Dark Under Brightest Nights

[Ailene Haschiro]

"Around two years ago, a Fullbringer and I found members of the yakuza hunting Hollows with rogue members of our Seventh Division to... sell Hollows to the black market in Karakura Town. Their main boss was another Fullbringer named Matsugane Hibiki, while his Shinigami partner was Kunio Ryuuji," Ailene had to admit. These names had no meaning to her, but she was finally getting some background information that she could potentially use for this investigation if needed. She would try to dissect it later if it became useful. For now, she listened once more. "When we took them out, I thought this trade was going to stop, but no... I guess I was being too optimistic."

Ailene was happy to learn more about the previous encounter that the Shinigami, she could tell her a number of things. Her cheeks were getting flushed. Her voice raised. Her mannerisms progressed into rising annoyance and clear discomfort as she discussed the topic. Ailene had a keen eye and was a rather good listener. She picked up on these little things that most would either miss or just gloss over. She could tell that something about this situation bothered her. She began hypothesizing. Perhaps a failure to stop the continuation of these crimes? Perhaps it was even her lack of foresight? The presumption that her one previous deed could destroy what seemed to be an entire underground business. 

The Espada did not give much of a response. She did not want to risk upsetting Kimiko more than the conversation had already incited. As she had a look at the door and determined it to be locked, she utilized one of her fancy tricks. Her mastery of Cero was only second to Arcadus as far as she was aware. As such, she was able to utilize in much finer ways. Channeling her reiatsu through a needle pulled from her hair, she simply pressed the needle against the lock. It would inevitably melt, but this would take time. Ailene would take the time to explore a previous comment from the Shinigai. At a glance, it sounded like the Seated Officer hated using Konsō and the Arrancar was curious why.

"It's not that I hate doing it," Ailene paused for a moment as she looked Kimiko for a second as she returned to her task. She would continue to listen. "The Soul Society isn't really a place that I would say helps everyone find peace... For some people it does. For others, it goes even further than that. However, for the rest... it might be more dangerous for them to be there. Those areas they end up being distributed to... It's not Hell, but for some, it might be pretty close to it. That's what I hate about it. Lying to them, just so they don't worry about ending up somewhere like that." Ailene thought for a moment as she finished. She had been to Soul Society twice after all. Ailene would explore the topic as well in due time. For now, though, they had a task and the Arrancar felt the lock give no more resistance. Rising she would offer the Shinigami a chance to go before her. To see what was behind the door. Compared to Ailene's rather archaic and proper etiquette, Kimiko's was rougher around the edges. "Uh, right. Thanks," Ailene could not help, but smile as the Shinigami opened the door, walking through with the Espada just behind her. 

As they walked through the door, Ailene stopped just beside Kimiko as she as well saw that which she was not expecting. A grand staircase that shot downward, dragging them even further beneath underground. As Kimiko offered her reaction, Ailene would follow suit. "Huh..." "Well then...that's certainly an interesting twist." It seemed that there was little choice. They had to go down. As Kimiko traveled downward at a comfortable yet faster pace, Ailene followed as best as she could. After all, her speed was drastically limited like this. As they moved for what seemed like nearly two minutes, Ailene began to think about the situation to herself. "I certainly hope that this will not escalate. If it does, then I may have to rely on my worse half..." She looked at Kimiko, deeply troubled. She actually liked this one. She certainly did not mind the company. Hopefully this wouldn't end poorly...for either of them. 

Kimiko would reach the bottom first, with Ailene in tow, but her reaction already prepped Ailene to expect something shocking or even disturbing. "What...?!" As the Arrancar reached the bottom, she would be met with the glow of bright...light? The Espada looked up as she saw a clear blue sky and a shining sun. It was completely unlike the White Desert with its perpetual dark sky and its brilliant moon that shone, illuminating the pale desert. Something that was perplexing though was the size of the room. It seemed to span miles upon miles. In fact, Ailene was not sure that she could truly see the end. Kimiko's reaction was understandable, but not entirely shared by the Espada. "This... T-This isn't right...This is... not right...Right... okay. I wasn't expecting this." 

The fake sky was certainly not something unbeknownst to the Arrancar. She began to speak softly, still loud enough for Kimiko to hear. "It's...just like with Las Noches.." She walked forward, looking up as the rays shined upon her eyes which caused her to squint as she returned her gaze downward. It felt just like Las Noches. She continued to speak. "I do not know how, but under the canopy of Las Noches, there exists a blue sky just like this, fixed with perpetual daytime. Though Lord Kouhai is the King of Hueco Mundo. He would naturally have the power to fashion something like that in Las Noches. Much greater than what was reproduced here. Stilll...it's fascinating."
 
