Ut Sim Fidelis (Cinematic, DE)

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

Thread Title: Ut Sim Fidelis
Participants: Jyuria Arroj and Shizuyoko Toraumi
World: Soul Society
Death Setting: Death Enabled
Rating: R
Location: Rukongai District, Wilderness Boundaries. A section of the rukongai in the very fringe of a segment of wilderness that infringes slightly upon the territory of the rukongai, intruding upon it's otherwise typically-circular formation. The region specifically is known for it's rocky terrain and small mountains. The fight takes place in the valley between three mountains, peppered with bamboo thickets and a lake in the center, fed by three rivers cutting between each of the mountains.
Special Conditions: None
Circumstances: Jyuria is deployed in the area on a scouting mission as a result of some intel that some possible quincy artifacts may be present in the area, a cache stolen by the shinigami during the old war. As it were, the area IS a storage area, but not for the artifacts Jyuria is looking for. She and the quincy she is deployed with come to find that the shinigami stationed in the area are guarding something. Shizuyoko and Jyuria meet on the battlefield, Shizuyoko hoping to hold out long enough for reinforcements, while Jyuria hopes to distract the woman long enough for her men to search the area.

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

The are certainly seemed protected enough...

Even not knowing if any shinigami were there, Jyuria couldn't help but see how well-holed up the spot seemed to be, taking a moment to admire the reishi display as it outlined the natural barriers that encapsulated the Valley so well. The mountains raising like three walls to practically make the thing look like some sort of mouth closed around whatever treasures lay in it's maw. If there was ever a place to hole something up, this certainly seemed like the place to do it. Not to mention with how far from the sereitei it was, she could only imagine that the chances of anyone looking there were slim.

Well, at least for now.

Turning her attention to the other quincy eyeing the display, she couldn't help but feel a little anxious. She was being deployed along as an escort to the main force. As it were, she did somewhat outclass the other Privates, and so it seemed that she had already begun to distinguish herself, at least among the general soldat. She had even heard talk about her as a candidate for being a Lieutenant.

She had did her best to ignore such things, instead focusing on the task that was at hand. Her attention shifted to the map before them, furrowing her brows as she took slow, steady breaths and felt a trickle of anticipation coursing through her body. Her fingers gently digging into the table as she took a slow, steady breath to calm herself, letting her shoulders roll slowly as she took just a moment to let herself simmer. Her mind focusing on the mission. She turned away from the display and began marching out to where she was to meet up with the others for transfer. They were going to use the Shadows to get to the area, hopefully with nobody being the wiser, nothing but the clacking of boots on marble floor to ease her thoughts.

For just a brief moment she wondered if she should bring some of her Hollows. But no, that wouldn't do. Not on an official Vandereich operation. It would be her duty to ensure the focus of the others on the mission, and her hollows would only serve as a distraction for her own troops. Even now she could see them immediately focusing their attention on them. She couldn't help the dissappointed sigh that escaped from her, and absentmindedly she reached up to gently run the soft of her fingers across her face, as if half-expecting to feel that MASK there. She needed to get over this. The operation would be an adequate means of ensuring that she would be able to focus.

Speaking of... She looked up in time to see the archway into the main atrium of the wing. She let her eyes adjust to the slightly brighter lighting, scanning the room as she noticed a peppering of other early birds all ready for the mission, standing at attention and ready for transmission. For just a moment she cast a glance around herself, looking at the silbern she had been away from for so very long, before she let out a soft little grunt, heading toward the transport pad and clenching her hands into fists.

She knew about all the whispers behind her back. The ones she DIDN'T hear about from anyone directly. The talk of the Sternritter that had been murdered and turned, somehow, into a hollow. Only to some back sometime later. Many saw it as license for ridicule. Others saw her as something of a legend. Even more were simply uncomfortable. She was an ex HOLLOW. And even despite her return to the flock, despite her old rank, she was still regarded with....uncertainty. She took a slow breath and simply relaxed herself.

She needed to focus.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Jyuria's Stats}
Strength: 100 Points x0.5 (50 points)
Speed: 200 Points x1.5 (300 points)

Spiritual Pressure: 100 Points
Reiatsu Strength: 350 points x1.5 (475 points)

Light Aura: 85
Dark Aura: 15

Instinct: 200 points
Senses: 100 points x0.5 (50 Points)
Energy Sense: 0 points
Healing expertise: 0 points

Anti-Stealth: 1
Stealth: 1
Strength of Will: 1
Pain Resist: 1
Bleeding Resist: 1
War Strategy:1

[Shizuyoko Toraumi]

The Oni.

It was the codename for whatever it was that they7 were being stationed to guard. Of course, normally Shizuyoko didn't really much enjoy these sorts of assignments, even less when it was something that didn't really see the light of day much. And, in fact, it was a little rare for her to even be deployed for this kind of thing. While she remained an unseated squad member, she actually had a very ferrocious and considerable spiritual power as a member of the omnitsukido, and as a result she was given tasks usually befitting of a seated officer.

Which is why this was an exception. As it were, it seemed that intel had led Central 46 to believe that The Oni was in jeapordy. One of their operatives had been captured with information about it, and while it was not believed that he would give up information easily, his sudden absence did leave them to wonder. At the behest of the central 46, the Oni was to be moved. However it, apparently, needed special mechanisms in place in order to transport the thing. As such, the Oni would need to eb guarded while the containment measures for it's transport had been prepared.

Thus where Shizuyoko came in.

And here she was, standing in the middle of a wild jungle, outside of a visually sealed complex that was completely camouflaged from the outside world. From the outside looking in, it was just a valley. but past a certain point, suddenly the very center of that valley became a very large compound, looking like some sort of bomb shelter more than anything else. It was where Shizuyoko was to be stationed. Even from here she could feel that strange presence from deep inside. Something that made her feel..uneasy.

She sighed softly and turned her attention to her surroundings, knowing that not a good twenty meters away, she wasn't even visible through the transparent barrier that was just a shunpo away. But she stayed where she was, taking just a moment to let her eyes wander, scanning her surroundings and picking out several of her comrades among the little knooks and crannies. They were fairly good hiders, even if none of them quite had her skill in the arts of concealment. Even so...It aught to be hard for any enemy to outright sense them without them doing anything to compromise their position.

She shifted slightly, she herself lightly balanced, braced between two chutes of bamboo, her tails wrapped around both of them as she stared down toward the ground. She was supposed to be here for another four hours while the Containment equiptment was prepped. Not a lot of time for any outside forces to go messing things up. But she knew that wouldn't stop a squad of arrancar showing up uninvited. Not in the slightest...

