Steel Reason (JT/Shawn/Celes/Ask to Join)

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko would analyze the field once more before the event began properly. She did so with a calm, yet excitable gaze that pulsed slowly with rising spiritual pressure as her left hand rested upon the handle of her Zanpakutō. Now that everything had been more or less prepared, all that was required of her was to think about how she was going to fight those people. Unlike that awful beast she has fought a few weeks ago now, those were all men and women who had a modicum of intelligence. Some were just as bloodthirsty as that monster, aching to showcase their abilities in front of everyone, while others were instead cold and calculative, planning out multiple strategies in their head. As for the remaining few, they were more difficult to figure out as they appeared completely disinterested. Her team seemed to mostly hold a great mixture of these mindsets all at once, though she believed herself to hold one which was connected to the first and second, and it showed. Well, at least it was better than showcasing plain inexperience in front of these opponents. 

Perhaps the reason why she was so excited was because Celes was here. Again, it has been quite some time now since she has shown her skills to her mentor. The last time they had truly trained with one another, it was not too long before her final exams at the Academy. It was only a few weeks ago, yes, but in that small amount of time, the swordswoman believed that she has grown stronger since. As unnatural as that growth of hers may be, the sheer thought of showcasing it and what she has learned since her passing of the final exams made her feel a bit ecstatic. It was something that she firmly believed to be beyond the need to simply show off, something that she felt was a more important to her. Maybe it was important for Celes too, given the smile that she gave to her then. To that, Kimiko could only smile back to her in anticipation. They really should celebrate their rise within the Gotei 13 with a trip to Hikashi's ramen shop after this.

But then, suddenly as they all were about to begin this exercise, an officer came from the barracks. Instinctively, the scarlet-eyed warrior would blink and look towards him with surprise and confusion. "Uh...?" She let out quietly as her excitement slowly fizzled out and died, taken aback by this happening much like her own teammates were. Eventually, they would be told the reasoning behind his presence here: a Hollow attack. Apparently, one of the outer districts are being attacked at this present point in time. Hearing this made Gideon freeze and look towards the officer with widened eyes behind the large amount of hair that covered him. He seemed worried, a feeling that caught Kimiko's attention rather quickly. So this guy comes from the outer districts? No wonder he looks so disheveled and weak... Although she has never been there, she is very well-aware of how poor the living conditions can be in those parts of Rukongai. If he has family there, they may be attacked by that invading creature.

This worry of his did not seem to be shared with the other Shinigami officers. The most of them seemed either indifferent or simply unsure of what to do. Among them, however, the worst reaction to it all came from Dai, her own teammate. He wasn't unresponsive or confused... no, he was annoyed. His eyes had rolled in their sockets as though the news bothered him incredibly, so much so that he had almost left out a sigh. Binita and Charles immediately gave him frustrated glares, and in that moment, Kimiko couldn't help but almost give him one too. Who did this guy think he was? The king of Soul Society? She could somewhat tolerate his brashness up until the point, but now, he didn't just act brashly. It seemed instead more so like he was pampered than anything else, like he purposefully found no reason to deal with those in the outer districts for the simple fact that they were there. She really hoped that she was wrong and that he was simply annoyed by the fact they were interrupted in the first place, yet signs seemed to point towards the worse truth.

Fortunately, the matter was settled rather quickly by Celes, as before anyone could say a word, she decided to send the one who had created the ice flowers, Miranda, to the scene. Seeing as Miranda was definitely a superior officer amongst them all, she is most likely capable enough to dispatch the Hollow on her own without interrupting this exercise. However, it did not seem as though the officer wanted to head out to Rukongai right away, in all fairness, which was an understandable reaction; after all, this entire exercise seemed to be more so her idea than her Captain's. Kimiko definitely would have reacted in a similar fashion if she would have been in her place. However, Celes was her superior and that Hollow is definitely not going to wait for her arrival before it would start consuming Souls and patrolling Shinigami alike, so she did not have much room to object her request. The faster she reaches those districts, the faster their people will be spared its bestial cruelty.

With that out of the way, the groups were given one last chance to finalize their plans. In that moment, Binita's glare would shoot daggers at Dai. "What was that all about?" She asked in a disrespectful tone, definitely unhappy about what happened earlier. "Like, you don't care about what happens to the people that Hollow is attacking right now?"

The brutish man froze for a moment upon hearing her words, though eventually, he huffed. "Those people are thieves and murderers!" He argued with brutal honesty, as though what he said was absolute. "There's a reason why they're put there! They deserve it!" 

"Oh, they deserve it, huh? Is that what all rich boys like you think in their shitty little manors?" She raised her tone quite considerably. Dai fumed immediately upon hearing such words.

"My father's manor isn't shitty nor little! Peasant!"

"Call me peasant again, I dare you!"

"Will you two just shut up?" Charles' voice raised itself above the two's as he gave them a very disgruntled look, like he has been just brought out of bed rather roughly. "Binita, this isn't the time for this. Calm down. Same goes for you, Dai. If you guys want to fight, do it later."

Upon hearing him, the two stopped, stared at him, then sighed before looking away from another begrudgingly. It was rather childish to see them act this way, but in all honesty, this was much better than what they were doing prior. Kimiko had not said a word during the whole thing, simply watching them go with a very disappointed look. Even now, she was not accustomed at all to dealing with conflicts in her teams. It was a problem in the Living World, and it was still a problem now in the Soul Society. One could say that the problem has worsened since, given that the grand majority of her classmates back then were quieter due to Japanese customs. This was just... the complete opposite. A clash of multiple cultures at once. As such, she was very glad to see Charles acting more like a leader in her place even though she was probably physically stronger than all of them. He spoke more assertively than she had thought was needed, almost as though he has dealt with this before several times over, though it at least kept them quiet.

The event was now going to start soon, and with that out of the way, Kimiko felt the need to speak to them again. Dai had drastically lessened the mood with his sense of superiority, but she was not going to let it cause problems. "Okay, well... let's recap again. Binita-san, focus on grabbing the target to keep him from fleeing. Charles-san, Dai-san... try to get the flower out of his hair. It should be easy enough to get it once he can't move," as she spoke, the excitement from before started to return to her. It was a slow build-up compared to last time, but it was rose nonetheless. In fact, it rose even faster once she focused onto the field once more, her spiritual pressure rising around her like an aura. Perhaps it was a good thing that none of the people in her team could see the energy around her very well, else they would have probably been a bit stunned by it all. "I'll take care of those who use magic... The less of them around, the better."