As they started to slowly walk, the Shinigami had noticed computers on the far side of the room, pointing it out. "There's... probably something we can learn from those computers," Ailene immediately blinked as Kimiko moved towards them with Ailene in pursuit. The Arrancar looked as though she was almost sweating bullets as she looked at the countless screens and technology before her. Just what could have her so afraid? So, in absolutely shock that she would react like this. She looked down and rubbed her hand against her temple, chuckling nervously. "I'm afraid that I may not be of much use here..." She admitted for a moment, elaborating in case Kimiko inquired though she'd elaborate if enough seconds had elapsed. 

"Unfortunately, I don't have much understanding of technology. The last time I even tried to use one, I was so confused. Especially with a mission of this nature, I would be worried of messing something up...maybe accidently deleting important files. Stuff like that y'know..." Ailene had to admit that this was not her proudest moment. For all her knowledge, she lacked the general ability to use even the most basic of devices. The most she had extensively used was her water boiler and that one only required a single button to be pressed. If Kimiko went to work on the computers, Ailene would eagerly watch. Her ability to assess information was impeccable. Perhaps watching Kimiko, if she was any better than herself, could help her understand this better. 

Assuming Kimiko searched through the computer, Ailene would tackle yet another subject that they discussed earlier. The Arrancar, after all, was deeply interested in Soul Society. Any information would be helpful. "That figurative Hell you talked about in Soul Society...you are referring to the Rukongai, are you not?" Whether she got confirmation or not, Ailene would continue to speak. "You know I've actually been to the Rukongai twice." Ailene was half expecting some form of shock to arise from the Shinigami. She would be happy if the Shinigami had more self-restraint than that, but then again. Ailene was an inquisitive soul herself. She always questioned the world around her. Regardless, Ailene would continue speaking.

"It was some time ago, but I was quite bored at the time which led me to visit. You see, the White Desert is a wasteland where typically only Hollows roam. As you can guess, they don't make excellent conversation partners. Unfortunately, Las Noches is not much better. That group of elite Arrancar that resides there. The Espada as we know them to be called. A lot of them are rather cold. Only seeking the advance, themselves for the sake of power. So, I took some measures to avoid being caught out in..." Ailene raised her hand and used air quotes to refer to this next term which she admittedly had little love for. "...enemy territory." She would pause for a moment, allowing the conversation to sink in before she continued.

"It's actually a little funny. I simply wanted to be a nobody that day. Not overburdened with expectations or caught up in a usual cycle of dullness. I find socializing with those the Rukongai nice...they try to do as much as they can with what little they have. It can be heartbreaking to see how much different the environment is the further you go out. The further that you move from the Seireitei, the closer that you find yourself to disorder. And yet...I can't fault them. I find that many of them are simply good people in bad situations. I can see why you have this distaste towards promising a better future even though they may find themselves cast to the edges of society. Treated as outcasts. Vermin. Much like how I am sometimes treated,,," Ailene sighed for a moment.

"Though I do believe that better for them to develop relationships amongst each other than suffer a curse that is the life of a Hollow. A life of murder and gluttony. Turning on your kin. On those you once loved and cared for in life. It's...a terrible experience. One, I... sometimes wish I was spared...." Her eyes widened as she opened up a bit about some of her most private thoughts. She could not explain why, but she felt she could confide in Kimiko. She was one of few Shinigami who actually seemed to listen. It was nice for a change. She would smile for a moment as she turned to Kimiko, trying to hear her thoughts and experiences. "Are you native to the Soul Society? Have you ever lived in the Rukongai? If so, what have you experienced?" The Espada simply smiled more, waiting to see if Kimiko had anything to share. After all, Ailene was happy to know her thoughts on the matter just so that the waiting and searching would not grow too dull. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

The scarlet eyes of the reaper would go from one end of the illusive room to the other multiple times after they would enter it. Even now, after the brunt of her shock had settled, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Everything about this room, from top to bottom, felt like a complete and utter anomaly. The walls, the ceiling, the rocks, the grass... the temperature, too. It all felt as though she was quite literally standing in the middle of a field of some countryside, with its moderate climate included. If it was not for the fact they had just left a very typical Japanese office, she would have believed she had just stepped into someone's Inner World without having to execute Jinzen. In fact, it was so unbelievable that she tried her best to find where this strange breeze was coming from. "How... is this even possible...?" She'd ask mostly to herself, confused and definitely trying her best to retain her composure as to not lose any more face in front of Ailene. "I can't see any vents... You'd think this place wouldn't have this much air conditioning..." 