But still she couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen. Something in her coils just didn't seem right. A sort of vibration in the air that irritated her, almost like something that was against her very being was skulking around, slithering around the inside of her mind and crawling under her skin. She felt anxious, restless. And very uncomfortable. As the minutes ticked by she most certainly did not feel safe where she was. She shifted her attention and curled a tail, drawing the attention of one of her comrades.

It was the work of a moment for him to simply appear beside her, that stealthy whisper of a shunpo silently bringing him to her. She looked around only a moment before nodding to him. "I want you to get a party together. You're going to do a quick sweep of the area. I wan three patrols rotating around the facility outside the barrier. Groups of three, no more. Have a designated communicator for each group and have them check in every five minutes with the main facility. If anything is going to attack, it's going to be soon." she ordered. She watched that slight indecision on his face before he nodded and vanished.

That was how things were for the time being. She was strong, VERY strong. Why she hadn't managed to earn herself a seated position in the squad amazed many of her colleagues, but none of those that were actually veterans of the squad were surprised. The Captain had a sense of personal touch when it came to such things. It would take quite a lot for her to clear that last hurdle and earn herself a seated position. And who knew? Maybe this mission was just the kinda thing she needed to earn her place there. But even so, most of the squad recognized her strength, as well as her intellect. She was known not to be fond of other soul reapers, but in an unofficial sort of way, she was a superior to them.

Of course, this also meant that however this operation ended. The result would be taken out on her.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Shizu's Stats}
Strength - 100 Points (+25%= 125 Points)

Speed - 400 Points (+50%= 600 points)

Spiritual Pressure - 220 Points (-50%= 110 points)

Reiatsu Strength - 50 Points (-50%= 25 points)

Light Aura - 100 Points

Dark Aura - 0 Points

Instinct - 150 Points

Senses - 60 Points

Energy sensory - 0 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points

[Multi-Dexterity - This Skill Pertains to Shizuyoko's ability to use her tails simultaneously in combat]:{2}
[Damage Recovery]:{2}
[Stealth]:{2}
[Anti-Stealth]:{2}
[Hoho]:{2}
[Hakuda]:{2}
[Battle Analysis]:{1}

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

There was darkness. The shadows always seemed so very bleak and lightless when they were used for transport. But even so, they were a necessity. In fact pivotal, they were, in ensuring that the Vandereich properly executed it's attacks. So really she would simply have to get used to them again, as it was such a stark contrast to the valley of screams she had grown so fond of. But of course it was fleeting, instead of the dark of the shadows, it was simply the almost-dark of night that filled the air, along with the chill of the sun's absence.

They had arrived in the valley, and not all that far from the destination. The projected location of the objective was just a little forward, supposedly a large reishi field was sensed by some of the more sensitive members, so it was surmised that some sort of cloaking Kido was in effect. It took just a moment for her to get her bearings, listening to the silent shuffling of feet around her as the others in her squad began to disperse.

She took a deep breath of her own and began forging forward, silently slipping through the forest as she moved closer and closer to the designated area. And it was just before she hit the barrier that she sensed it, the ripple of motion in her peripheral, as her mind lit up, sensing something nearby, her eyes darting around until she noticed it off in the distance. She wasn't sure what it was, but she did know it was there. She let out a soft little breath and let her reiatsu ripple, flaring to life as suddenly a cloak appeared around her shoulders, that white feathery cloth shrouding her shoulders as the hood formed over her head, her bow release activating as the thing billowed, the fringe of her cloak suddenly rippling as two arrows formed along the edge and suddenly shot out like sparrows into the dark. (-80 Reiatsu for 2 class 4 Arrows. -250 for activating class 5 and 6 properties)

Those arrows would immediately begin tracking down the signature that Jyuria had picked up, mentally transmitting the location to them as those two arrows would lance forward, aiming to tear their way through the shrubbery and wood that was in the way of her attack, while at the same time she took in a slow, deep breath. The air around her wafting a little, rippling as she dragged reishi in from her surroundings, her quincy cross drinking in the reishi-rich air and adding it to her own reserves. (+150 Reiatsu)

She, however, did not head toward what she'd seen. She was well aware that there would be enemies, and she could not afford to be distracted by every enemy that got in her way. She continued racing toward the objective, her wits about her and on high-alert as she maintained er stealthy progress, her arrows would be fine on their own. In the meantime, she was also keeping a mental tab on her two arrows, the seraphs would close in on the enemy that had been marked down by her, they were simple creatures, like dogs, but even so, if there was anything to remark, they would alert her, however simply, as to wether or not the target had been eliminated or not.

-330 Reiatsu used
+150 Reiatsu gained
Net Change of -180 reiatsu
720/1000 Reiatsu Remaining

Empress War Shroud and Empress's Guard properties Active.

[Shizuyoko Toraumi]

Shizuyoko was a little astounded to suddenly see enemies appearing fromnowhere. She had a considerable talent when it came to rooting out those who were hiding, so as it were, she was a little shocked to suddenly see the mass of enemy units rushing in, fanning out in order to move toward the compound, eliciting a sudden spike in her own pulse as she hoped that the others in the area had noticed the intrusion. However something in particular caught her attention.

For the most part most of the enemy units were easy for her top pick out, but she was looking much more closely, trying to spot out any hidden units, and as it were, she only barely managed to spot one in particular, something that actually surprised her as really stealthy units were something of a rarity for her to encounter. She was about to drop down from her hiding place when she suddenly noticed two streaking objects emerging from the sleuthy figure, the sheer speed of the projectiles catching her off guard, her eyes suddenly wide as she dropped down from her spot in the tree and let those bolts slice through the foliage she had been seated in just moments before, a soft little grit of her teeth as she noticed that the stealthy unit was still heading for the compound.

Shit!

Immediately she moved to intercept, thankfully the cloaked figure didn't seem nearly as fast as those things it had managed to fire at her, and without even going her full speed, Shizu was able to head off the woman, intercepting them along their path toward the compound and drawing her primary zanpaku'to, her tails hidden in her hakama as she presented herself as a barrier to the woman, knowing that, somehow, the woman was able to notice her despite her ability to hide, so instead se simply presented herself as an obvious barrier, waiting and hoping the woman would try to blow past her.

She had a plan, perhaps a bit simple as it were. She made a note of those fast projectiles. If the woman was a guesser, Shizuyoko would surmise the woman would probably try to shoot her and then just blow right past the shinigami once she was injured or killed. She readied herself, her mind sharpening as she prepared, getting ready as she would prepare the reiatsu for a Senka strike, prepping herself in order to try and take down the target. she had to admit, she was a little on edge, it was very rare for her to encounter an enemy that she couldn't simply sneak around and stab in the back. This woman may very well be an actual threat to her.

