard was the same moment that Myza had used Sonido to get on top of the gate.

By the time he had arrived in the center of the courtyard, his body had begun to glow with a white light. This attack would not have an ounce of strength held back. His arm raised to shoulder level at the same time that Myza began to charge her Ceros. “Hado Number 33” "Cero Extensión." “Sokatsui!” In that same instant, both sides let their attacks fly out. The courtyard was instantly filled with blue light from the west, and red light from the east. The blue light stretched to fill most of the courtyard, while the red light arced out in four blasts, each 12 feet wide. Both blasts were moving quite quickly, and the space was filled with this light seemingly instantly. The red and blue energy collided, exploded, and vanished.

Each blast was launched with equal reiatsu strength, and while Cero Extensión was a higher level technique than Sokatsui, it was in reality just four different Ceros at the same time. Each individual cero had no more power than an ordinary one, so these blasts were actually of lesser strength. This meant that the Sokatsui was generally able to overpower them, especially since the incantation had been used. However, because the combatant’s reiatsu strength was identical, there was not enough of a gap in power to completely overwhelm all the Cero. Instead, all that the difference would manage to do is direct most of the explosion outwards.

That explosion was fairly weak considering the force of the combatant’s reiatsu. The blast mostly just shot up a lot of dust, and knocked a few roof tiles loose. This was the nature of Sokatsui’s damage shining through. Its energy was spread of a wide area, and thus it was rather weak. This factor also contributed to why it did not simply overwhelm the Ceros. The fact that Hibiki had opted for a wide ranging attack had allowed him to stop all of the incoming blasts, regardless of his human-level instincts. For now, the barracks were in a decent condition, but these blasts were effectively nothing more than an introduction. It was hard to say what would become of these buildings as the fight went on, especially if both fighters were capable of such terrifying blasts of reiatsu.

A voice called out through the swirling dust. This one was clearly female. "Greetings, Shinigami. You have been found unfit to live by the Chosen People, and I am here to conduct your trial. You are guilty of harboring and trying to salvage those that have been unfit to live. Your punishment will be the destruction of your home and place to provide relief to the weak. Tell me your name, so I can fill out my records later." The vice-captain listened wordlessly, for it was rude to interrupt a lady… even if she was trying to destroy you. Only once she was done did he take a turn to speak.

“I am Kamikawa Hibiki, Vice-Captain of Squad Four. I will ask only once. Will you retreat now and lay down your arms, or must I show you the error of your ways by force? Your attacks will not destroy these walls while I still breathe, for my defense is the most powerful in all of Soul Society. These are the hands that have saved many lives, but they have taken just as many. Should you still wish to pass your judgment upon me, I will show you the truth of this world. The Gotei 13 is not weak. We may falter, yes, but we will always get back up so long as the Fourth Division still stands. My squad is not the most powerful, but we are the reason you can never hope to defeat us. Knowing that our strength borders on immortality, will you still face us? Knowing that our armies outnumber you to so vast a degree it is hilarious, will you still call us weak? If so, come forth to meet your demise; for this is war and I shall show no restraint to a lady at such a critical hour.”

These words would have an impact on Myza, even if she did not want to admit it. Hibiki was one of the most charismatic men across all planes of existence, and it was impossible to simply ignore him when he spoke. His words had an almost magical feeling to them. They would make Myza consider many things. Could she win? Could she destroy the barracks? Why was she doing this? Why were any of the arrancar invading? Where they not as doomed as the medic claimed? This was psychological warfare. Hibiki had planted the seeds of doubt in her heart as the battle began. Even for someone as ruthless as Myza, it simply would not be possible to just laugh off these words. They were an attack more fearsome than any blast of energy the medic could hope to conjure. They would make her question everything about her actions. Even if it was just for a moment, this would serve a purpose in the end. If Hibiki could actually persuade the arrancar to simply leave, it would be the best possible outcome.