As she would proceed with her analysis, the Arrancar would ironically then somewhat answer her own question by describing Las Noches to her, regardless of the fact that such things probably shouldn't be told to someone like Kimiko. That fact aside, that place is apparently located in an area which is somehow perpetually bathed in sunlight under a bright blue sky, something which should theoretically be impossible in the realm of Hueco Mundo. Kimiko has never been there herself, but she had heard many stories of the nightly wasteland. To hear that whoever was in control of Las Noches - this "Lord Kouhai" - was capable of distorting that simple fact made the swordswoman sigh. "So you're saying that all of this is just magical..." she would simply reiterate what she had understood from the Arrancar's perspective. "Great... So either the yakuza can somehow do magic now... or there's someone among them that can do it." There was clear seriousness in her tone, enough so to make her appear like the self that she had presented in that bloody hallway they've just left. "Whatever it is, I don't like it."

At this point, she would have honestly preferred to hear that the room was just a miracle of modern construction work. Magic, by nature, is unpredictable. Whenever it is involved in something, it can make that particular something become strange and uncanny on a whim. Back when they were still up there in that hallway, she believed that someone had physically handled the beast responsible for the carnage to the point that they had dragged them downstairs; however, now, it was totally possible that that someone had instead used some kind of magical ability to do it. If that ability is related to this room in any way whatsoever, then it could potentially mean that this aforementioned someone had total control over this room, and if that's the case... Well, there's absolutely no way to tell what would happen if they decide to show up and attempt to take care of the intruders, for it is just that: a magical ability. Ugh. Just thinking about it was making Kimiko's head hurt.

To be fair, it wasn't like everything in this room was abnormal, as proven by the computers that the unconventional duo had now reached. Although they definitely did not look like the common devices she interacted with on a daily basis during her Human years, they were similar enough for Kimiko to tie a sense of normalcy to them. This collection of screens and technology may look similar to one you would find in the secret hideout of a modern superhero, but despite this, they still could be summed up as a bunch of screens tied to a bundle of mice and keyboards that were sprawled onto a table. Unfortunately, it did not seem as though the simpleness of the setup brought any confidence in Ailene. Hearing her express her lacking experience and her fear of potentially deleting something important made the Shinigami smile a bit nostalgically. She could have sworn her mother once had a similar reaction to this when she was trying to get used to touch phones. "Ah, it's okay," she would wave her partner's concern away as she approached the setup. "It's been a while, but I had to use a computer a lot back then. I'm not... really use how I'm gonna save anything from this, but I can maybe look at some stuff in it." 

The woman would then go on to interact with the computer. As it turns out, the large screen which was previously open was the machine's main monitor, and it currently displayed a very basic desktop of Aperture, a popular operating system that she coincidentally has quite a fair bit of experience using throughout her school years. There was nothing important displayed on that desktop at first, though once she interacted with a few of the programs that were currently tagged as opened by the taskbar, a few terminal screens popped up. "Ah, what is this...?" She'd hum quietly to herself as her eyes analyzed the text that was rapidly scrolling up on each terminals. A lot of the stuff written on there was computing jargon that she could not understand in the slightest, so it was rather difficult for her to find anything interesting about them. At the very least, there was one thing that caught her eye: the mention of cameras being off here and there. Is there a way to perhaps open these cameras? Maybe that's why all of those other screens are here.

While she would attempt to search for a way to activate these cameras, she would briefly stop upon hearing Ailene ask her if she previously was talking about Rukongai, seeing how she herself had gone there twice. Again, she hadn't expected her to reveal something as ludicrous, but by now, the shock that she continuously tied to the woman's affairs thus far was starting to fade. "... Yeah. Rukongai," she would confirm without bothering to ask her how the Arrancar was able to go there unnoticed and visibly left unharmed by the Gotei 13, then fully turned her gaze from the monitor towards her once she started explaining in detail the reason behind why she decided to go there in the first place. The reason for her visit was, in hindsight, rather simple, really: she just wanted somebody to talk to. Turns out, a good portion of the Hollow population absolutely do not want to do anything but attempt to kill each other, and the higher Arrancar - these so-called Espada - are so focused on becoming stronger that they appear cold and heartless. However, it then became a little bit more complicated than that.

Kimiko was surprised, to say the least, about the story she was then just told. What she believed would be a simple conversation about Rukongai then ended up being a sort of personal revealing of the Arrancar's true motive, about how she at times simply want to be a normal person and not what she is now. It was so extensive that it made the Shinigami stop and simply stare at her without any response at first, as though it took some time for her to process all of the information that was given to her and some kind of answer to tie to it all. Although they were different in nature, a part of herself found complete understanding in the Arrancar. She did not end up becoming a Hollow, but there are times in which she wished she could have not become a Shinigami and instead simply remained in the Living World as a normal Human. She did not appreciate her parents, yet she had a future that she believed she could have successfully accomplished. Now, instead, she has these sacred duties to fulfill, this body to always maintain in order to achieve these duties, and the accursed knowledge of a world she would have once treated as being fictional.