But there was some other, deeper apprehension that bugged her. Something about the spiritual energy that seemed to float around these enemies made her uncomfortable. Something about her just rubbed her the wrong way. They were dangerous... even without any information, something in her gut told her that these beings were an affront to her very existence, and she felt as if she needed to destroy them as quickly as possible. And fleetingly, she considered taunting the enemy. But no, she needed to focus.

She did have a little mental trickle, and for an instant she did feel bothered. Something had been weird about those projectiles. She couldn't tell what it was, the little things had been moving a little too fast and she'd been caught off guard. She did owever focus this time around, and she would try to see just what it was that those projectiles were. If they were some sort of special munition, she'd need to inform the rest of the squad about them before they turned out to be something a little too dangerous. It would delay her counter-attack, admittedly, but information was a bit more important than the ruthless removal of the enemy. If it turned out that these projectiles were some sort of explosive or poison, she'd have to be mindful of where she allowed them to land, otherwise the compound might be in jeopardy.

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

Missed....
She heard the chirp of her seraphs in her mind, her eyes sliding to snare the sight of the shinigami as they made their way into her path, and she had to admit that they were rather fast, all things considered. She was rather impressed to say the least. With a mental command she had her arrows circle around, moving around to weave through the forest and begin coming up behind the woman. As she herself had no intention of stopping. even if the woman was faster, her own reflexes were top-notch, she didn't imagine the woman would be able to out-meneuver her.

She did notice the stance the woman was taking up, her eyes narrowing just a little as unfortunately she wasn't quite able to tell what the woman was planning. She was just....standing there. This obviously was some sort of planned attack. What was it? She wondered if they had a zanpaku'to, and honestly, with that luscious golden hair out? No way was this a mook, she looked far far too developed to be just a trash throw-away-able mook. This girl was an actual threat to her. A mental command had her arrows streaking in as she closed in.

A brief whisper of the arrows would sound as those bolts would race in and aim to slash through the shinigami's shoulders from behind, whilst in the very same motion Jyuria herself would duck and lower her head, a rippling of reiatsu forming at her hood as she would fire a third arrow from the hoot itself, aiming to fire that arrow clean through the shinigami's midsection. It would not be a killing blow. Admittedly this was a member of, presumably, the omnitsukido or squad 2, those were both of the squads that handled this sort of thing after all. So it might be in her best interest to capture and interrogate this one.

Among other, more personal reasons.

She was very pretty after all. And she was just a shinigami dog. She had no obligation to be humane.

In either case, what with both of those attacks from her arrows, it was, hopefully a blow that would incapacitate, or severely reduce the combatative ability of the shinigami. If the woman collapsed then that would be that, she would have nothing more to worry about and she would be able to use her shadow to send the woman to the silbern for imprisonment. It would be painless, simple, and without hassle. But she had eaten far too many shinigami to bank too much on that. Already she was preparing a stream of reishi at her feet, ready to use hirenkyaku in the event that the shinigami had more bite to her than Jyuria surmised.

Far too many shinigami had surprised her. Even if they had all died in the end. If they had wound up in her stomach. It did not change the fact that they posed a threat, and especially during her first mission since becoming a quincy again. She needed this to pan out. And if the mission somehow went awry, she needed to at least make an account of herself. Her colleagues were not really allies. If necessary, they would claw her up and step over her remains if it meant advancement. She knew better than to test the ambition of her fellow soldat.

-40 reiatsu for a class 4 Arrow

680/1000 Reiatsu remaining

[Shizuyoko Toraumi]

The sudden burst of pain caught Shizuyoko off guard. she had just barely noticed the streak of noise as those arrows sliced at her from behind, but it hadn't been fast enough to dodge, she was only barely able to shift her body, and even then the damage was still considerable, deep cuts through her shouders as those seraphs had torn through both of the joints, causing her to grit her teeth and stagger slightly as she barely held back from screaming out in agony, her resolve suddenly sharpened as she saw her enemy suddenly lowering her head as if to charge. She could nto afford them whatever ability they planned on using.

The ripple of Senka was abrupt, and in the blink of an eye, she had swept past the woman, her tails reaching out as she aimed to take her black coils, emerging from the confines of her hakama in order to snare the woman's left arm and trist it, aiming to twist and break the bones in the woman's shoulder and forearm, two motions of twisting and then rotating the arm against the natural range of motion that the limb was capable of. It was a complicated move, and really it wouldn't go of as she intended.

With the pain in her body, she was distracted, and instead of her intended meneuver, she instead wound up simply slamming her tails brutishly into the woman's chest and then twisting, slamming the woman bodily into the ground. Of course immediately she would feel a stab of fear, if she managed to do so, fully expecting to feel the full force of a cutback, but strangely, even if she managed to pull off the attack, she wouldn't feel any. With a sudden harsh clarity she would realize that this was a woman she could cut. This opened up so very many options for her.

Even so, she was injured, and this did not bode well. And now she could see why. Those fucking...THINGS were like little animals, she could even see one, one that hd been aimed where she had been just a moment ago, streaking off, and no doubt getting ready to circle around and attack her from behind again. This was a problem, and she didn't think she'd be able to deal with it so long as she was in her unreleased state. Ssshit.

The bleeding was starting to slow at least. She was no arrancar, but she got over wounds faster than most. The pain was dying down as she forced herself to focus, and her attention now diverted, focusing on all of her surroundings as she readied herself for the next attack. She had to buy herself some time. She couldn't let this relentless assault from all of these little shitbags get her down. Hopefully the woman was the talkative type, otherwise she was in deep shit.

"I have to admit, I didn't think criminals had this sort of elegance to their attacks. Lucky me to have such an impressive opponent." She noted with that sweet, sheepish smile of hers, cringing fakely, pretending ot be far more effected by her injures than she let on. Her tails had retreated back into her hakama, and she shook a little, just to really sell how injured she appeared to be. "You're really good.... what's your name?" she asked, tilting her head a little just as she was calculating how much effort it would take to senka and slash the woman's eyes out. She had no idea how durable this woman was after all, it might be a bit of a chore.

Actually.....wait... she did notice something. This ....strange, towering woman. Was wearing a uniform. And that insignia was immediately recognizable. All, at once her apprehension suddenly made sense. she was a fucking QUINCY. Immediately, several thousand years or pejudice hit her like a truck and she immediately narrowed her eyes and SLAMMED the surrounding area with her spiritual pressure, her eyes narrowing, glowing with a slow, dangerous hiss as the utter stench of arrancar filled the air, and that dark aura from Daihachibi began showing it's ugly head.