Reiatsu: 3900/4000
-100 for Sokatsui

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As the dust settled, a pair of stunning figures laid eyes on each other. Because of the timing of Hibiki’s massive Sokatsui, this would be the first either had seen of each other. Myza’s appearance was… troublesome. On the one hand, her body was bordering on perfection. She had curves in all the right places, and none of those curves left anything lacking. Her outfit was simple, but tasteful, and earned the fashonista’s approval instantly. It was also tight enough to invoke some of the man’s baser desires, but these were quickly suppressed. The gravity of the situation was far more important than his libido.

There were, however, certain qualities that would have made it unlikely for Hibiki to shower Myza in compliments regardless of the circumstance. All of these qualities were centered on one specific area: her face. The mask, curved into a sadistic smile, was proof of her inhumanity. Its shape symbolized evil, and it’s presence was a constant reminder that she was an arrancar. Then there were her eyes. As cliché as it might be, the vice-captain believed that the eyes truly were a portal to the soul, and all he could see therein was cruelty. To the medic, only eyes full of compassion could ever be considered attractive. The location of the arrancar’s hole was… interesting, but it’s existence itself was not something that bothered Hibiki greatly. Overall, his conclusion about this woman was one thing, and one thing only: she is dangerous. He knew all too well that what he read in Myza’s eyes said much more about her than the curves of her figure ever would.

The vice-captain also noted both the nature of his opponent’s weapon, as well as the fact that it was being readied. The lack of a sword implied that this chain was her zanpakuto, so he knew it would be difficult to cut. He was also aware that fighting a chain would be far different from fighting a sword. Myza would be at an advantage in a mid-range fight, but the medic would have an advantage up close. There was also a critical flaw in fighting with a chain that he would be sure to abuse. If the arrancar ever made the mistake of happening to throw the chain in a straight line, it would be challenging to recall the chain until it stopped moving forward. Unless this woman had telekinetic control over her weapon, she would first have to stop it, and only then could she pull it back to her. No doubt she was familiar enough with her weapon to do this quickly, but that moment would still leave an important opening.

The medic listened politely as the woman before him spoke. Even if she was the enemy, he would still offer a lady this courtesy. Only once she stopped speaking did he take his turn. “First and foremost, I must correct you on one point. My name is Japanese. Kamikawa is my family name, and Hibiki is my given name. While I’m delighted to hear that you respect me, I find your words hard to believe. If you truly respect me, than I would have assumed I needn’t ask for your name. Regardless, I accept your motives for the assault. Orders are absolute, and we cannot stray from them. It is a shame though, that we must fight like this. Perhaps one day we can learn to settle our differences diplomatically. Until that day comes, know that I fight you because I must, not because I desire to. It will be a shame to erase such beauty from this world, but I will not let you destroy my home.”

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Once Hibiki’s retort was over, he found that Myza had begun to charge at him. Even with her bestial speed, it still took her several seconds to close the distance. This was because she had started at roughly 45 meters away from the vice-captain, who was perfectly centered in the courtyard, and ended just over three meters away from him. As the chain lashed out, Myza would have observed two things. The first was that the vice-captain had spoken four words as she approached. These were words she would know well if they had been spoken in English, but as if to prove he was Japanese, Hibiki opted for his native language. “Hadou no yon: Byakurai.” The words left his lips calmly, and were spoken at a normal volume. The second thing she would notice is that hand that had fired the Sokatsui now had only a single finger pointed at Myza, and it glowed with a bright blue light.

Myza would be able to observe a third thing as her chain neared the vice-captain’s leg. He was no longer there. A step of Shunpo had taken the vice-captain into Myza’s personal space. His left foot was in back, and his right was an arm’s length away from her. The reason for this amount of distance was that his arm was stretched out through this gap, so that his finger was only an inch from her face. The concerning part about this, was that the instant he arrived in this spot was the same instant the Byakurai left his finger. The blast erupted outwards, and to both combatants it appeared to instantaneously fill the inch between the shinigami’s finger and the arrancar’s face.