Maybe this was a trap. Maybe Ailene, this person that was arguably supposed to be her natural enemy, was just trying to goad her into trusting her so that she could stab her better in the back at a later time. Despite this, she couldn't help but feel closer to her after hearing such a story. "... I... wasn't born in Soul Society, no. I only became a Soul about five years ago," she finally responded after the Arrancar asked her another set of questions. By that point, she felt she needed to say something to break the ice, so to speak. "They put me in the 25th when I first got there. In Rukongai, that is. It was alright... It kinda felt like my parents' home, just without any computers or stuff like that. Now that I think about it, I think this one is the first I touched ever since then." She looked back towards the massive setup then before she then lowered her gaze towards the keyboard. "Given we were in the 25th, we were not that far away from Seireitei, so whenever something went bad, there was always be a Shinigami around. I don't think anything bad happened before I left for the Academy, though..."

She then started interacting with the computer to try to put a part of her focus back onto the task at hand. "Back then, I thought that was what the Soul Society as about: living in peace with nature until you reincarnate, and all that. It wasn't really the "Heaven" those priests talked about in the news, but it was okay," she continued before she then sighed. "Then I was sent on recon missions into the outer districts. I saw the people there steal and assault others in order to survive. Some even tried to kill to achieve that goal. The Gotei 13 say that they care about every citizen of Rukongai, but after seeing that... I don't know." Clicking and key strokes followed these words as she remained silent for a brief moment. Eventually, however, she turned her gaze back towards Ailene again. "I know that the Soul Society is meant to balance out Souls, not really save them. Hell, it was one of the first thing I learned from the Academy. Maybe that's why we're not really dealing with the issue... but I feel like everyone that doesn't go to Hell deserves a quiet life after death. That shouldn't be too much to ask."

Eventually, as she would speak and return her eyes to the monitor, the clicking and tapping would stop as she found a specific file that seemed odd to her on the computer. This prompted her to stop and gaze at it for a moment with a frown. "Walker.es1...?" She muttered to herself as she stared at the file, completely taking herself away from whatever conversation they were having then in the process. Well... it seemed that they had the confirmation that Walker had indeed been taken here instead of just some random Hollow. It must have also been the one taking out the yakuza members too. But why was it dragged here in this place? For trade? If this was about trade, then surely, there would have been some sort of stocking equipment around, right? Then again... this was odd. The computer was not tagging it as an application or program, but rather an "Aperture EnergyShell Script". What's a script? What's an EnergyShell? Kimiko had absolutely no idea, and that was a bit of a problem considering those earlier statements about magic. For all they know, this will somehow cause a magical spell to activate.

She stared at the file for a little bit longer, then eventually gave up. Maybe she's being a little bit too paranoid about this. Sure, magic is unpredictable, but it can't associate itself with technology, right? That's just video game logic. If there's anyone in this world that could potentially do something as ludicrous as that, it would probably be the people of the Twelfth Division, and if there is anyone in this world that would be kept on the tightest leach imaginable for the sake of the Soul Society... it would be the people of the Twelfth Division. As such, with that logic, she would click on the file. Upon clicking on the file, a new terminal would open, and then suddenly, one of the smaller screens turned on. This caused the Shinigami to reflexively turn her head towards it. The moment she saw what was being displayed, her eyes would slowly widen. "... Holy shit," the swearing would slowly come out of her mouth as she took a good look at the visual content given to her.

On the screen was a camera feed displaying the immobile body of a large lanky Hollow covered in blood. It was held upright by metallic straps and chains over the floor of what seemed to be some kind of vacant area built in cement. Despite being held tight, it was clearly alive, as its head moved slowly to signify breathing. Above it onto the screen itself were written the words "Cube 7: Walker (proto)" alongside various numbers, namely heart beat and body temperature. There was more information covering other vital statistics as well, though the ones that were already there were worrisome enough. The most concerning information of them all was a timer counting down. Once the timer finished, some kind of syringe suddenly appeared from one of the constraints before then injecting something the beast's arm. It was a good thing that the screen had no audio feed, for if it did, both the Shinigami and the Arrancar would have heard it scream in ungodly pain, as shown by its agonizing attempt to break free shortly after.

[Ailene Haschiro]

As Ailene watched Kimiko's hands fly deftly over the keyboard, she could not help, but chuckle a little. For all of Ailene's pride in her skills as a negotiator and her gentle spirit, she had a few insecurities. One of them was being dead weight. Perhaps it borne out of centuries spent among the Espada, but she learned early on that in Las Noches...if you did not pull your own weight, it would be a simple matter to dispose of you. An Espada could easily kill another Arrancar and nobody would bat an eye. It was the idea that might made right. It was a cruel and vicious system though Ailene had to admit that it...sadly worked. The strong would always hold sway over those beneath them. A truth that Ailene hated. 