They waited. And waited. And waited. It was just seconds, but to Kimiko, it felt like minutes. This was especially apparent once everyone quieted down and finished finalizing their plans and strategies. Her breathing became slower, her eyes widened further. Where she once simply rested her hand onto the handle of her blade, it was now instead trailing down to clench its scabbard. Her mind replayed the objective over and over as she remained there, preparing herself before them all. Retrieve the lily. Retrieve the lily. Retrieve the lily. So long as they get that little flower, they will be good to go. Knowing that Gideon has grown in these outer Rukongai districts, it is now certain that he is much stronger than he looks as it is most likely impossible to survive there out of sheer luck. Worse yet, he now seems emotionally hurt by the news, which will either make him fight worse... or much, much better. It was hard to tell, but either way, it is doubtful that it will be easy to get it off. Hopefully, the others will be able to get it well-enough while she takes care of the magicians.

Celes' words echoed in her mind rather quietly as she focused, though at this point, they were distant. Kidō is allowed, serious harm isn't, something like that. She was barely listening anymore. The only thing she truly heard was "Begin". Once that happened, she dashed forward towards Shawn's group alongside the others who tried to follow behind. "CHARGE!!" She let out with shocking confidence, something that came out of her almost automatically. It was loud, so loud that it echoed deep into her comrades and at least forced a similar cry from Binita who now shared her excitement. However, time was short. The other teams are definitely going to act now that this exercise has started, and there is absolutely no way to tell just yet what their strategies would be. Hell, Shawn was already starting to raise his hands between the open spots his allies had left for him. He was about to cast something. What that spell is going to be, she has no idea yet, but she was not going to let him.

Quickly then, she smashed her right foot against the ground before suddenly vanishing right towards the group. She had used Shunpo, something which she had made sure to master before her final exams, and the result of this mastery was immediate. At a frantic speed of 3780, she had appeared right in front staring right into the blonde officer. Her gaze appeared merciless. "No," she said to him then, letting him know of her intent to stop him loud and clear. Her hatred for his magical arts was also laid bare for everyone to see, not only through words, but also physically as she then attempted to unsheathe her blade and directly smack his hands with the flat side to hurt him and interrupt his spell by breaking his attention. She was obviously not going to cut them off, but with that stare, it almost seemed like she was about to. If successful, she would then back off and attempt to circle around the group to chase after Shawn, all the while the rest of her group rushed towards Gideon.

"Come here, Gideon! I won't hurt you!" Binita shouted loudly as she raised her hands, having surprisingly not unsheathed her blade yet. The others followed in toe, with Dai glaring at the officer who shot lightning at the team.

"Hey! Use that again and I'll come after you!"

"Stick to the plan, Dai!" Charles reminded as he kept his blade near his chest, preparing to defend himself against Gideon.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu: 4000/4050}
Technique Name: Shunpo (瞬歩, Flash Steps)

Class: 7

Technique Type: Kidō

Technique Element: None

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 50/step

Technique Description and Effects

A movement technique that allows the user to move faster than the eye can follow. The focal point that determines the basis of this technique is speed. As speed is the main point of the technique, the method is best characterized by how fast one can get from Point A to Point B in the least amount of steps. Training and skill are what determines how fast a user of Shunpo can move. Those of little skill in the technique or those who haven't used it for an extended amount of time would obviously be out of practice, causing those individuals to be considerably slower. This requires the use of more steps to move the same distance and become tired more easily in a shorter amount of time. A single step magnifies speed for that step by ten times. Shunpo uses fifty Reiatsu per step. This one is automatically learned in the academy. All Shinigami know this when created. This technique does not take up a technique slot.

How to use technique

Focus of Reishi around the feet area and launch off into a single blurring step. It is not unlike teleportation in appearance, but it is simply extremely fast movement. It is often used to gain an edge in a single moment of combat or to dodge incoming attacks.

[Celes Castellanos]

It was time for the festivities to commence. For each of the teams to execute their strategies which they have had minutes to plan for. She had hoped that despite the brief interruption that each of the teams would concentrate on the task. Celes' eyes danced across Kimiko's team. They seemed to be by far one of the loudest in expressing their dissent for the Shinigami that had just delivered the message, forcing Celes to send out her Third Seat to keep tabs on the situation. As she waited for the groups to settle down, the Captain heard one of Kimiko's groups speak. She had to admit that she did not like his mentality one bit. "Those people are thieves and murderers!" She raised an eyebrow as he and another in the group descended into argument. Then there we went again. "My father's manor isn't shitty nor little! Peasant!" Had Charles not piped up and quieted them down, Celes would have gladly taken matters into her own hands and descended upon him like a wolf among sheep. 

If there was something that she hated above all else, it was high and mighty attitudes. Unfortunately, they ran all too well among nobles and the affluent. It's why Celes paid little heed to nobility. To the Captain, nobility simply meant that they get to wear a ribbon for when they train, but when they did train, they would not receive any special treatment. At least none from Celes. She had grown up poor in life and despite her own faults, she despised ego. The Shinigami screaming obscenities, if you could even call him a Shinigami in Celes' eyes, had privilege written all over him. He was lucky that he was part of Kimiko's group or else Celes may have just challenged his idiocy.

Her feelings on the matter aside, Celes felt that it was time to begin. She was to organize and guide these young Shinigami in their training exercises. While this did require mediation at times, Celes was not going to impede upon their agency. These weren't little children after all. Celes had to leave them to their own devices and step in things went out of hand. She smiled as she raised her hand and was preparing to begin the training exercise. Miranda did have a good point. They may run into rogue Shinigami or Arrancar with Zanpakutou in the future which made these little exercises a practical feeling to them. With that in mind, Celes dropped her hand as she gave the okay for the exercise to begin.

Just as quickly as she had given the okay, the teams began to execute their offensives. A notable example of this was Kimiko herself. Almost as quickly as Celes had started the exercise, Kimiko utilized a Shunpo to close in on a notable threat. Shawn, the leader of the group with the objective to guard the lilies. Celes watched as his hands almost immediately sprang into action. Was he already trying to go for Kido? Celes was initially eager to see how this would blossom, but it seemed that Kimiko had other plans. Moving at impressive speeds she was nearly upon Shawn as she went for her strike. A strike with her hilt with the likely objective of interrupting the Shinigami's ability to adequately weave his signs. 

Celes was eager to see if Shawn was able to retaliate in that short split-second of a moment. She muttered under her breath. "Clever...immediately going for the Kido Specialist. Kimiko..you never change.." The Captain knew her disciple well. She knew that she despised the magical arts that Shinigami had access to. Celes remembered a time when she wished to pursue Kido. A time when she met with Wycliff to learn new spells. That was a long time ago and since the Captain had focused on her physical prowess, making her nearly unmatched in Hakuda or with the blade. Celes then pondered on how Kimiko's and her relationship may have changed had she decided to continue with the study of Kido.