"Oh soulkingdammit."

-100 reiatsu for Senka
1000/1100 reiatsu remaining

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

Huh, so this is what being upside down is like. Oh dear.

The thought ran through her mind just as she was slammed into the ground by that slumsy attack, gritting her teeth and hissing softly as she was plowed into the floor, grunting and immediately rolling to her feet, skipping away from the shinigami and wincing, blood dripping from her forehead just a little as she distanced herself, panting just a little as she stared pointedly at the woman across from her. She had to admit that the woman was a pain in her side, certainly she was a lot faster than Jyuria gave her credit for. This was going to be a bit harder than she thought.

Her eyes did notice that her arrows had damaged the woman, but she couldn't see what they had used to attack her with. The only thing she noticed was a slight oddness about the woman's pants, but she didn't really feel right staring at the woman's lower body. Her eyes drifted back up and she actually smiled just a little at the rather adorable sheepishness that seemed to surround the shinigami. She had to admit, this one was rather pleasant to be around. Injuries aside. She was obviously injured, but Jyuria let herself off of trying to finish her off.

Was she confident that she could take them down? Certainly. But she had a mission to uphold as well. That aside, nothing was more dangerous than an injured animal. She didn't want top risk a finishing blow until she knew what it was that had attacked her during that sudden move. Two of those arrows of hers immediately sped in, and began flying in tight, rapid orbits around her body, forming a dangerous barrier around her that would, hopefully discourage the woman from attacking. Besides, she still had a third arrow circling the both of them in a much wider loop. She could afford a little bit of talking.

"Thanks. not often I have cute shinigami complimenting me." She noted, taking a firm step forward, slowly beginning to advance on the woman as she spoke. "That's some freaky reiatsu you have there though. You feel a lot more like an arranncar than a shinigami, and I can't usually sense reiatsu for shit. So your energy must reek of hollow if I can taste it. I'm gonna need you to back down though. You aint no hollow back girl, and this shit ain't bananas." she noted, not even bothering to put effort into her joke, intentionallu trying to get the woman to cringe, that third arrow circling around, getting ready as it would aim to stab the woman clean through the center of her left thigh a second after the joke's delivery.

Dirty? Yes. But who the fuck cared about honor? She wanted this shinigami dead...... okay maybe disabled. With most of her face intact. Nobody liked talking to a busted up face. At least not any normal people. In any case she would continue her slow advance, deciding not to follow up on that additional sneak-attack. She didn't need to finish the woman off just yet. In fact, just stalling this woman long enough for her team to get the artifacts inside the compounds would be enough. They were weaker than her, sure, but she trusted them to get the job done. This shinigami, however, would be a very quick end to that expedition. So the name of the game was stall, and do what damage she could, maybe even capture the gal.

After all, she wanted to impress her superiors.
And she wasn't much into the whole 'bring back their head' thing.

[Shizuyoko Toraumi]

Shizuyoko actually found herself smiling despite herself. Honestly she really probably shouldn't have enjoyed a compliment from an enemy like that, but come on. How often was this ever going to happen? Not in a millin years has a compliment of a non-derogatory or expletive manner been thrown her way, so admittedly the comment was well-received, at least all things considered seeing as they were in the middle of a fight.

She however was displeased when she did hear that subtle shriek of the arrow closing in, and by sheer virtue of her reflexes paired with her incredible speed she was barely able to pivot, spinning around and quickly spotting the arrow as it just barely grazed her thigh, her heart pounding as she avoided the collission with her body, her heart thumping away as she twisted and then she focused. Her eyes re-training on the quincy that was not all that far from her, not even completely turning in the woman's direction, her body actually sideways from them when she vanished in another Senka attack.

This was a very elaborate attack, and a VERY nervous one. She had realized, or rather hopefully deduced that it was possible that she could attack the woman without being penalized for her spiritual pressure. This evident by the fact that she had attacked her, and not been subject to cutback. Honestly it was a very simple deduction, but she still needed to experiment. Though sadly cutback wasn't something you could just dip your toe into. IT was all or nothing. So she figured she may as well go big.

That Senka attack was a vicious one. As she sped past the woman sideways, she executed two powerful strikes, one of which was a vicious slash, using one of her many tails to attack with her nodachi, the weapon of Nanakiba Orochi being used to slash clean across the Quincy's chest. The seconds attack was another sweep of her blade across the quincy's back, aiming to open up a clean lashing across their body from front and back. They were hardly killer moves, she knew that if the quincy was worth her salt, she would have a means of defense against cital points being attacked, and if she made precise stabs she may very well be wasting a valuable opening. So she went for larger and less precise damage,aiming to make large, sweeping, heavily bleeding attacks across the quincy's body that would prove more of a detriment to their movement.

Upon her arrival, Shizuyoko was in a crouching position, her sword resheathed as she pivoted around, refocusing her attention on the quincy and suddenly dropping back, her body suddenly slipping behind one of the nearby trees in order to try and check. As she did have another theory. It was entirely possible that the woman had used a sensor ability in order to find her earlier. Some kind of reiatsu tech to route her out. So she surmised, if it was, then she would be able to observe, and see what kind of abilities the woman had by seeing them look for her up close. Further to verify the capabilities of her, and potentially her allies. She could not assume that this was the strongest member of her unit.

-100 reiatsu for Senka
900/1100 Reiatsu remaining

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

47

The sudden searing pain of her skin being broken caught her off guard, her eyes going a little wide as so very suddenly she felt her blood being spilled, the hot drip of her own life spurting from both wounds ad the subsequent buckling of her knees as she dropped to one knee, grunting out and shutting her eyes for just an instant as she spotted the Reaper in the corner of her eye, gritting her teeth and suddenyly.... she paused. Her mind chugging away at the information presented to her and so very suddenly she was laughing, barking out in amusement as she would wink at the Reaper.

"Shoulda been more careful cowgirl." she murmured, just as blood would run down Shizuyoko's eyebrow. In the midst of that senka, her arrows had still been rapidly flying around her at high speeds, and she had gone and mistimed her attack, and one of her arrows had almost taken the woman's head off, having cut the woman's brow by how close the attack had been to being actually dangerous. That said, Jyuria was still rather displeased with the damage that had been done to her. This was a bit of an embarassment to be frank about it.

She....should not be this weak.

The idea suddenly came into her head. It wasn't about her inner pride as a quincy at all. No... she felt something..ELSE in her blood. She felt another presence that seemed to creep it's way into her mind. It was not another entity. She was hardly possessed. No....these thoughts were her OWN. And the sudden slow, creepy smile that spread across her features was like a mask being pulled over the woman's face, the whites of her eyes suddenly turning black as Jyuria suddenly began laughing aloud.