Such an attack was unusually ruthless for Hibiki. It was not an attack designed to test the waters like he normally would, nor was it similar to the playful hints he had given Zeich. No, this was an attack designed to end the fight instantly. Byakurai was a fast moving spell with immense piercing power, and he had only needed to move a few feet with Shunpo before launching the attack, meaning that his execution would happen faster than a human, even if they were a well-trained athlete, would hope to be able to react. As the attack left his fingers, he uttered a few words under his breath. Even at this distance, they were so quiet that Myza would be unlikely to hear them. "Such a pity..."

Reiatsu: 3825/4000
-25 for Byakurai
-50 for Shunpo

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Myza was indeed, able to dodge the Byakurai, but not entirely for the reasons she had assumed. The fluctuation in Hibiki’s reiatsu to prepare such a small Kido was infinitesimal. In reality, he had expended just over six tenths of a percent of his reserves to prepare Byakurai. Not even a single percent of his reserves were spent for such a low level attack. The fluctuation was imperceptible to someone with Myza’s level of energy sensing abilities. It would require significantly advanced sensing abilities to be able to detect such a tiny fluctuation. Surely her sensing capabilities could warn her of a larger attack, but such a tiny difference was beyond her ability.

There was also the factor that Hibiki was a master of Kido, and had mastered Byakurai. With his skill, both in general and with Byakurai specifically, it took far less time to charge the technique than for him to even say a single syllable of its name. Registering such a tiny change in his reiatsu reserves, especially when the technique had an almost imperceptible amount of charge-up time was beyond the level of either combatant. The vice-captain felt no strain on his energy from using such a basic technique, and Myza would not notice a difference in his energy reserves.

As for Pesquis, it was not a technique capable of distinguishing such a tiny difference either. Pesquis was indeed able to locate a source of reiatsu in combat, and to tell roughly how strong that reiatsu was. However, the technique had several limitations. First and foremost, it was not capable of distinguishing between reiatsu being prepared for a technique and reiatsu that was latently stored in a person. This was especially relevant since the energy for Byakurai was stored inside of Hibiki’s finger until it was actually fired. The glow was merely the light of the energy accumulating within his body. In addition, those who had incredibly strong reiatsu were able to skirt around the effect of Pesquis. While the medic was still only a vice-captain, his reiatsu strength and spiritual pressure were comparable to that of an average captain. In fact, both his reiatsu strength and spiritual pressure were greater than several of the current captains in the Gotei 13. Because of this, Pesquis would be far less useful against Hibiki than any of the previous opponents Myza had faced. It was still likely that she would be able to determine his general position, but things like noticing a technique was being prepared were far beyond the realm of a basic Pesquis.


If both Myza’s energy sensory and Pesquis were unable to warn her of the attack, then why was she still able to react in time? There were two reasons. First, even if it was only for a split second before the medic used Shunpo, his finger had been aglow with light. Even a child would likely interpret this as some kind of attack. Myza, however, was a skilled analyst, and so she was easily able to determine the strength of the attack based on the size of the glow, the pose taken, and the fact that she was unable to notice a drop in Hibiki’s reiatsu reserves. All these factors would indicate a low-level attack, and she knew that a Bala would easily counter it.

Even if these factors had been enough, Hibiki had still called out the name of the attack. The only difference between the Japanese and English here was the two least important words. “No yon” replaced “number four,” and as a skilled analyst, Myza would be completely unfettered by this difference. In addition, there was a variation in how Hado was pounced, between English and Japanese speakers, but such a point was terribly minor. Even if the first three words were jibberish, the word “Byakurai” would still be a dead giveaway. The linguistic differences mattered not. Myza had seen this attack used by other Shinigami, and knew that Byakurai was the name of a certain offensive technique. She was already familiar with its strength to some degree. There was no reason she could not have come up with this counter simply based on a glowing light and the word Byakurai. This is why she was able to dodge effectively, not because of her energy sensing abilities or Pesquis.