A discussion for another time as Celes had yet to bear witness to the boldest action so far. Wynne's voice rang clearly as the Captain focused on her. "Arise god of thunder! Awake mother of storms! Unleash the lighting on the sinners!" Celes knew that Kido well. It was the only Hado that she ever took the time to learn. Byakurai. Suddenly, a jolt of electricity leapt from Wynne's finger as it raced towards one of Shawn's team with impressive speed. This was quite the vicious move on Wynne's part. In that moment of hearing the incantation, Celes debated whether to already intervene. She had allowed Kido, but she did want those under her to use common sense. It was halfway through that the Captain decided to remain. Worst case scenario, the Shinigami would need healing and the lily would fall to the ground assuming nobody caught it if he got dropped. The presence of the Fourth Division was like a safety net. Despite that though, Celes had to keep an eye on these engagements.

Already she would hear Dai's voice again as Wynne let the Kido loose. It rang in her mind repeatedly as she kept his eye on him. "Hey! Use that again and I'll come after you!" It seemed that he had already missed the point of this exercise. Celes wanted to interject. She wanted to lecture Dai, but she felt that an interruption on her part would do a number of things. It would disrupt the delicate nature of the training for one. Each Shinigami was fiercely concentrating on their task and Celes did not want to take that away from them. It would also likely cause more comments from Dai which Celes had no interest in indulging. For now, it was only a threat. Celes was weary though and would be ready to step in case he decided to act on it. 

Already it seemed that this training exercise allowed for the opportunity for these participants to get to know their Squadmates. To promote bonding amongst them. To Celes this was one of the most important takeways of this exercise. To build teamwork. Sure, words were beginning to be tossed around and they launched Kido at one another, but this was only the beginning. In case of injury, the Fourth Division was readily available and significant interruptions from any of the participants could be handled by Celes on a case-by-case basis. For now, though, she was more than happy to see how this all played out. Besides, she also had to make sure that everyone was playing by the rules...

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

As soon as they began two major threats emerged that Shawn was expecting, the first being Wynne and the fact she uses Kido while the second was Kimiko and her outrageous speed. In fact Kimiko's attack was so sudden she appeared before he could release the threads correctly, however, she would find this to be worse for her. True he didn't have the defensive grid set up, but now Kimiko would find many strands of threads attached to her weapon and herself. The moment she showed up in front of him and ruined his trajectory, the threads ended up just attaching to her weapon when she made contact with his hands, or flew out straight in front of him due to his hands flicking forward from the lash gained from her weapon.



Thankfully Shawn was still able to get his Kido off following this, Tsuzuri Raiden would be immediately traveling down the threads and through both her weapon and her if she didn't manage to get away from him or break the threads in time. If she did try to break the threads with her weapon, her hands would still get shocked in the process, but it certainly wouldn't be the end of this training session for her. Kimiko was fast, in fact Shawn had a very difficult time visually keeping up with her. She actually vanished for a moment when she Shunpo'd in front of him, the only reason he knew who she would target is from that spar and tour where he meet her some time ago.



This leaves the next major problem for Shawn and his team, Wynne the only other Kido user here right now, decided to send a Byakurai at one of his team members. Noticing her incantation he barely had enough time to help defend his ally. pointing his right index finger towards her, he releases his own Byakurai, though unlike her he only plans on intercepting and shoots it toward an area nobody currently stands. The downside to this is his timing, only catching the Byakurai a little past the front he couldn't block the entirety of it. Yelling to his companions, "Byakurai incoming!" was the best he could manage to ensure his allies dodged the remainder of the Kido.



Sadly for Shawn and his team, the attack managed to land, if not in the exact spot intended. The Byakurai that got through before he could block it skimmed the left side of the big guy who he found out was named Hiroto. It didn't do much but the big guy was certainly startled from this turn of events, letting out a slight yelp in fact which sounded strange coming from him. That's when he realized all the other opponents began to charge at them. He had to think and it had to be quick, suddenly an idea came to mind. Turning his head slightly he called out to his comrades, "Shunpo up, I have a plan". Hoping they would do as he instructed Shawn himself blasted up into the air with a Shunpo, even at 500 speed he managed to get a good distance up. Turning at the peak of his height he turned in the air noticing the rest of his group did in fact follow suite.



It was at this moment Shawn reached his hand out for his team, who in return reached for him thus allowing for a grip to form on each other. "Hold on and brace yourselves!", shouting this Shawn would create and advanced air ground underneath him and the person next to him. Lucky for everyone the one next to him was Hiroto who used his strength to hold everyone up that wasn't on the air ground and pull them to help them get their footing. With that Shawn, Hiroto, Gideon (Brown eyes), Goro (Green eyes), and Tora (The only girl on his team) were all standing about 10ish feet up in the air looking down at the opponents below. "Now we have a moment of reprieve, all we have to do is keep them from knocking us down. So we just need to ensure nobody gets up here with us and I can provide support to anyone trying to keep someone from reaching us!" Suffice it to say Shawn's group all gave a grin to those below them before saying in union, "[smear:FF0000]Sounds good team leader.[/smear:00FF00]"

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu}Remaining: 375/500

Shunpo- 50
Tsuzuri Raiden- 25
Byakurai- 25
Advanced Air ground- 25
Advanced Air Arsenal: Air String- 0 (Class 8 Variant)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Tech's Used}

SPOILER: Click to show

{Tsuzuri Raiden}Technique Name: Hado #11: Tsuzuri Raiden (Bound Lightning)







Class: 7







Technique Type: Kido







Technique Element: Thunder







Technique Description and Effects: Electric current flows through any object the user touches and is able to lead electricity, damaging any target that is in contact with the object the current runs through. This lasts for one post, but by paying the cost of the spell a second time, the duration is increased to two posts.







How to use technique: Speak the spell and touch an object, channeling electricity through it.







Incantation and Effect: Incantation unknown. When the incantation is spoken, the number of active posts this is used for is doubled. (With maximum cost, this can be up to four posts.)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Byakurai}Technique Name: Hado #4: Byakurai (Pale Lightning)







Class: 7







Technique Type: Kido







Technique Element: Thunder







Technique Description and Effects: The user fires a concentrated, powerful lightning bolt from their finger that pierces a target.







How to use technique: Speak the spell and point hand at the target.







Incantation and Effect: "Arise god of thunder! Awake mother of storms! Unleash the lighting on the sinners!" When the incantation is spoken, the Reiatsu Strength used to determine the power of Byakurai is increased by 10%. (i.e. 100 Reiatsu Strength is treated as 110.)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Advanced Air Ground}Technique Name: Advanced Air Ground







Class: 7







Technique Type: Spiritual Technique







Technique Description and Effects:







This is a technique designed especially for breakdancing and parkour, utilizing a more advanced version of air ground. While in a terrain where air ground exists, the user can create more complex surfaces like air walls, air ceilings, air ledges and even an air push. This allows the user to perform handstands and windmills on air as if it were normal ground or even stand upside-down on air as if gravity were reversed. The air push makes the air ground very elastic so that the user can jump higher. It allows for slight movement even when restrained by a Bakudō.