"PERFECT! Perfect perfect perfect PERFECT! I can't tell you how happy I am that I finally have someone to play with!" she cackled out, rising to her feet and canting her head to the side, her eyes drooping to a half-stare as she scanned Shizuyoko from top to bottom. "Why...do you excite me so much? Something about you shinigami....something about you has me all riled up." she whispered, those eyes narrowing to slite as she held out her hand.

Immediately her arrows suddenly flew in, suddenly spinning in an incredibly tight ring infront of her palm, rapidly collecting there, all three of them before Jyuria suddenly let out a burst of spiritual pressure, those arrows lashing out like wasps as they suddenly streaked for Shizuyoko, spread just enough so that if she wanted to attack Jyuria, she would have to reposition herself, or else suffer the possibility of smacking right into one of her arrows. Which soon became a very hard thing to avoid.

That majestic cape of hers suddenly came alive, no less than ten new arrows sprouting, for a total of thirteen seraphs erupting into the air around her. Those winged monsters immediately took flight and began swarming around Jyuria, five of them rapidly flying around her like a protective shield, the other five joining the three that were attacking Shizuyoko, the arrows now relentlessly going right for her like hungry dogs, each and every one considerably strong, enough that even if they buried themselves into the woman, they could just keep doing damage as they refused to just fizzle out after one impact.

Jyuria was serious now, and she definitely was not so fond of this mere shinigami getting the best of her, even as thos emad eyes of hers locked onto the woman, turning just the slightest tint toward the yellow spectrum, making those dark sclera all the more pronounced as she continued to laugh, her bleeding hardly the kind of intensive burst-bleeding that one might expect from such dire wounds. She was going to put down this shinigami like the many many others she had taken out. But first she was going to see just what kind of dodging ability she had first, already drinking in reishi from her surroundings and into her quincy cross.

+150 from Quincy cross
-400 for 10 class 4 Arrows
430/1000 Reiatsu remaining

[Shizuyoko Toraumi]

Shizuyoko enjoyed that little wave of catharsis in response to actually being able to cut someone, a feeling she really hadn't been able to enjoy in a very long while while outside of her released form. Honestly it was a little ridiculous how disgustingly hard it was to cut most people, as for some reason it was as if most of her enemies insisted on being friggin monsters. Even so, that feeling of catharsis did not last as long as she had hoped, a blink of surprise in evidence once she felt the slight heat of her own blood running down her forehead, suddenly very aware of how close she'd been to a bad situation.

That was definitely worrying, she had to be a little more careful about those....things. She had underestimated just how fast they were going. Whatever those little things were, they had some sort of homing ability. Unless of course they were actually alive... that was..... it's own problem. If they were alive, it may be entirely possible that they might persist even if she killed the quincy themselves. She would likely need to do her best to try and take those little fuckers out before they became a much more pronounced problem for her.

However it seemed that her issues just seemed to pile on. The sudden outburst from the quincy caught her off guard, brows lifting a little as she took a single step back, suddenly on alert as t he woman seemed......strange. She didn't really behave like any quincy she'd encountered before.... Though admittedly how many quincy had she eveer even run into? The quincy were like boogeymen. They had been primarily a problem of the past, since the great war where their king had been killed by the Captain Commander. And before that they had been rare even for HER to find.

"Give a girl a break and maybe calm down a little?" She suggested, begining to wonder if she should have just gone for the kill. However that was a worry that soon vaporized once she spotted the sudden massive shift in the number of arrows the woman had available. Her heart suddenly skipping a beat as sweat formed at her brow. Oh shit. A couple of those things she could handle, but this was definitely not something she could stand to do all day.

"Kamimasu!" She declared, her nodachi suddenly bursting into it's true form, that single weapon forming into a proper segmented pendulum blade, her tails immediately sliding into those handles as she separated it into it's seven pieces, immediately those chain blades lashed out, erupting from their collapsed state to streak out and try to tear their way through the incoming arrows. The loud clang of impact sounding as several of the arrows simply tore through her weapons, her eyes a little wide when she realized just how much more powerful those arrows were compared to her shikai, an immediate feeling of cold gripping her stomach as that onslaught of arrows hit her like a truck, breaking through her shikai and slashing into her.

When the swarm had finally passed, Shizuyoko could feel multiple severe lacerations across her entire body, coughing softly as she dropped to one knee and gritted her teeth, her body riddled with cuts as she found herself gritting her teeth and trying her damndest to stay upright, wavering just a little as those things swarmed all around her, her heart pounding away in her chest as she did her best to remain upright. Fffffuck. For once her speed actually wouldn't help her. The quincy's arrows were just too friggin fast. She couldn't chance a Senka in this sort of situation.

She coughed, and contrary to many animes, it wasn't bloody, just uncomfortable as her sides were carved up. This was bad... it wasn't just that she couldn't attack, not JUST that she couldn't win. But the fact of the matter was that she actually couldn't get away. The woman was able to see her out. Not ONLY that but the woman was able to spot her and most other things that were sneaking around. Her Daihachibi wouldn't work... her NAnakiba Orochi hadn't worked... What could she do? Ffffuck.

"Jesus.... I really don't think I can beat you." she noted with a sheepish chuckle, shaking her head softly as she looked sheepishly up at the woman, swallowing loudly as she winced, slowly getting to her feet and peering at the quincy for just a moment, as if trying to place her. Something was still so familiar about this woman. Especially those eyes... "Unfortunately I'm in no position to run away. So I guess this is it." She mused, a slow smile creeping across her features as she eyed the woman across from her.

"Can't really think of any cool last words. Got any suggestions?" she asked a little ruefully, that smile still planted across her face.

62

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

Jyuria lifted a brow slightly in response to the sudden outcry. She had to admit she was a little intrigued by the resolve of the shinigami. Or rather the fact that she hadn't shredded them quite as much as she had surmised she would. With that sudden show of power, the shinigami's weapon was destroyed, shredding it beyond recognition. But at the very least, she could not help but smile slightly in response to the....reply, that her shinigami enemy had managed to throw at her.

"How cute. Sorry to dissappoint, but you're not the reason I'm here." She stated simply, in response to the shinigami's insistence that she was here in order to kill them. Which she was sure they were aware, but even so to think that she would be focusing on them? She had been stalled enough, and already she began to wonder if their objective would have been removed. She narrowed her eyes, peering a little at the shinigami as two of her arrows circled her, the rest having shot off in different directions to get an update on her troops.