Given that she had no understanding of modern machinery or technology, Ailene decided to do the one thing she knew how to do without fail. Spark conversation. She was a curious individual. Always desiring new perspectives. As such she decided to latch onto a prior topic of conversation. The Espada began to explain her time in the Rukongai. How she merely desired to socialize with others. The Espada nor Hueco Mundo could facilitate that which she wanted, so she sought it elsewhere. As she revealed this, she was half expecting Kimiko to be surprised. Yet as Kimiko reacted, Ailene's eyes would widen. "... Yeah. Rukongai," It was surprising. Was she truly such an enlightened spirit? Or was she so caught up in the virtual world of the computers that she could not respond with more passion? Ailene was not sure, but she would definitely keep this in mind as she smiled.

Shortly afterwards, Ailene asked Kimiko if she was native to the Soul Society. A rather simple question that would help Ailene gleam much from Kimiko based on the latter's response. A brief moment of silence between the two filled the air. Finally, Kimiko would break it. "... I... wasn't born in Soul Society, no. I only became a Soul about five years ago," The Espada nodded, carefully leaning leaning against the countertop which had keyboards which Ailene made sure not to interact with. As she said prior, she was worried about accidently removing any vital information from the screens. Ailene sighed for a moment. "Only five years huh? She must be even younger than I imagined." Ailene's face wouldn't change much as she listened to Kimiko.

"They put me in the 25th when I first got there. In Rukongai, that is. It was alright... It kinda felt like my parents' home, just without any computers or stuff like that. Now that I think about it, I think this one is the first I touched ever since then." The Espada nodded and continued to listen. "Given we were in the 25th, we were not that far away from Seireitei, so whenever something went bad, there was always be a Shinigami around. I don't think anything bad happened before I left for the Academy, though..." Ailene muttered to herself softly. "I see..." Ailene noticed through Kimiko's body language that this may have opened up some old wounds for her. If not that, then the Shinigami had some reservations about it. Little would prepare her for the Shinigami to open up though.

"Back then, I thought that was what the Soul Society as about: living in peace with nature until you reincarnate, and all that. It wasn't really the "Heaven" those priests talked about in the news, but it was okay, then I was sent on recon missions into the outer districts. I saw the people there steal and assault others in order to survive. Some even tried to kill to achieve that goal. The Gotei 13 say that they care about every citizen of Rukongai, but after seeing that... I don't know." Ailene nodded in understanding. She truly did get it. While she was alive...as Kazuna. As Kimiko turned around to face Ailene, the Arrancar tilted her head. "I know that the Soul Society is meant to balance out Souls, not really save them. Hell, it was one of the first thing I learned from the Academy. Maybe that's why we're not really dealing with the issue... but I feel like everyone that doesn't go to Hell deserves a quiet life after death. That shouldn't be too much to ask."

She nodded once more. Ailene knew little of her past life as Kazuna. All she knew is that she was one of the peasantries. A member of a humble family. While they had a kingdom that helped defend them in times of need, it did very little to support them. The kingdom would stand by and watch as villages got pillaged and plundered, its inhabitants taken advantage of by barbaric tribes. As long as it was no threat to them, they did not look to lift a finger, only helping to rebuild so that they could expand their control. After all...shouldn't they have been grateful that they had been provided assistance by the crown. Ailene curled her hand into a fist as she thought about it. She respected nobility, but she also had some level of hate for it.

Ailene stayed silent in that moment. She did not comment on anything that Kimiko said, reminiscing on what she knew of her own past. Once again, the silence would soon be broken as Kimiko spoke rather inquisitively. "Walker.es1...?" Ailene's eyes darted to the screen as information flashed on it as Kimiko investigated. Words that she had context or understanding of flashed up. "EnergyShell? Script?" As Kimiko decided to bite the bullet and click on the application, Ailene's head would also move to take note of the sudden feed arriving on a new screen. Ailene's eyes widened with Kimiko's expression of shock. "... Holy shit,"

Ailene blinked as she saw numerous values. Temperature. Heartbeat. A countdown timer. It all...shocked Ailene. The countdown having gone to zero marked the start of something required Ailene to turn her head away. Syringes suddenly ejected themselves into the Hollow. The Espada had trouble watching. Having a higher degree of empathy, she could feel herself go cold. She could feel pain rise throughout her body. She gritted her teeth as she looked at the Hollow. It was violently thrashing around, trapped and restrained. In response to this, Ailene's reiatsu began to flare somewhat. She was upset. She knew that most Hollows were little more than mindless creatures, but...there were limits!