It was once Myzaraphiston had countered the Byakurai that her chain came sweeping in towards Hibiki. He was not in an ideal spot to evade it, but he could have been far worse off. As a master of mixed martial arts, the vice-captain was aware of his own body, its position, and how the enemy could capitalize on potential oversights in his positioning easily. Keeping track of things like this required no thought. They were second nature for such an experienced martial artist. One of the basic rules of martial arts was to never fully lock a limb out if possible. A fully extended limb was vulnerable to having its joints shattered, and would be slower to react since the muscles were either in a fully contracted or extended state. Anyone with basic martial arts training would know that it is better to leave their limbs loose so they can easily be moved in any direction.

This was especially true of Hibiki, whose hand to hand fighting style had come to resemble Kenpo Karate more than the original form of Karate he learned. Kenpo Karate focused on flexibility and circular movements far more than traditional Karate, and the medic’s style had taken after this difference as it had matured. Because of this, his arm had not extended to a fully locked out position. Instead, there was a bend in his arm as he fired the Byakurai. The importance of this detail was massively magnified, since it meant he was not directly in front of Myza. Instead, he was ever so slightly off to her left side. His stance was perpendicular to the arrancar’s own, meaning that he had kept the chain inside of his view during the assault.

These factors had combined to give the vice-captain enough time to prepare a defense that stopped the chain from even touching him. His defense was simple, but it was not the obvious one. It was not a movement technique, nor was it a movement of any kind. No, this was something far more basic than that for Hibiki. What stopped the chain was his released Zanpakuto. He had known the chain would still be coming for him when he began this attack. Even if his blow had killed the arrancar, it would not stop the momentum of the chain. That much was fact. It was also fact that he had entered into this situation with several different ways to stop the chain in mind. Ultimately, the most practical one was the released form of his Zanpakuto.

Only the tiniest fraction of a second had passed between the moment that Hibiki had taken a step of Shunpo and the one in which he began this next task. This was possible only because he had been planning to defend against the chain from the beginning. Had Myzaraphiston launched a second attack at this range, he would have been harder pressed to deal with it, but this was something he was already well aware of. His left hand reached down and grabbed the hilt of his sword in a reversed grip. He pulled the weapon out and up so that only the tip of his blade remained in the sheath. As he did so, two words left his lips: the phrase to release his weapon. “Design, Hitsu.”

The sheath of his sword vanished, and a bright white light exploded out of his sword, only to collapse back into the weapon. In place of the sword was now a staff. It was white, but had black bands near the ends, and stood as tall as the medic’s shoulder. What had been an awkward, reversed grip on his sword was now a normal overhand grip on a staff. Hitsu was then firmly placed on the ground in front of the vice-captain’s left foot. Here, it acted as a fulcrum around which the chain pivoted. It did not merely push the staff aside, for the sweeping motion of the chain exerted minimal force this close to its wielder. It did not cut through the staff, for both weapons were equal in reiatsu strength. It strained Hibiki’s arms to hold back the chain, for his strength was indeed weaker than Myza’s own by several times, but at this range her attack far easier to defend against than it would have been in his original spot.

The other thing that aided the vice-captains defense was that his staff was also exerting a force to push the chain away. It was not the force of the staff itself moving, but rather of a new mass of condensed spirit particles coming out of it. This mass of energy was actually a sheet of Reikiji, also known as Spirit Cloth. The creation of Reikiji was the primarily ability of Hitsu, and every sheet it produced was six feet by six feet. This specific sheet of Reikiji was primarily white, but had an interlacing grid of blue and black stripes. It was Tattersall, Hibiki’s defensive design. This too, was part of his plan from the beginning. The arrancar likely would not realize it yet, but this was the beginning of a problem.