She considered parting words, but honestly, the shinigami was just a waste of time. Jyuria ran past them and continued on her way toward the compound, racing away as she knew that she didn't have much time. In lives bygone, she might have stuck around, tried to get a better read on the shinigami.Maybe even having pitched a recruitment at her. The Vandereich was in need of good soldiers, and honestly, she was not at all pleased with what she'd seen of the sternritters so far.

Ah and one more thing.... She looked over her shoulder, and her reiatsu flexed. Two of the arrows that had been sticking around the area around the shinigami suddenly exploded, detonating powerfully as the quincy continued to race toward the compound. In that moment, she dealt with Shizuyoko, without even a secondary thought. In her last life as a quincy, she would have been quite happy to just leave them alive and deal with them later. But the fact of the matter was that even with how weak Shizuyoko had turned out to be, they were still a threat to her men. So she sought to eliminate the possibility of them obstructing ehr in the future.

The soft shudder of the earth in response to that concussive blast was satisfying enough for her to not bother sending any more of her arrows to the location. Instead she sent them far ahead, scanning the compound and continuing to maintain her speed in it's direction. The span of her arrows informed her that at least three of her squad had been taken down, but that a number of the enemy troops had been taken care of by contrast, at the very least some eight or nine of them.

To some of the more zealous, these would seem like poor numbers, but it was a very small operation, and she had hardly been given the cream of the crop to work with. She was more than satisfied with the ratio. Even as she noticed a few of them straying, or even backing off from their advance, she did not make it a point to become angry or dissappointed. She had seen plenty of quincy cowed by battle. She simply made a mental note to deal with the survivors after all of this. All they needed was instruction, there was no need to be cruel or violent.

As she approached the actual facility itself, she sent a single arrow to the outter hull before detonating the arrow, causing an eruption of spiritual energy as the arrow detonated, blowing a hole in the outter wall and allowing her to slide in, narrowing her eyes as she began to look around. Immediately she noticed several downed shinigami, no doubt as a result of the attack she had just inflicted upon them.

She paused, feeling a slight burst of awareness coursing through her bodies as she did take a moment to drink in the sensation of adrenaline. She was close to her objective, that much was clear. Even through all of the carnage, there was some odd sensation of serenity. A little too serene. It wasn't for a few seconds later that she realized she couldn't sense any of her arrows outside of the facility... Only the ones inside with her. Was there some sort of barrier that prevented communication back and forth?

She grunted softly, inwardly cursing the ingenuity of the shinigami and rubbing her forehead as she headed further into the facility, racing down the hallways and heading down, seeking stairways, ladders, anything she could in order to get to the very bottom floor, where feasably the enemy would have hidden their cargo. She did have an odd sensation as she went. And not just one of the adrenaline. She was not running into as many enemies as she figured she would. The place didn't have the type of cecurity she would associate with their target.

Which led to two possible conclusions: She was either heading into a trap, or the object they were seeking may very well not even be present. She felt a slight heat lick it's way up her features, a sort of panic at the possibility of either. She didn't like her chances, and so she put on an extra burst of speed as she headed in deeper.

-120 reiatsu to detonate 3 class 4 arrows.
310/1000 reiatsu remaining

[Shizuyoko Toraumi]

She was going to be let go? The thought was in her mind before she could even take a moment to process the thought, and a feeling of relief held itself in her chest, a trembling little flame of warmth that seemed to have banished the fear that had been there before. A fear that honestly, Shizu had hardly even realized was there. The idea that she might die was always in mind, but this was the first bare-faced confrontation with the notion! Honestly, it wasn't something she was all that sure she was pleased with. But in any case...

When the quincy raced past her, she found herself staring a little, unsure if this was some kind of joke. What was stopping her from just stabbing the woman in the back? And for all intents and purposes, that really should be next on her own agenda. Why should she suffer this shinigami to live simply because they had spared her? She had been spared in the past, a number of times. And every time she had eaten the one who had spared her. But now? It came as something of a conundrum.

As it were, she really didn't get much chance to explore this option, as namely, the soft hiss of arrows priming drew her from her thoughts, though she didn't get any actual time to react to the signal before those arrows exploded. Everything around her was suddenly loud noise and pain as the detonation of those arrows. She felt heat and splinters lancing their way through her body, and all at once she was on the ground, face-down and smoldering as she lay inbetween two craters created by the arrows going off. She couldn't help but grunt softly as she felt her head spin.

Was she alive? She couldn't tell at this point. Then again she supposed she hardly had a place in hell. She had always been a hollow, and weren't hollows supposed to be obliterated by quincy? She supposed that depended on if she died from the arrows themselves, or just from bloodloss. Her eyes drifted around, trying her best to try and discern where she was. A quick shifting of her limbs revealed that, at the very least, everything seemed moderately intact. She could see her own bone, the flesh in her right arm was stripped down to that white, and she could see a shard of wood cleanly protruding between her radius and ulna. Oh how lovely... she supposed it would have hurt if there were actually any flesh or muscle there for it to have stabbed through. Any attempts to move the bone obviously failed.

Guh....

She twitched, slowly turning her head as she realized her right leg wasn't responding like it aught to. She new it was injured, but she couldn't tell by how much. It took just a moment for her to sit herself up, the pain was hazy, like an itch in the back of her mind, and one that no doubt would come in full force a little later. However, the sight of someone standing infront of her did cause her to blink. Wait...hadn't she been alone? She heard a dull noise, something that sounded like talk, but was way too soft. It didn't even occur to her that her eardrums had been blown out.

A hand slowly pushed her onto her back, and she wondered vaguely wether or not it was an enemy or one of her fellow omnitsukido. Something crawled it's way across her chest, and suddenly she felt a stab through her entire body, one that immediately caused her to gasp out, gritting her teeth as suddenly she was hearing a little better. "FUCK!" she grunted out, her eyes shut tight as she glanced around. At least until she saw the stump that had once been her left hand. The bone...the splinter... it was all gone.

"GET UP!"

The voice rocked her back into reality, and she blinked twice, glancing up when she saw a very familiar nurse infront of her. One of Squad four... the receptionist to be specific. What the fucking fuck was she doing here? "Am I at the infirmary?" Was her first reaction. Trying her darndest to get a grip on where she was. She felt....comfortable. And surely if she'd been healed up in the field she would still be in the dirt. Unless this was just really comfy dirt.... Or this was a dream. She considered grabbing the nurse;s chest to find out.