For the first time since they met, Kimiko would likely feel something different in Ailene. Even despite her poor sensory capabilities, it would not be hard to tell. Her reiatsu, formerly soothing and warm, would grow...cold. Kimiko would likely feel a chill in response to this. Not only that, but her demeanor would change. It was far less reserved. More primal. More like that of a Hollow. Ailene dragged her nails along the countertop, growling softly. She spoke sternly. "Those that are responsible for this...they better hope that they died to one of these Hollows. Those that are still alive...they will beg for it once I'm done with them..." Ailene had no excuse for cruelty. Her own cruelty was a trait she kept locked away. She could be cruel, but she allowed it to flow out only when she felt it was needed. She looked at Kimiko and growled softly due to the situation, trying her best to compose herself once more. "Can you find out where this Walker of yours is being kept?" 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Ailene did not have much of a response for all that Kimiko has said. There was only a simple "I see..." and a nod, both things which did not mean much to anyone in hindsight. Still, the Shinigami felt as though there was something about it that felt just right. Ideally, they did not quite need to have a full-blown conversation about this, especially not now in what was pretty much some sort of supernatural gang hideout, and if anything, the lack of such a verbal exchange was a bit more powerful. In a way, it felt as though they truly understood each other without actually having to both express their feelings on the matter. It was admittedly surreal to seemingly reach that level of understanding with what was pretty much a Hollow... but Kimiko was not going to denigrate this moment by virtue of race. There was no point to it, and really, to see something that she should theoretically consider as her mortal enemy truly act so friendly to her was rather pleasant.

For a moment as she tapped onto the keyboard, the Shinigami wondered what kind of person this particular Arrancar once was in the past to end up this way. Most Hollows are born corrupted by their nature, and so utterly hungry that this eternal desire to satiate themselves eventually becomes a core part of themselves. In so doing, it should thus normally be exceptionally rare for a Hollow to become even so much as a thing who prefers to avoid conflict as they grow stronger. Despite this, here Ailene stood, seemingly a pacifist who simply sought friendship and knowledge. It was most definitely strange, and if anything, such behavior definitely has led her to be practically ostracized by some of the members of her very own race, but even so, she appeared determined to remain the way she is. It was admirable, respectable even, something that Kimiko never thought would be possible in the case of a Hollow; after all, the most of the beasts she has personally slain were simple beasts, awful beings who deserved to be sent to Hell, or misguided innocents guided to slay their loved ones by their own corruption.

If it would have not been for the discovery of the file on the computer, the swordswoman would have perhaps attempted to ask a few things to her temporary hunting partner. She did not really want to speak to her as a Shinigami on a clear mission, really, but rather in the way she speaks to anyone she considers to be an acquaintance. Perhaps one day, they will be able to do so. However, for now, the aforementioned file was unfortunately more important, and what it then opened was arguably even more so. She had dealt with the Hollow market before, namely by putting an end to the operation that was being undergone in Karakura Town a time ago, but this went beyond anything Kunio and his boss had done to the one they had captured. This was not just the enslaving of a beast to tame it into submission, but rather outright torture through scientific experimentation. If it was not being displayed before her very eyes on that sordid computer screen, Kimiko would have thought the idea as nothing more than something right out of a Godzilla flick, and yet here it was, in all of its disgusting glory.

The scarlet-eyed woman almost hesitated to glance at Ailene after Walker was injected with that serum. She knew that the awful sight of the tortured beast was going to bring an intense emotional response from the Arrancar. Back when she had even so much as suggested hunting Walker with her, the girl had been hesitant in actually doing so with her, seeing as she cared for Hollowkind despite the prejudices she has suffered from them. Moreover, Kimiko herself would have felt exceptionally frustrated if she would have been in her place. It was only natural for someone of their race to care for another, especially when the other appears to be in what seems to be excruciating pain. She could not imagine how she would have reacted if Walker had been replaced with a Shinigami or, worse yet, a Soul who was captured against their will. In her eyes, it was simply that awful, something outright too disgusting to even think about.

Of course, she was right to fear the Hollow's reaction to it all. In an instant, Ailene's calm facade was broken, revealing underneath it something that was much more reminiscent of the beast she was supposed to be. Kimiko's energy sensory was rather poor, though even she could sense how cold the spiritual energy around her being had become. Though she knew her acquaintance meant no harm to her specifically, the tension was such that it almost seemed as though she could have to deal with her blood lust at any time. "... I can't say I'm totally down for that, but whatever is going on here needs to stop right now," she would reply as she slowly regained her composure from the shock she felt at the sight of the tortured Hollow, after which she would then start searching on the computer again to see if there was any way to find Walker's position. Regardless of Ailene's opinion of this, she too thought of this as disgusting, and so they needed to find Walker as soon as they possibly could. Saying something like this out loud would probably get herself in trouble with the Gotei 13... but whatever. She was not going to let this stand.