If the chain had been left to its own mechanisms, it would have eventually encircled the vice-captain and cut off his escape. However, the force this close to the wielder of the chain was minimal due to its reduced speed, and the outwards force of the sheet of Tattersall pushing against it helped slow its motion further. Myzaraphiston had taken this opportunity to move past the vice-captain with a stepping technique, as it was clear her attack had been countered. By doing so, the end of her chain was pulled back towards her old location so that it could follow after the part she was dragging with her. This motion created a chainsaw like effect, made even more brutal by the fact that this chain was barbed.

The problem would immediately become evident to the arrancar at this moment. Her weapon could not cut through the Tattersall Reikiji, and Hibiki had expected as much. Even with its chainsaw-like motion, it lacked the reiatsu strength to even make an indent into the sheet. The chain would not cut it, and the barbs would not hook into it. The Tattersall was completely impenetrable to the chain at its current strength. This was a definite problem for the arrancar. At the moment, this fact mattered little, for Myza had taken this position for a second reason. She was now in a spot where she appeared to be able to launch an attack at the west wing of the Fourth Division Barracks. Little did she know that she was aiming at one of the more important spots of the barracks. The west wing held the surgical equipment, and was second in priority only to the north wing that held all the other supplies.

It was not even permissible for Hibiki to consider letting an attack reach that spot, especially not an attack as powerful as a Cero. But how did the medic know that Myza was using a cero? The answer is simple. He had already seen the arrancar demonstrate her Cero Extension technique, which had merely been four Cero launched at the same time. That meant the vice-captain had effectively seen her use this attack four times already. With his skill in battle analysis, as well as in regular analysis, he had been able to determine the feel of the energy used in a Cero. Beyond that, he had already seen countless other hollow use the technique, so he knew everything about it as a general technique. The only variable was the destructive power when Myza would use it, but he already knew that it was likely less than his own Sokatsui. Otherwise, that Hado would not have been able to stop the Cero Extension.

This still did not explain why the medic was able to detect a Cero the moment it began charging. With his above average energy sensory, three things would be easily detectable. One was that whatever the arrancar was doing, between the Sonido and something else, had drained 15% of her energy in an instant. Such a massive change in reiatsu was easy to notice. There was also the fact that Cero was charged external to one’s body, so it would not be masked to the same extent that a Kido would. It was far easier to detect a mass of reiatsu forming outside the body than within it. On top of that, as explained above, Hibiki had already seen this type of charge-up four times from this arrancar alone. Detecting a technique that he had already seen that many times was not hard considering his energy sensing abilities combined with his expertise in both battle and regular analysis.

He knew what his opponent was doing, and he knew he could not let it succeed. More importantly, he knew how to stop it. The sheet of Tattersall that had stopped the chain was now responsible for stopping the Cero. In an instant, it had disappeared and reappeared once more a fraction of an inch in front of the arrancar’s Cero. The sheet hovered in the air, and was exactly centered in front of the forming ball of reiatsu. But how had it moved so fast? It was one of Hibiki’s basic techniques with his Shikai: High-Speed Reikiji Control. A sheet of Reikiji could normally move at a speed equal to the vice-captains reiatsu strength, which was currently at 600. High-Speed Reikiji Control allowed the sheet to travel ten times faster than usual, which meant that it had moved at a speed of 6000.

In truth, the sheet had gotten there in just the nick of time. One of the major downsides of High-Speed Reikiji Control was that the sheet cannot change directions, or any other aspect about its movement, while the technique is active. The sheet had needed to rotate and slide into the exact right spot only after arriving in front of Myza’s hand. This was still performed at a speed of 600, which was more than sufficient to cause the sheet to blur while it did so. This plan had taken advantage of one key fact about Cero. They took space to fully expand to their maximum size. While Myza’s Cero reached a diameter that would bypass the six foot square of Tattersall quickly, it did not do so instantly. Because the sheet was effectively right on top of the Cero, it would not be able to expand to this size.