For a cost of twenty-five Reiatsu, the user will be able to momentarily cast an "air ground" on areas such as in Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, allowing the user to "double jump" or cast Shunpo in mid-air. If this technique is mastered, the user will be able to create air grounds that last for as long as a single post. This can be used in creative ways to improve acrobatics and visual impressiveness.







Drawback: No drawback.







Created By: Shiki Kanzaki







Reserved: No

SPOILER: Click to show

{Advanced Air Arsenal: Air Strings}Technique Name: Advanced Air Arsenal: Air strings







Class:8-1







Technique Type: Reishi Technique







Usable By: Any







Technique Element: None







Technique Description and Effects (Explain appearance, powers, and effect): This technique is much more refined and eloquent than the other methods of Advanced Air Arsenal. This technique, rather than generating large structures, instead focuses on the production of condensed and fortified strings of reishi. Wether it's to help wire a trap, to manipulate a far-off object, or just to tie someone up, these threads are very useful.



At class 8, these threads are well...threads. They are considered to have an offensive durability of 25 and anyone with the physical strength to lift themselves off the ground can generally break these strings without any effort. There is nothing particularly special about these strings, other than that the fact that they have such a thin reishi composition and structure that they have literally zero reiatsu signature and can only be sensed physically through sight.







At class 7, these strings gain some utility. The strings can be manipulated by the user and have an offensive durability of 100, increasing by 100 for each class beyond this one (a maximum of 700 durability at class 1).







At class 5, these strings are more than just tools. In addition to being able to be used for a variety of common jobs, these threads actually have the spiritual durability to cut into materials they are braced against. However, due to their thinness, the cutting power of the thread is inferior to it's actual durability, boasting a mere cutting power of 275 at class 5, increasing by 75 per class ( 350 at class 4, 425 at class 3, 500 at class 2, 575 at class 1).







Finally, at class 2, these strings are pretty high-quality. Not only improving in durability and cutting power, but also holding the power to be spiritually conductive, allowing the user to channel other techniques through the strings as though they were an extension of the user's body.







Technique Drawbacks Reiatsu cost. Additionally, these strings can only last up to 5 posts, increasing to 10 posts at proficient, and 15 posts at mastered.







Made By:Nola Vilde







Reserved? (Yes/No): No

[Wynne Kuchiki]

“How about you focus on yourself pal?” Snarking back at Dai with a menacing grin, Rinkah narrowed her eyes as she watched the group initiate their attack on Shawn’s group. “We should probably follow suit, leaving someone to protect Wynne while the others try to grab the lily.” Nodding her head, Wynne looked towards the group they wanted to attack. Currently the situation was looking a bit hectic. Her Kido attack was somewhat successful, since she managed to strike a successful blow. Thankfully her opponent managed to dodge it somewhat, which she actually wanted, as her attack was a tad bit powerful. If he was struck head on, he might actually need medical attention.

The real problem was that their group was melee based and their lily was currently in the air. Which left them with their previous option, bombarding their opponents with Kido. Which was proving to be a deadly option. Should she still go through with that type of method? “Unless we can bring them back down, your plan’s not really going to work Rinkah.” Looking at the muscular girl with a frown, Wynne shrugged her shoulders. “You’re probably right, quite unfortunate the blondie had this move in his repertoire. Pretty annoying actually.”

“Should I still attack our guy with my Kido? It seems like our only option, but it does run the risk of injuring him pretty badly if I mess up.” The other girls around her rubbed their chins as they took a moment to think before shrugging their shoulders. “Should be fine right?” “Yeah?” “We do have Squad 4 nearby.” “As long as you don’t try to do it on purpose we shouldn’t be disqualified, plus Hirito looks like he can take it. Either that or he hops down. He made his choice.” Feeling a bead of sweat drip down her face, Wynne looked at her group in disbelief. Did they really care that little about their opponent's wellbeing? Oh well, the majority had spoken. She had a job to do.