Now, at this point, Kimiko believed that she could have found the location of Walker in time if she acted fast enough. The problem was that her knowledge of computers... well, prevented her from finding anything substantial beyond what was displayed on that screen. She knew that the terminal that appeared potentially had some information she could use to find him, but the information that was displayed onto its black window was more or less just as limited as what was shown on the monitor itself. It was the same name, the same terms, everything. It did seem as though she could enter words in the terminal, but quite frankly, she had absolutely no idea of what words she could use. There did seem to be a sort of manual or help file in the folder in which the program was located, but it had a password on it that prevented her from going any further. Coupled together with the time limit that Walker's pain and Ailene's anger were both creating here, and they all easily made Kimiko quite a fair bit impatient. "I don't... Damn it, I don't know where I'm supposed to go to find that...!" She admitted as she tried to search for more. "I think this Cube 7 thing is the deal, but... I can't find anything about it on this thin-"

It happened in an instant. She was not quite sure what it was, but in that instant, she felt something coming towards her head, and so she reacted instinctively by grabbing onto her blade and unsheathing it as fast as possible behind her in a vertical Iaijutsu strike. Her eyes were wide, almost unnaturally so, and her grip around Shizukakane's handle was strong. Slowly, she'd look towards the ground to see what was thrown at her. Into the rock was... a steel cube? It was small, but if it would have reached her head like it was supposed, it would have had the same effect as a bullet. "What the he-," she was about to say before she was interrupted again by yet another cube, this time one that appears to have been shot towards her chest. This prompted to her immediately swing blade horizontally towards her right so as to avoid striking Ailene, sending the projectile away towards the computer to immediately destroy two fo the monitors which were shut off by that point.

Kimiko's spiritual energy immediately flared up to be on par with Ailene's on the emotional level. Her teeth clenched themselves against one another, and her wide eyes started analyzing the area as much as possible to find the culprit. "Filthy yakuza trash," she immediately spat as she stood there in a frustrated growl before she shouted. "Reveal yourself! NOW!" By that point, her calm attitude was completely gone, instead replaced by something much angrier. The enemy, or whatever it was that had sent those cubes, had deliberately attempted to eliminate her through inherently dishonorable means, and as the woman has by now so ironed out ever since she became a Shinigami, dishonor severely bothers her. To say that this was nothing short of the worst example she has seen of it thus far - a sneaky ranged attack that was the equivalent of a shot taken from the quietest sniper rifle in the world - was nothing short of an understatement.

Unfortunately for both her and Ailene, this attack was not going to cease just yet, as more projectiles would come. Worse yet, they downright multiplied in number, all heading right towards the two women in a deluge of cube bullets. Kimiko, by that point, did not bother to counter any more of the cubes as she instead decided to start running out of their way as they obliterated the computer to electronic smithereens. "Coward!" She shouted once more, clenching her teeth before she looked towards her partner. "It's coming from above!"

Indeed, it came from above. The sky-colored cube which previously simply remained as an observer started shooting at them. From the looks of it, it was removing pieces of itself to accomplish the deed.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}

Statistics

Physical	Spiritual		Sensory	Miscellaneous
Strength: 102 (135-33) Speed: 432 (320+112)	Reiatsu Strength: 30 (40-10) Spiritual Pressure: 432 (320+112)		Instincts: 210 Senses: 150 Energy Sensory: 25	Light Aura: 60 Dark Aura: 40 Healing Expertise: 0

Skills

Mental	Battle		Body	Utility
Analyzing: 2 Strength of Will: 2       Learning: 1	Iaijutsu: 2 Martial Art - Hohō: 2 Battle Analysis: 2 Martial Art - Hakuda: 1 Battle Focus: 1		N/A	N/A

[Ailene Haschiro]

Ailene's flaring anger and impatience were rather uncharacteristic for the Arrancar. Both showed a side of her that she rarely let others see. It was a glimpse into the darkness that shrouded her soul. Centuries of living as a Hollow and feasting upon others created certain impulses that she couldn't simply unlearn. These were traits woven into her very being. She could not stand it under normal circumstances, but these were anything, but normal. From a screen she was forced to watch the suffering of another, unable to help in any meaningful way. Her words towards Kimiko could have almost been seen as her snapping, but Ailene held no ill will towards the Shinigami that accompanied her. Quite the opposite in fact. 

She peered at Kimiko who at this point seemed visible pressured by Ailene's questions. The Arrancar blinked for a moment as she heard the Shinigami speak. "I don't... Damn it, I don't know where I'm supposed to go to find that...!" Ailene muttered a curse under hear breath. She felt useless in this situation. She had little understanding and experience in the use of modern technology and as such could actually be a potential liability for this specific task. Even Kimiko's own words highlighted her frustration. "I think this Cube 7 thing is the deal, but... I can't find anything about it on this thin-" Ailene was so intent on watching Kimiko work, trying to process all the information that she could that she would not even sense the danger.