The result was less than desirable for the arrancar. Her cero effectively detonated at point-blank range, before it was able to expand outwards. She would be caught in the destructive blast of her own Cero. It would likely result in considerable damage to her arm that had fired it, and possibly would damage the rest of her as well. Escaping this result would require a miracle considering the state that Myza was currently in. Her attention was focused on the enemy, not her own arm or the space in front of it. The sheet of Tattersall Reikiji had moved faster than her instincts could hope to process, especially while her gaze was elsewhere. It had moved three and one thirds faster than her Sonido was able to!

On top of this, she had already committed to launching a Cero at the western wing of the barracks. She had reached the point of no return when she decided to fire this technique, and even if she understood what would happen, she would not have fast enough instincts to stop the shot. The sheet of Tattersall Reikiji had arrived just in time to intercept the blast, which also meant there was virtually zero time to react to its presence. There was still the further problem that Myza had no clue what Tattersall did yet. She would surely learn from this that it was a defensive technique, but all she was likely to be able to analyze until now was that it was hard to cut. She had no way to know that her Cero would completely backfire like this. She did not know what the result would be, and even if she had, she was still unable to react fast enough to stop it from becoming reality.

As this action was taking place, Hibiki was preparing other machinations. The charging of the Cero had given him an important few seconds to react, but also to continue creating Reikiji. A second sheet had emerged by the time the Cero had backfired. It was positioned between the two combatants, and bore a different design than the first sheet. This sheet also had a white background, but upon it were 36 different depictions of eyes. This was “The Eye.” This design acted like an observer. It collected sensory data as well as Hibiki’s body could, including energy sensory information. The only sense it lacked was that of pain. All this data was transmitted at light speed to his brain, where the information it perceived was fused with his own. It created a three dimensional understanding of the battlefield, which increased his knowledge of the fight to a nearly superhuman level. It was also worth noting that The Eye could perceive things on both sides of the sheet, so the medic could clearly see both himself and his opponent so long as the sheet was between them.

From behind The Eye, he spoke to the arrancar. “You were warned, Arrancar. My defense is the strongest in Soul Society. At your level, you cannot even hope to cut it. If you try to attack further, you will find that the result is the same every time. Your assault is hopeless. My defense can move faster than you. On top of that, you can clearly see that I can create it ad infinitum. Soon, the entire barracks will be covered in these sheets, and you will truly be unable to damage them. Even if I should fall, my defense will not vanish. I can create this defense, but it shall only vanish if it is destroyed or I will for it to vanish. You cannot destroy it, and even with my dying thoughts I will never let it disappear so long as you still stand. Your mission is foiled. You are defeated. That’s all there is to it.”

There was a great deal of lying involved in his proclamations. In truth, he could only create four six by six sheets of Reikiji at a time. He could not cover the entire barracks. Such a feat was massively beyond what he was capable of. This mattered not. The point of his words was the same as before. They were meant to demoralize the opponent, and make her desperate to succeed. If she was desperate, she would be sloppy. If she was sloppy, then she would be easier to kill. Even though these words were a lie, the vice-captain’s efforts would still have a demoralizing effect to some degree. It was possible that Myza might be able to call the bluff, but she had seen for herself that she could not destroy the Reikiji. She knew the sheet had moved faster than she could ever hope to. This meant she knew that at least part of Hibiki’s declaration was true. Her hopes of accomplishing her objective had vanished the moment the vice-captain had released, and his charismatic words would etch this point into her very soul.

Reiatsu: 3525/4000
-200 for Shikai
-100 for High-Speed Reikiji Control

Shikai: 1/10

Sheets Active: 1 Tattersall Sheet and 1 The Eye Sheet

Hibiki's counter would have worked against a great many attacks. After all, most attacks really did require you to commit to them to use them to full effect. However, a Cero was not like most attacks. It took time to prepare and charge. Even with Myza's mastery of the technique, it took a full second and a half to fire. Which was more than enough time to react to the recent turn of events. The Tattersall would indeed reach its position in less than a heartbeat, and quickly turn to block the attack. However, there was no longer any attack coming. The green energy of the Cero was no longer there, having been harmlessly dispersed into nothingness before it ever fired.