"I really don't get why you're still sitting there. You have a mission to get to. Thanks to your little scuffle, the quincy didn't get their hands on anything useful. We managed to get it out in time." Came that familiar voice. Shizu couldn't help but frown. She had passed out? How long had she been out? A sudden swat to her cheek caused her to blink herself back into reality, those bright green eyes suddenly perky and alert as she tensed right back up, trying her best to focus on the object infront of her. Her mentor... "Ire" Shihoin.

"The quincy may be empty-handed, but for some reason they are still in the facility. They've holed themselves up in there for a while. We WERE going to just bomb the place, but in the last two hours they've skedaddled. They're heading south toward a small village. They've failed in their initial objective, so reasonably, it means they must have a plan B. You will be part of a unit that will be catching up to them and taking them out. We want them dead or out of the area. Prefferably the first. You have an hour to get ready." She noted calmly, smiling down at Shizuyoko.

For just a moment, Shizuyoko could swear that she actually detected a hint of pride in the woman. As if somehow, what felt like this collossal failure on Shizu's part had been sme sort of victory. Without another word, she watched as her mentor left the room, leaving her to stare at where her left hand had been. She supposed she was lucky she hadn't lost more. Even so... she felt a pit in the midst of her gut, and she couldn't help but furrow her brows. She needed to get stronger.

No.... no that was stupid. Ridiculous. Strong wasn't all she needed. It wasn't just that she was weak. She'd been ill-equipped. She had been specializing in her own brand of combat for quite a long time. A brand where pure physical might held no real place, and the sheer fact that she had lost hit her as more of an inadequacy. She needed to control herself better. If she had noticed the gap in their strength, she may have been able to DO something about those weird birds. It wasn't just enough to be stronger than an enemy. There would always be a stronger foe. she needed to get better. Sharper.

She sighed, rubbing her eyes before rising to her feet and frowning, those eyes narrowing as she focused. It was only a brief task to find her zanpaku'to, each of them resting against the bedpost. Her eyes narrowed, realizing that she'd have to rely on her tails a whole lot more to use them. She shook her head, and gently slipped both of them onto her person, and took a slow, sobering breath. She had an hour to get herself ready. After that, it was right back into the fray....

She knew her objective, but she had another goal in mind as she collected the supplies she would need. She was going to find the quincy that had taken her arm. And..... well... frankly she wasn't entirely sure what she was going to do to them. Revenge.... no... that didn't seem right. Somehow thinking of killing them didn't really feel...correct. They had been oddly civil, and they had been operating under orders, she so assumed. They could have been much more aggressive, much more complete in her destruction.

'I'm not here to kill you.'

Had they intended for her to survive? Had they intentionally put her in a situation where she would live? All things considered, her body hadn't taken nearly enough damage to surmise she might have died from it. Perhaps she had been spared in intention. Or perhaps it was some sort of test... She threw such thoughts away. She would find out. One way or another. She was going to find that vandereich quincy and figure all of this out. Before the night was over, she was going to find her. The last thing she needed was reservations abut dealing with quincy.

Long Rest Attained. Reiatsu and Stamina restored
86

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

Jyuria searched the facility, and eventually, she did come to the barrier. Some sort of triple-layered Kido designed to keep intruders out. It was a very thorough defense, and one that certainly would have halted most. But Jyuria was determined, and with a sudden burst of energy, she focused her spiritual power, immediately forcing her body through the Cog boost, her reiatsu strength doubling as she summoned two arrows and fired them through the barrier, busting clean through those layers of protection all the way through to the inner sanctum.

When the pieces of broken barrier finally lay on the floor, at long last she was able to step into that darkness and look around. And of course she saw it... that big vacant space in the center of the room. where her objective SHOULD have been. Immediately rage filled her, and with a loud GRUNT, she slammed her fist into the wall adjacent to her, her eyes wild with fury as she suddenly began looking around angrily, hissing through her teeth as she aimed to start searching for any hidden spots.

She took her time, running her fingers along the surfaces, using every skill and bit of knowledge she had to try and find any hidden areas. But to no avail. There was nothing here, and after several long hours of cursing to herself, searching, feeling about, and doing all she could to scrou the place from top to bloody bottom, she eventually came to stand in the center, looking down into that big empty nothing and glaring, glaring as she had to wonder. Had she been too slow? No....nonsense. Such thinking was counterproductive.

She rounded, heading straight for the exit and hissing as she left her two arrows inside, huffing as she strode vehemently out of the facility, and once she finally reached the outside she detonated her arrows, and with that doubled power, the entire facility went off like a bomb, bursting up high into the air as the thing was obliterated in her furious wake. Her attention immediately moving to spot those that were still alive in her squad. All of them seeming a bit cowed by her display of power. She calmed herself...

"We're not leaving. Get moving. We're heading south. There's a village not far from here. If the shinigami moved it, it's either there, or nowhere. It's better than nothing. And even if it's gone, the shinigami are going to want to respond." She mused thoughtfully, rubbing her chin and looking off to the side. Chances were that a higher ranked official might eventually be sent in. But this was a LONG way from soul society. Even an incredibly fast captain would have a while before they could arrive. Most likely, soul Society would direct the nearby shinigami, specifically those that survived the attack, to deal with them.

She paused, looking to her men as already, they began to move. And in some deep way, she did feel that perhaps there should have been something for her to do regarding their loss. She needed to think. And right now, just pulling out meant that it gave Soul Society time to regroup and further move whatever was in here away. She sighed and began following after them. Her step was lively, angry, and none of the other quincy seemed all that intent on speaking up or asking her wether or not she was in charge. The technical 'officer in charge' was not even remotely compelled to try and take command. He trusted Jyuria more than he trusted himself. They ALL trusted her.

The Ex-Ritter.

---

(Long rest taken)

---

Once they arrived at the village, it was the work of a moment to clear out the...inhabitant. This far out? Hollows attacked a little too often. As it turned out, the only inhabitant of the otherwise-ghostly town was just an old blind hermit who could barely even talk, let alone do anything. By her orders, the man was ignored, and the quincy moved into an old rickety church to the soul king. It was a relic, of an age when the soul king was something that, however fleetingly, was prayed to.

It wasn't surprising to her. She had personally ransacked this area before. She knew exactly how bad it could be. So some random rukongai citizens erecting a churche to whatever higher power seemed available was just how things went. As it turned out, the soul king really hadn't done all that much to save them. They found plenty of corpses to show that. Once inside, Jyuria herself headed up to the sad excuse for a belltower, sitting watch as her soldat remained downstairs, fortifying and digging in.

The plan was simple, reasonably, a scouting force would be sent in to either detain them and force them to hole up, or to try and destroy them. They HAD lost a few of their number. It didn't seem too farfetched that the shinigami would think them weakened by the loss of objective. They would come to figure out what they were doing here, no doubt. So they could expect company. Reasonable soon as well. And they wouldn't really expect them to be all that prepared for them. This was what she was counting on.