"Arise god of thunder! Awake mother of storms! Unleash the lighting on the sinners!" As she began to cast her spell, one of the other girls would head towards the group in the sky to catch the lily if it fell while Rinkah and another girl guarded Wynne. The plan was to keep bombarding the levitating group with Kido until they landed back on the ground. Sure no one melee base could reach them, but they were quite easy to snipe from the position they were currently in. Hopefully whoever was hit by the Byakurai would be able to survive. Wynne wasn’t sure if this was the wisest plan, but her group had made their decision. And she would stick by them. That was the point of this exercise…….right?

~~~~~~~~~~
Reiatsu: 450/500 Remaining
Reiatsu Strength of Byakurai: 83

SPOILER: Click to show

{Byakurai}Technique Name: Hado #4: Byakurai (Pale Lightning)

Class: 7

Technique Type: Kido

Technique Element: Thunder

Technique Description and Effects: The user fires a concentrated, powerful lightning bolt from their finger that pierces a target.

How to use technique: Speak the spell and point hand at the target.

Incantation and Effect: "Arise god of thunder! Awake mother of storms! Unleash the lighting on the sinners!" When the incantation is spoken, the Reiatsu Strength used to determine the power of Byakurai is increased by 10%. (i.e. 100 Reiatsu Strength is treated as 110.)

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko's attempt to strike down Shawn so as to prevent him to cast whatever spell he was going to launch at the beginning of this exercise was executed with both extreme rapidity and minute precision. In a way, it was the perfect showcase of the woman's abilities as a prodigal swordswoman to the people of the Tenth that hadn't met her yet and those of the Eleventh who had not seen her fight so far, as few as they may be. Her Shunpo was accomplished masterfully, clearly the result of countless hours spent practicing the technique so as to present her ultimate potency of it to the evaluators of the prestigious Shin'ō Academy. In fact, it was done so well that many of the people that were spectating the challenge set by Celes and Miranda were surprised at how she had simply vanished from everyone's sight the moment she executed it. Moreover, the sword technique that she then displayed by attempting to unleash the blunt side of her blade onto her opponent's hands was also done well. Despite this, this assault presented one particular mistake.

The swordswoman had not really planned to do any of this. For the most part, the only thing about this exercise that was in her head prior to her assault was Gideon and the flower that was currently resting atop of his head. In other words, her attack towards Shawn was completely reactionary. Of course, she knew that her comrade was an enthusiast of the magical arts that mainly fought defensively, and naturally, this could have easily led to him casting a spell that would prevent everyone in this exercise from appropriately grabbing the aforementioned flowers from him and his teammates. However, she had no idea of what kind of spell he was going to cast. This was the mantra of magicians in her head after all: they are naturally unpredictable. For all she knew, he could have cast a typical fireball, a burst of electricity like absolutely every magician whose skills she has witnessed during her stay at the academy, or something else. The last option was exactly the one Shawn had decided to go with.

Threads almost immediately appeared from the man's hands as he attempted to execute his defensive initiative for his team. At first, it appeared as though those threads were meant to a part of some sort of shield or a contraption that would be similar in function. The problem was that Kimiko's assault had completely botched their deployment. Rather than apparently being set all around the team, these threads instead found themselves tangled all around the swordswoman's blade as it was heading towards the hands that created them. It was needless to say that the sight of her blade being caught in the wires was enough to cause the warrior's eyes to widen in surprise. "What?" She would exclaim in surprise, having not expected something like this to be used against her before frowning as she saw her opponent fuel those threads with spiritual energy. She had no idea of what that energy was going to do to her, and she was not going to let it reach her.

It was with this in mind that the woman would then immediately attempt to move away from Shawn. Fortunately for her, the threads that had become entangled around her blade were incredibly weak, so much so that they were unable to remain entangled as she moved. Each of them would snap like twigs before then falling onto the ground below. Considering that the broken threads that were still attached to Shawn's hands would then start crackling with electricity shortly after she got rid of them, she was glad that she was able to get away in time. It was also nice to see that whatever the magician had in mind was not going to happen now, as it now seemed to her that he wanted to erect some kind of electric field around his team. However, the fact that she was forced to back off from him in such a way was not a pleasant thing to experience. It had created a distance between the both of them, and if there's one thing magicians love, it's the distance between themselves and their opponents.

The distance which was created was not the only consequence that occurred from this interaction, for Kimiko's retreat also caused the rest of her team to suddenly cease their assault. Well, to be more precise, it was the retreat and the bolt of lightning that was shot by one of the other teams that caused them to stop. Dai had already expressed his frustrations regarding the latter, which apparently had been enough to cause one of the teammates of the one who cast the spell to snark back at him much to his own frustration. In comparison, the others were now warier of Shawn himself, staring at him as they then watched him execute the next part of his plan. In a moment's notice, his team was raised up in the air with a synchronized Shunpo jump, and now, they were staring at them all from above on an air platform. Charles would look at them go with a bit of an annoyed glare. "I woke up way too early for this," he would sleepily complain before he'd look on to the others. "Anyway... this is not good. We're going to need another plan."

"Yeah... We probably do," Kimiko would huff in reply before looking at Shawn's group from the ground level. The embarrassment of being pushed away so easily by a technique whose existence she was unaware of as of yet set aside, the simple plan that she had conveyed to her team was not going to really cut it any longer, at least not in its current form. As it stands, it can only be applied to a grounded opponent that can be overpowered by Kimiko. In a way, most of the members of Shawn's team fitted that criteria when it came purely to their physical aspects; however, Shawn himself has proven that the psychological aspect can still concoct a strategy to prevent them from achieving any of the steps of their plan properly. Hell, the fact that they were now floating above them was pretty bad enough, as none of the members of Kimiko's team can use a similar technique. Kimiko could definitely just Shunpo back to their position again, but the size of their platform is going to leave her open to a whole bunch of responses from each and every single member of the team, including Gideon.

For a moment, the four of them would attempt to find a solution, though it was clear that all of them had something that kept them from voicing their ideas right away. Kimiko was too reserved, and given that her first plan had not succeeded, she wasn't too sure if the others would approve another plan of her making. Meanwhile, Charles was hoping that someone would figure out a plan before he did in hopes that he could avoid having to make one by himself, and Dai... Well, Dai was simply too busy being angry at the women of the bolt caster's team to actually have the current mental capacity to formulate anything constructive. The only one that actually seemed to be more willing to think of something was Binita who stood there, thoughtful as she stared at Shawn and their target, Gideon. Eventually, a smile would appear on her face as the figurative light bulb lit itself up in her head. "I've got it!" She would exclaim herself then before looking at Kimiko and Dai. "You two, come here!"

It took a few seconds for the two to get close to her, especially the brutish one who previously had audible qualms with the darker-skinned girl, though eventually, they both stepped forward towards her to potentially hear about what she wanted to do. Much to their surprise, however, they would then suddenly be grabbed by the woman before she would would then go on to carry them. Taken aback by both what was going on and her comrade's shocking strength, Kimiko would let out a noise of surprise as she was set onto the girl's left shoulder with her hand on her back. "What are you...?!" She would first say before she would look up towards Shawn's group with widened eyes. Oh no. Oooooh no. The girl hadn't told them of what she had in mind, but it was getting increasingly clear that she actually wanted to do something that was very, very drastic, even for the swordswoman. "Binita-san... I... I can just Shunpo up! Put me down!"  