The reasons behind this event were quite simple. Myzaraphiston had already been looking at the Vice-Captain while she was getting ready to fire her attack, and had seen the sheet that had been in front of him disappear. She had already recognized the sheet's defensive properties due to her attempt to harm him with her chain earlier. She also knew that this man was canny enough to realize that she was attempting to fire a devastating attack, and was determined to protect his home. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together about where the sheet had disappeared to. Even without that, there was one other reason Myza would be able to tell where the cloth was: Her Pesquis was still active. While it wouldn't tell her how strong the spiritual defense of the cloth was, it could tell her exactly where it was.

While she may not have been sure about the exact defensive properties of the sheet that was now almost definitely in front of her attack, she already knew her opponent well enough to recognize that he wouldn't waste a single action in this fight. And with the position of that cloth relative to her, it would force her Cero to detonate directly in her hand, something that would be disastrous for her mission. So she took the most direct possible way to prevent this damage: She stopped charging the Cero, letting the energy harmlessly disperse. Such a task was child's play for her, thanks to her own mastery over the technique. Sadly, it meant that she had wasted the reiatsu needed to charge the attack, but it was a small price to pay for her continued capability to fight.

She would just calmly listen to the man as he boasted about his defense after that, taking a moment to look over the new cloth he had put out. That other cloth was different looking. It had that x-pattern. This one, however, has eyes. So that probably means that it has a different property than the other. If I had to guess, I'd say it is something sensory, based off the pattern. But does it attack senses, or does it give him more... No, wait. It can't attack senses. If it did, he would have already used that. He wants this fight over quickly and decisively. All of his actions have shown that so far. If that first one was meant to be a defense, and this one is meant to help his senses... Is it possible that his release has no way to improve his offenses?

Hibiki would have finished his speech by that point, and Myza would just stand there for a moment, before raising up her chain. "... Perhaps you are right, Mr. Hibiki. Perhaps your defense will stop me. However, before we consider this a foregone conclusion, allow me to ask you one question: Have you ever seen one of the Chosen People release their own Zanpakuto before? If not... then I'm about to teach you a lesson in survival. Now, Punish and Absolve..." She would then swing down one of the hooks on her chain towards her arm, dragging it from wrist to elbow and forcing a foul-smelling black fluid to spurt out before it almost instantly spread to cover her body. "... Agonia Inquisidor." At those last two words, the chain would instantly be retracted into her body, creating a wet slurping sound as it did so.



It would be at this time that Hibiki would feel her reiatsu reserves massively fluctuate, before they simply disappeared from his senses. He last perceivable impression of the strength of her reserves would more than likely lead his advanced analysis skills to one conclusion: Her power reserves had skyrocketed until he could no longer perceive them. However, that was not the only observable change. Massive black tentacles, each 60 feet long and covered in vicious barbs that oozed out the same black fluid from before, would burst from her arms, her shoulderblades, and her waist. At the end of each of the tentacles was a large, bone-like hook, with serrated edges on it that showed it was perfect for ripping apart flesh. The black fluid that had moved to cover her body had also hardened into a glossy grey armor.

However, Hibiki wouldn't have long to observe her from that viewpoint, since she would disappear in a flash using Sonido. She was on top of the western wing, and then she wasn't. She had used Sonido again to move to the north, then disappeared once again to the south, each step with nary a second between it. She would then step down in front of the north wing once again, disappearing and reappearing back in her original place in front of the west wing. She would then use one last Sonido to move back to the entrance, once again on her perch from where she had fired her Cero Extension. And left behind in each place she had stepped to was a glowing orb of green energy, simply sitting there.