They were under the assumption that they would need rest. But this was not to be the case. She instructed five of the seven remaining troops to spend several hours focusing on trapping the area around them. Simple reiatsu traps that quincy would easily pick up, but that shinigami would likely run into. Only Jyuria, and the two other stronger quincy had rested. So true, when the shinigami arrived, most of them would be asleep, resting after several extra hours of work.

But the others, and more importantly: Jyuria, would be well-rested. And she, along with her two helpers, would be enough to take care of the shinigami that arrived, or at least to a feasible degree that would ensure that they could take down a few of them before they finally retreated. As after all, Jyuria DID have to admit: The operation was a failure. She really had lost the objective, and that was that. However, she did not feel like pulling out on such a defeat. She would await the arrival of the shinigami forces, cut them down, and then (possibly with a few captives) take her leave.

It wasn't the grandiose victory she had been hoping for, but honestly she didn't care. She was already very sour about the mission to begin with. The entire operation had been somewhat stinted against them. The shinigami had removed the object FAR too quickly for her liking. It was as if they had already been in the process of moving it when they7 had arrived. Which made the mission a bit of a shitshow to begin with. So that said, she considered herself at the very least in the positives so far as a mission report. And if the officer for her debriefing disagreed with her, she would probably kill them.

The thought came seamlessly, and she didn't even balk. The old Jyuria would probably never have thought so carelessly about murder, especially her own kind. But....well..something had happened to the cheery, joking woman from so long ago. Something fundamentally different hung around her. She had killed so many people as her time as a hollow. She hadn't been able to help it. She hadn't even regretted it. When she had murdered, there was only the sheer, unbelievable bliss that was satisfaction and relief, a single pang of calm in the otherwise hellish agony of hunger. So in the end? She had begun associating murder with that satisfaction.

She actually smiled as she glanced out to the churchgrounds below, a soft little giggle escaping her as she lightly drummed her fingers along her forearms, thinking to herself about the fight she'd had with that cute blonde. She had to admit.... fighting was a lot more...enjoyable. Should she feel guilty? It was hard to feel that way. It was much more fun than she remembered it being... maybe she was corrupted. Who knew... but that aside, at the very least she intended to TRY and enjoy herself.

After all, she DESERVED a little joy. She was pissed, and she had even had to blow away a rather fetching woman, even if she was a shinigami. even though she did it so easily, she still held...SOME reservations about killing certain people. In the past? It had been killing anyone. Now? Well, apparently killing blondes was what it had been narrowed down to. A little shallow, but fuck it. she'd been through a lot. She'd sacrificed.... a lot.... more than she was comfortable with, in the name of the emperor. Who fucking cared, it's not like she was planning on banging the chick. If she wanted to regret killing someone pretty, she could.

Several seconds ticked by before she slowly closed her eyes, a soft little sigh escaping her. She was arguing with herself about a blonde... She definitely did not get the amount of sleep she needed. But tough titties for that. She had a job to do, and she wasn't going to duck out now. Getting to her feet, she took just a moment to take a deep breath of the night air. She could feel an electricity in the air. They would be attacking soon. she could feel it. With a shrug of her shoulders, she sighed and preemptively began sucking in reiatsu, puffing herself up and already getting a move-on for building up her reserves. As she drank in reiatsu, she leaned against the railing, and let out a slow, calming breath.

She just needed to wait.

102

+150 reiatsu from quincy cross
1150/1000 reiatsu remaining

[Shizuyoko Toraumi]

The rain had started to fall
(CLICK FOR MUSIC)

She had expected no less for such a moment. at first just a drizzle, but soon the deep rolling of thunder sounded overhead, and the crackle of droplets crashing down soon began to fill the air with it's incessant noise. At the head of a squad of thirteen other Omnitsukido, as well as a Kido Corps specialist who was deployed in order to supply covering fire for the rest of them. She had them all spread out, she herself taking point as they approached the village. Most of the force was hiding, slowly slipping off to either side of the town, whilst the main force: Shizuyoko and four of the stronger shinigami, simply marched.

There was no stealthiness. They needed to be the center of attraction, a misdirection so that the quincy would not notice their troops circling around. And of course, as the thunder rumbled overhead, she came to a stop just a few dozen meters from the edge of the village itself, her eyes focused squarely on the church, and the silhouette of the one up in the tower. Even from this distance, Shizuyoko could tell it was her, and a slow, twisting.....excitement filled her. By all accounts she should have been angry. She should have been ready to tear the woman limb from Limb. But she wasn't...

This woman had actually given her a run for her money. And of all things, she simply wanted to feel that excitement again. Something about that rush of fear had been...intoxicating. An opponent that actually was a threat to her. Someone that could spark those buried emotions deep down in her core in a way that nobody else really could. she wanted a full-on assault on the quincy. And with a nod over her shoulder, she ordered the member of the Kido corps. A sudden loud roar filled the air as a Soukatsui suddenly roared to life, a huge blast of fire roaring it's way forward, burning a path straight toward the Church as it set out to blow a hole into the rickety structure, intent on sending the little bastards inside scrabbling.

And Shizuyoko herself? Her sword was drawn, and she was ready for battle. But this time she did not have Nanakiba Orochi out. It was Daihachibi that was in her hand. That black wakizashi that was already exuding that horrendous dark aura, a huge weight that rippled it's way through her surroundings. And for the first time, Shizuyoko's reiatsu did not have that hollow taint. As she had really and truly beggun this fight.... as she fought alongside her fellows. At long long last... she felt like a shinigami. And for the first time since joining the gotei, her reiatsu reflected that.

Deep down, she had always been clinging to her past. She never really had thrown herself into the work of a shinigami. Always always.... she had been reserved, nervous, apprehensive. But this mission had been a change. For some reason, fighting the sworn enemy of all hollows, it somehow felt ....different. For the first time... she felt the presence of her fellow soul reaper and did not feel disdain or distaste. She did not feel like an outsider or an enigma. She felt like one of the Gotei 13. Side by side with her comrades. About to engage a true enemy.

The last of that inner hollow taint rolled away. It circled in on itself and buried it's presence deep into her soul. And in that moment, as she drew her blade and her comrades did the same, she was truly a shinigami, and that reiatsu, pure and marless, rolled out proudly across the area, drawing attention of everything within several miles with it. Additionally, a number of hollows turned their attention to the fight that no doubt would be taking place soon, and they began to close in, ensuring that there would be blood tonight.

108