"Yes, put us down! You are insane!" The thug would immediately call out with an expression on his face that displayed a fair bit of panic. Unlike Kimiko, he had been literally settled underneath her right shoulder, and needless to say, he was being held tight, enough so that it appeared to be fairly uncomfortable for him. "This will not accomplish anything! You will only hurt us!"

"Well, right now, I do want to hurt you, so like, I don't really see the problem here," Binita would grin almost diabolically as she responded to the thug, which caused him to fume quite a fair bit. However, by that point, she would not grant him any more of her attention. Instead, she would turn her head towards Kimiko once again with a more natural smile. "Let's bring Shawn and Gideon down. If they fall from there, the flower will be ours!"

"I still don't think this is safe...!" 

But the grappler did not hear any more words from that point on. Instead, she simply grinned at the group above and stared spinning. Kimiko was very clearly still taken aback by this, but at this point, she knew that her protests were being unheard; as such, she would simply prepare herself to face Shawn at whatever velocity she will receive from this, holding onto her Zanpakuto with widened eyes and clenched teeth. Meanwhile, the poor Dai start sweating all over, mouth agape as he would give glances at Charles. "H-Hensley-san, please! You must convince her to stop!" He would plead. Unfortunately, all he would receive from the one he begged for help from would first be a blank stare, than a simple powerless smirk, as though he was displaying his complete lack of power over Binita here. This caused the thug's eyes to widen even further before he would then stare at the Gideon above, who had begun to stare at them with a titled head.

Then, they were thrown, both with such strength that it was as though they had both become projectiles. The first one to go was Kimiko, who had been thrown straight towards Shawn with her teeth clenched powerfully against one another as she held her sword's scabbard near her chest, while the second was Dai who was instead launched in Gideon's direction, who might as well have been screaming like a girl during the whole process. Between the two, the female Shinigami had been prioritized, as Binita appeared to be banking on having her surprise Shawn so that Dai could hurt Gideon, and fortunately, she acted as fast as usual. Resisting the wind that blew all around her, she would position herself appropriately in the air before delivering a powerful Iaijutsu strike with the flat side of her blade towards Shawn's chest, done deliberately to swipe him away from the platform all the while avoiding the incoming lightning bolt shot once again from the all-female team. Should she be successful, she would then rapidly attempt to pierce the air platform so as to force herself to hang onto it with as much of her own physical strength that she possibly could. Her arm was definitely going to be hurt by this, but it was much better than splattering herself onto one of the courtyard walls!

As for Dai, he would be thrown straight towards the direction of Gideon's stomach like a torpedo. He was lucky to have the hardest head around here, else anything he would have hit with such momentum would have clearly given him a concussion... or worse.

[Celes Castellanos]

The Captain's eyes widened as she watched her disciple rush down Shawn. It was exactly what she expected her to do. After all, she knew how much that Kimiko despised Kido. However, it was this predictability and tunnel vision that would get her into a small amount of trouble. Shawn had quickly erected his set of strings as he ran a Kido that mimicked electricity through it. The Captain had seen this be used before. On a mission with Shawn, he had used this exact same tactic to fry some small invaders. It had proved to be extremely effective and it would be no different in this scenario. After all, though Kimiko was not charred to a crisp. Instead, the electricity surged through her body and made her seemingly recoil. The threads would snap, but it gave Shawn the time he needed to bark out commands. 

At the same time Celes' own subordinate, Wynne, would launch her Byakurai. As it raced towards one of the targets, Shawn demonstrated quick thinking once more. Using his own Byakurai, he deflected it just enough so that it would not land its exact mark. Instead, Hiroto's shoulder would be grazed. Aiming to avoid any additional injuries, Shawn gave a simple directive. Celes watched the Shinigami's movements, even through his Shunpo. As he turned, his teammates would join him in the air. Suddenly, each one of them would find themselves in the air, suspended on a platform of reiatsu. "Hold on and brace yourselves!" Celes had to admit that she was impressed thus far. "Now we have a moment of reprieve, all we have to do is keep them from knocking us down. So we just need to ensure nobody gets up here with us and I can provide support to anyone trying to keep someone from reaching us!" His plan was punctuated with the resounding harmony of his team. "[smear:FF0000]Sounds good team leader.[/smear:00FF00]"

The Captain nodded as a small smile touched her lips. Shawn was really something else. He clearly lacked some fundamental skills and yet this did not hold him back. Quite the opposite, in fact. Shawn demonstrated impressive charisma. Not only that, but he had a keen mind for strategy. His efforts would surely pay off as their team now possessed a vantage point. It forced the other teams to approach from unfavorable angles. This would create a bit of downtime where each group now had to reevaluate their plan. Celes was happy to see this. Adaptability. Creativity. Cunning. All these things could change the outcome of a fight. Shawn certainly received some bonus points in Celes' eyes for shaking up the status quo. Celes' eyes darted over to Wynne's group and the Captain would focus on them, listening in to see if their strategies had changed. 

“Should I still attack our guy with my Kido? It seems like our only option, but it does run the risk of injuring him pretty badly if I mess up.” Celes smiled. "Huh. She's quite sensible and caring of her fellow Shinigami. Perh-" Her thoughts were cut short as more voices piped up among that group. “Should be fine right?” “Yeah?” “We do have Squad 4 nearby.” “As long as you don’t try to do it on purpose we shouldn’t be disqualified, plus Hirito looks like he can take it. Either that or he hops down. He made his choice.” Celes' eyes widened and the Shinigami quickly muttered under her breath, "Of course I jinx it immediately. Damn it..." There was a lot to unpack among Wynne's group, but Celes had to admit that there was some truth to it. The Fourth Division stood by to tend to injuries, but it was less to promote recklessness and more to tend to injuries if they did occur. She'd definitely keep an eye on them, but first, Celes would now focus on Kimiko's group to see how their position changed. As her eyes came across Kimiko though, they'd widen as her disciples voice filled the room.

"Binita-san... I... I can just Shunpo up! Put me down!" Celes couldn't believe it. Binita was holding not only Kimiko, but another Shinigami who also yelled. "Yes, put us down! You are insane!" After nearly a minute or so of arguing amongst the trio, it was clear that the woman would not accept any dissent. Her voice filled the room, nearly drowning out everyone else. "Let's bring Shawn and Gideon down. If they fall from there, the flower will be ours!" Despite some more dissent from Kimiko, it seemed that Binita was finally ready. Demonstrating a rather impressive throwing arm, the Shinigami tossed Kimiko with impressive speed. At a similar time, Wynne would discharge another Kido. This would create a very tough situation for Shawn's team to work their way through. "Hopefully there will be no significant injuries..." As the groups worked hard to get the tasked crystal flowers, Celes felt something pull at her conscious.

It was initially just a tug. A fleeting feeling. Suddenly though, a voice rang in her head. "Celesss." The Captain recognized the tone and inflection immediately. The voice of her Zanpakutou Spirit. Celes tilted her head in confusion until Yunorashi poked her again. "Celes. This is important. I need to talk to you. Face to face!" Her inflection ose and it sounded as though Celes was talking to a distressed child. The Captain gave a sigh. Time in her Inner World always seemed to move slower so perhaps she could spend a little time in there...? After a few more moments of pondering, Celes tapped her arm before grabbing her twin Zanapakutou.

She'd cross her legs and place both blades upon her lap. Even as the sounds of training raged on in the room, Celes closed her eyes and did as much as she could to clear her mind. She focused upon the forest that existed within the Inner World. The Acropolis looming on the hill. Her Zanpakutou Spirit jumping through the canopy. Even the demon within had a place in her mind, sitting in a devastated battlefield. Celes breathed out softly as her world began to shift. Sounds of combat grew dull and dark. After a few moments, Celes opened her eyes to find herself under a tree. Looking up and hearing nothing, she returned her gaze forward and was met with the sudden appearance of Yunorashi who threw herself at Celes.