She would then cut her hand with a nearby barb, wiping the now-flowing blood across her mask. Hibiki would then see the familiar charging of a Cero Extension. However, this time, the four she was firing from her Head, Hands, and Hole were joined by one on each of the tentacles, a pair of them each pointed at one of the seperate wings from an extreme upward angle. Each tentacle was extended out as far as possible, while still pointing at its individual wing, ensuring a large coverage that Hibiki wouldn't be able to easily block with a Tattersall. Myza would then speak two simple words. "Cero Extension." 10 Cero would then blast forward, each heading in a different direction. The 4 from Myza's central mass were headed towards Hibiki, while the six from the tentacles were each heaed towards the barracks itself. As before, if any of them hit, it would wreak utter devastation upon the structure.

However, Myzaraphiston was not simply relying on her Cero Extension to get the job done. No, she also had another way to ensure this pitiful sickhouse's destruction. If Myza felt any of Hibiki's spiritual cloth start to come near her while she fired her Cero Extension, the glowing green orbs she had planted before would fire and become Cero, each of the five hitting the portion of the barracks it had been placed at. This technique was called the Cero Durmiente, which allowed the user to place Cero "mines" that could be remotely activated and fired in any direction at will. This would most likely ensure the Barracks destruction, for how could Hibiki hope to stop the might of 15 Cero at once?

RemainingReiatsu: Infinite (-1550 after release ends)

Pesquis Count: 3/5

Release Time: 1/8

Myza was panting atop her perch on the entrance to the squad 4 barracks. She hadn't actually ever expended that much energy at once before in a fight, and had no idea how much it would take out of her. Against most opponents, she was able to take a more methodical approach, and generally had the upper hand in terms of relative strength. Even against Adalo, she hadn't used this much power at once. However, that was because he had just walked all over her in that fight, and she hadn't really had many other opportunities to counterattack. This was actually the first real pitched battle she had gone through since being a Hollow. Had she known the effect this would have on her, she probably would have settled upon a more conservative approach.

However, Myzaraphiston wasn't able to really consider altering her strategy in the future. No, instead she had the torrent of destructive energy Hibiki just let out. She was too tired to actually avoid it, and she wouldn't have been able to get out of its path anyways. And so, the Kidou would overwhelm her position, and she wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it.

However, she didn't have to. A massive black tear opened up in the sky above, revealing a writhing mass of Gillian within it, a sickly purple glow in the shape of a barely open eye behind them. A golden light descended, encasing Myza and part of the gate. The blue energy of Hibiki's attack would go around the light, like water in a stream being diverted by a stone. He would see her still standing there on the portion of the entrance she had claimed, which was slowly floating up to the opening in the sky. She had her arms crossed behind her back now, the tentacles moving in slow circular patterns in the air.

"I believe this is goodbye for us, Mr. Hibiki. For now, at least. I've served my purpose here. While I'm sure Most Fit Adalo and the other Espada would have liked for me to fully destroy this sickhouse, I was only ever meant to be a distraction. I can feel others coming this way already, some with a more impressive reiatsu than others. Reinforcements, I would assume. But it's too late. By now, Most Fit Adalo and the others have started the true assualt. I can no longer influence the fate of this battle. However, I do know that you and I will meet again. Until then, Mr. Hibiki, I want you to remember me. I am Arrancar #69, Myzaraphiston Synderfell. I am Fraccion of the Primera himself, Adalo De-Mona. You and I will be able to resume our battle then, and prove who is more fit." A real smile graced her face under her mask, and she dipped into a light bow towards the Shinigami. "I'll be looking forward to it."

With that, she was fully into the tear in the world, which snapped shut, signally the Arrancar's full departure from this plane of existence. She had not been successful in destroying the barracks, however. But like she had said, she had been the perfect distraction. Other Shinigami would arrive shortly afterwards, precious resources diverted and distracted from other, even more destructive attackers. Myza may not have achieved her primary objective, but she had served her purpose. And that was enough for her.

Combat Over!

Winner: Kamikawa Hibiki