Crashing into the Shinigami with a notable thud, Celes gasped. "What the hell?! Yunorashi. What was that about?!" The younger Zanpakutou Spirit smiled and grinned like a child. "Wellll. First, I missed you! Second, you're having all that fun outside and didn't even think to invite me!" A pout touched the Zanpakutou Spirits' face. Celes sighed and shook her head. "Yunorashi. You know its hard to bring you out of the Inner World. Besides, I fear that the others wouldn't be a match for you even if I could do it. Anyway. You said this was urgent?" Yunorashi nodded and grinned. "Yeah! The fact that you didn't invite me! It looks like fun." A short huff later, Celes facepalms and groans. "Oh Yunorashi..." Meanwhile, in the Barracks, Celes body sat silent as a mouse in the Jinzen pose and her eyes closed. Part of her hoped that she didn't need to make any quick transitions though given the volatility of this group....she was not sure.

[Miranda Frost]

"I hate to do this Miranda, but can you check on the situation for me? As my Third Seat, I'm sure that you can handle this situation comfortably. No worries. I will look after the training session here."


Miranda’s eyes turned to her captain. Though not grim, the request was a polite order. Her heart thumped and a slight fear rose in her heart. She wanted to protest to stand her ground in defiance and proclaim that her duties were here, but alas Miranda knew she was wrong, just so wrong. Her body still ached from her previous engagements, but that is not much to say. She was always in some manner of discomfort ever since her escape from that blasted fringe district.

Miranda stood and bowed to her captain silently and glanced at the training shinigami. She’d took a few steps and look behind her again. She would need to be quick. Without her presence, the flowers would fade away over time. After all it was her reiatsu and her reiatsu alone that held them together. She’d smile faintly and take off into a run, turning the corner and sprinting out of the area. She gritted her teeth and lept into the air once out of sight, landing on another of her creations mid-air, a simple disc with a surface coarse to the tough to facilitate safe riding.

The first stop would be the gate. There she would learn more of the situation before she’d arrive. The man said there was a hollow sighting in the outer districts. Miranda shook her head hoping, no, praying that it was just that. Security in the rukongai grew weaker and weaker the farther the district was from the source of the soul society’s military might. It is possible they could have made a mistake. Let’s hope that’s all it was.

Miranda weaved through buildings and barracks, accelerating her construct as fast as it could possibly go. Shinigami and guards would glance up as she rocketed overhead, some even calling out for her to slow down, watch where she was going. Now wasn’t the time to be careful. Not now. The faster she made contact with the man that’d give her intel, the better. Her altitude lowered as she approached the gate and surely enough there was a small group of three from her division. Her eyes widened in shocked when she approached.


Every single one was wounded. All had experienced some kind of head trauma, as indicated by the bandages wrapped around their heads. One man was missing an arm while another was being intensely worked upon by squad 4 personnel. He’d been nearly gutted by the look of it, with a huge puncture wound decorating his stomach. Another was burned severely from head to toe. Miranda slowed her descent and lept down, barging her way through the small croud that had formed around them, approaching the one armed man.

Being the third seat, the shaken man gave her his full attention and met with her, arm clutching a bandaged stump. “Ms. Frost! We were ambushed on patrol. Everything is b-burning, we barely able to make it out with our lives.” The man began, barely holding himself together. Miranda gripped the man’s shoulder and shook him out of it. “O-oh right um. We were ambushed not far from the northern fringe districts. We didn’t get to see what hit us too well through the f-f-flames. F-follow the smoke.”

Miranda nodded and lept back onto her mode of transportation, her eyes gazing down at the man. “I’ll take this from here. Let squad 4 take care of you, they will inform the Captain.”, Miranda would state quickly before rocketing off again, threading the gate and veering north. Miranda cursed under her breath, and looked on the horizon. Surely enough there was smoke, blacker than a starless night.

District after district past by underneath her as she flew, her body crouched down to avoid drag and to avoid being blown off by her own speed. If there was a hollow there they would surely know she’s coming. She couldn’t conceal herself, not anymore. The moment she was able to recover from Tima-sama’s training, she would never be able to hold back her reiatsu any longer. What she needed was a plan, but how could she plan for an enemy she was unaware of? This was not a good situation. She should have gone back and retrieved proper back up for this, but she couldn’t bare to see any more mangled like those poor men.

As she drew closer she’d see the scene a bit more clearly. Black clouds of smoke and debri covered a handful of blocks in this district, hot flames licking those near it. Teams of shinigami and volunteer souls worked to put out the blaze, but Miranda would not lend assistance. She brought her arm over her face to shield herself from the smoke. She coughed but she maintained focus. She couldn’t sense anything in the vicinity of the fire save for those laboring to put it out. Miranda lowered herself to the ground and stepped out.

Blood drenched the streets and charred gore was scattered about the buildings and alleyways. Her heart thumped in fear at the sight of it. Where were the bodies, why was it so quiet? Not even the flames roared as it should. She could only hear her hesitant footsteps as she neared the center of the carnage, and that’s where she saw it. Standing over a shinigami corpse was a being clad in charred steel armor, Halberd impaled into the soldier beneath.

A memory flashed in her mind, one of her first mission. Yes, it was similar. She had been sent with a team of fresh recruits during her time in squad 7. It would be her only mission with them. She had recklessly gone alone into the wilderness to hunt a hollow that had been besieging a partnering team. She was supposed to be the reinforcement, their backup, their chance at life. She was ambitious, foolish even. For her recklessness she was paid back in dues of blood. She fought in vain against that hollow that slaughtered that team to no avail and it forced her to call out for her team she had left behind. She led them to their death, and though the hollow spared her with her life, she was broken mentally, spiritually. Like this visage, every single one was wrenched of their blood. It should have been her, should have been her.

Miranda shook her head and clenched her fists. This was no hollow. The creature was humanoid, clad in steel plate, but she couldnt tell what it was. Its reiatsu signature was foriegn to her but at the same time familiar. Even the armor looked as if she’d seen it before. Miranda called forth a guard of six crystalline spears that immediately formed and flanked her, points aimed at this knight in charred armor.

The knight turned its head towards her slowly and ripped its halberd clean from the body, its point suffering from the coagulation of blood. It step towards her calmly and steadily as if she were just another one of these men. With halberd raised and aimed it charged, heavy footsteps cracking the road beneath them. Miranda sent a spear into the charging beast of a warrior only for the structure to dent and deflect off its breast plate, embedding the spear into the road. Miranda cursed and lept back instinctively, bringing the crystal disc she road in on in front of her to block the strike.

It would hold but only for a moment as even it began to crack under the pressure. Miranda tilted the disc and steppe onto it as if she would a ramp but not before leaving a little surprise in the form of a budding crystal growth on the sand at her feet. She soured overhead and sent two more of the spears down at its back plate, again being deflected but leaving a couple more thick dents in the steel. The disc would shatter and the force of the impact took the knight’s balance and forced him forward, triggering the trap.

The little bud of crystal frost would react rapidly and burst forward in growth sending forming a crystal stalagmite at a length of six feet tall and one foot wide. The knight was able to alter its fall and redirect its impact point from its chest to its offhand shoulder, ripping it clean off. The knight stumbled to the ash covered street and recovered, glancing over to where the arm lay seemingly in disbelief. Miranda would not be idle after she landed as she waited for its next move as she’d stir the inner makings of the stalagmite, making it quite volatile. She took inventory of the pieces she had in play : the two ground embedded spears, the two spears at her flank, and the stalagmite. The two sent at its back had been shattered and made unusable. She’d allow these fragments rejoin the atmosphere of swirling reishi around them.

“You’ll pay for what you’ve done”, she’d call out to the beast of a knight who turned its head quickly at her and charged again, scooping up its halberd. This time though, she’d notice that it was beginning to glow red hot as if heating before bursting into spiritual fire. Miranda’s eyes widened and commanded the stalagmite to burst, firing a cloud of high speed shards into the knights back, and lucky her as a wave of seering flame shot was thrown off course and only slightly singed her pale hair.

With one hand it’d draw back the halberd and slice upward from the ground, bending the nearby wall of flame to crash down upon her. She’d shunpo to safety but just barely. In her evasion an opportunity arose. The knight raised its halberd again and collected the flames into the weapon and drew it back as if to strike her. Given how they were likely eight or so feet from each other, this was likely going to be a ranged attempt of some sort, but he wouldn’t have the chance again. Shameful as it was, there was no honor here in this burning crypt of a town. Dismemberment wouldn’t dissuade this foe, so she’d force it to its knees. The armor had weak points and there she would aim her strikes.

Two spears would form behind it, inches from the back of its knees. One would form next to its stump and a block would form in front of its arm. The formation of these objects happened within the blink of an eye as if they were always there and its acceleration was just as quick. Blink and you could miss it all. All at once they struck. One spear drilled deep into the hole where the arm used to be, the two at its back pierced deep and took out its knees all while the block of crystal slammed into the knight’s wrist, likely breaking it and disarming him once again.

The knight cried out in surprise and crumpled to the ground, arm reaching for the halberd. The Third Seat was careful only to pierce a lung with the stump spear, it would tell her everything it knew after all. Miranda walked over and stood over it, a crude crystal katana forming in her hands. “You are going to tell me why you did this. You are going to tell me how many lives you took. You are going to tell me who you are working with. You are going to tell me what you are. You will tell me these things and then you will die.” She’d growl and lean over, the block now pressing into its back, pinning it to the ground. Her gloved hands grasped the helmet and pulled it free, tossing it aside.

What was underneath perplexed and disturbed the girl. It was a woman with long black hair, but surely not a living one. Its face was contorted with rage and pain and its throat was littered with stitches. Her eyes were sunken and glowed with a feint crimson light and its flesh was cracked and charred. Her eyes slowly looked at the wounds she inflicted. Not a single drop of blood was spilled from this creature. Her eyes returned to its face and spotted a bit of white fabric was tied just beneath the stitches. She’d reach down and untie the fabric, her foot keeping the creatures head pinned to the dirt as it struggled in vein to sink it dried teeth into her flesh.

“You have been chosen, called by your God to serve. The white of your dress denotes your purity and this purity will be tested by your Lord. Endure His trials and you will serve as his vessel. I am proud of all of you.”

Fabric in hand she’d step back to look upon it. Her eyes narrowed and more memories flashed in her mind. There was a reason that armor looked so familiar. This fabric belonged to the dresses her home district made for its Maidens, a selection of souls chosen to serve the district’s church. Miranda ran away with but a gut feeling and glimpse of the church's cruelty had no idea they were capable of horrors such as this. “So… I could have become this?”, she’d ask herself, frightened by the visage. Miranda was lucky to escape with her life but what of this woman?

She’d tear up but stopped herself. There was nothing she could have done then. She was weak, right? She could only save herself, but… “I’m so sorry. Forgive me...”, she’d mutter, choking on a slight sob as she brought down her blade over the poor woman’s head, slicing it from its body. Only then did it grow limp and rest. She’d allow all her constructs to fade and called another, a disc not unlike the one she rode in on. She stepped upon it and left it all. The fires were beginning to recede, its strength likely fueled by that poor woman’s presence. With the fuel burned out and dissipated, the flames could no longer reach its previous high.

Back up teams of shinigami and various volunteer guard groups would show up to assess damage, but Miranda would be there to explain things, show off her triumph. There was no victory there, only death and smoldering ruins. Though the engagement didn’t take too long and she did need to get back, she would fly slowly, letting the cool rukongai air fill her lungs and allow her to clear her mind. Emotionally she was a wreck by what she saw. Her fear of blood and the past catching up to her shook her to her core.

As she arrived back on the training grounds she saw that her flowers had begun to deteriorate but hadn’t completely. She’d smile faintly and bowed before entering the grounds allowing her field of control rejuvenate the flowers. She’d circle around and take her place by her captain once more, careful to hide her still trembling hands within their sleeves as she sat down. “I have it taken care of, Captain. Did I miss much?”, she’d ask cooly and deliberately, eyes scanning the field of battle.



((i posted this really late, couldnt start writing once i stopped but i'll deduct the proper amount of reiatsu from the stuff i used when I get a chance again. Im tired lol))

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

Well, Shawn was happy to see his last minute plan seemed to be working, not only did he cause the other teams to regroup but most of them seemed to be stumped as to their next moves. Sadly that doesn't seem to be the case with all of them as Kimiko and another of their team was being picked up by their strong girl teammate. Shawn, however, wasn't the one to notice this as he was focused on Wynne. Currently the biggest problem his team had to deal with as she actually had ranged attacks and options that were much harder to counter.



While Shawn was keeping his eye on Wynne's team talk amongst themselves, Gideon would nudge him. "Hey captain, my original group is up to something", he would say to Shawn while nodding towards Binita holding Kimiko and Dai. Hmm, that could be trouble, this thought wouldn't travel through his mind a moment to soon. That's when Kimiko was being chucked at him and Dai at Gideon. Suffice it to say he only had seconds to react, barely lifting his fingers up and mentally casting Hainawa sending a glowing rope soaring towards both Kimiko and Dai.



The moment Shawn's Hainawa touched either of the two targets, it would immediately begin crawling around them to immobilize them. If they don't react or have a way to counter it then they will both find themselves in need of help from the rest of their team. This was taxing for him to do as he didn't have a ton of reiatsu to spend, which is hard to deal with considering he relies primarily on Kido currently. This was something he wanted to correct, even though Kido can be versatile it doesn't mean much if he can't fight well in close combat.



To make matters far worse Wynne decided to send yet another Byakurai at Hirito. Emotions flooded into Shawn, memories of his helplessness to keep his siblings safe even though they were in arms reach. Ever since that incident he vowed to do everything he could to help his comrades or any he cared for that were within reach. His body moved on it's own even at a basic 50 speed it was enough time given he was simultaneously pushing Hirito away from the attack. The problem was doing so put him in the crosshairs instead, unable to do much else he could only feel as the Byakurai pierced into the upper section of his left shoulder.



Stiffling a graon of pain Shawn had to keep his mind focused, for a fraction of a second the advanced air ground was becoming undone. Pushing through the pain he solidified the ground and kept anyone from falling off. This action caught all of his teammates off guard as they couldn't believe how far he was willing to go for their safety even during an exercise. "Shawn!" Hirito would yell as he steadied Shawn. "Thanks for doing that but as our leader please don't keep risking yourself like that, we need you as much as you need us!" Hirito's comment would get many nods from the rest of his group, it was strange how much emotions and connections could come from a little test like this. In order to ease his comrades Shawn would simply say "Ok". Now was the time to watch what everyone did after this little show of force, it would become very clear to all onlookers that Shawn and his team were nowhere near ready to give up.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu}Remaining: 300/500
Bakudo #4: Hainawa X2- 50
Advanced Air Ground- 25

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132 paragraphs counted on Page 1!

85 paragraphs counted on Page 2!

217 total paragraphs counted, so that'll be 1,085 TP for all participants!
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