Thankfully Kimiko was quicker on the draw as she swiftly rose from her seat, drawing her blade and effectively swatted the metal cube rushing towards her head, all in one seamless motion. By the time that Ailene had peered over at the Shinigami the moment had already passed. Had shock not gripped Ailene by the throat, she'd join Kimiko in her disapproval. "What the he-," This time, taken out of her haze by the shock to her system, Ailene felt something. It was a feeling that spoke of danger. Ailene though was much too slow to appropriately react to the threat. Instead, Kimiko would once again act, slicing the cube as her blade was mere inches away from Ailene after the swift Iaijutsu slash. This cube was deflected like the other, but it flew into the screens, cracking two of the monitors. Once again, Kimiko would exclaim angrily. "Filthy yakuza trash, Reveal yourself! NOW!"

Ailene shook her head somewhat. Even with her anger at the situation, even she knew that they were not likely to simply show themselves. A key strategy in combat was the element of surprise. They had failed in eliminating Kimiko thanks to her natural reflexes. While they had lost surprise, they had retained their cover if only momentarily. Ailene was in truth not sure what was even shooting at them. Ailene was thankfully far more focused on the gunfire and once again, her instincts kicked in. It seemed that the same did for Kimiko who simply moved out of the way with her superior speed. Ailene on the other hand did not have that luxury. The Arrancar, instead, was forced to use a Sonido though she was prepared to use her own tactics as well.

By shrouding herself in a layer of reiatsu, Ailene accelerated to a speed of 1200, but with a noticeable twist. It was something that even Kimiko would likely take note of. She could still track Ailene, but there was something off about her movement. It was silent. Not even the iconic STATIC would be heard be heard as Ailene moved nearly silently away from the line of fire. Before she had a chance to truly move though, Ailene did feel discomfort. One of the cubes would find its way to her shoulder. As it pressed itself against Ailene's body, it would easily tear through not only her Hierro, but also her flesh as it erupted from the back of her shoulder. The cube would be freshly coated in her blood as it lodged itself into the ground. A pained grunt from the Espada would be the only noise that would be heard before the Sin Sonido. 

As it allowed her to out of the way of the rest of the bullets, she'd take the short amount of time she had to try and keep an eye on those bullets. Her keen eye could easily pick up a shift in the ceiling as she prepared two Cero, allowing them to charge in the palm of her hand. She hoped that the use of the Sin Sonido would make it much harder to track her, giving her a chance to keep an eye on the ceiling and by extension the sniper if it continued to take shots at Kimiko. The very next few shots that were taken, Ailene would take note of their locations as the two purple-hued Cero finished charging, sitting in her hands. 

The very moment that Ailene even came to notice a shift in the ceiling, the Arrancar would unleash her Cero upon them. Despite her weakened state, the Cero were still formidable. They'd rocket forth with a familiar hum, nearly the size of a large van. They would still threaten to consume and char all that stood in its way. Unfortunately, these two powerful Cero would give away Ailene's location, but she had bigger things to worry about. Blood began to seep out of the wound that was left by the bullets that were shot at Ailene. She felt a twinge of pain as she applied some pressure to them. Thankfully the damage would not be lethal, but damn did it hurt.

Besides the pain, Ailene was surprised over one thing. She knew that she was far weaker than while using her Resurrecciòn, but the bullets that were fired at her tore through her Hierro with little issue. She gritted her teeth. "This could prove problematic...I could always heal, but...I'm not willing to take the chance that my Hierro at least somewhat cushioned the blow. Some more of those may actually kill me. I need to be careful..." Ailene sighed as she continued to charge another two Cero. This time, however, the orbs just rested above her shoulders. Her mastery over the use of Cero allowed her to form and utilize them in all kinds of creative ways. As she moved at a speed of 120, the orbs would follow closely as she continued to try to look for more signs of fire. If she did notice anything else, the Cero would be unleashed at those spots once more, letting out two more car-sized Cero that threatened to consume all in its wake. 

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}
Stats while Sealed
Strength - 40
Speed - 120
Spiritual Pressure - 300 
Reiatsu Strength - 400 
Light Aura - 50
Dark Aura - 50
Instinct - 250
Senses - 40
Energy Sensory - 20
Healing Expertise - 160

Stats while Released
Strength - 100 
Speed - 300 
Spiritual Pressure - 750
Reiatsu Strength - 1000
Light Aura - 0
Dark Aura - 100
Instinct - 375
Senses - 100 
Energy Sensory - 50
Healing Expertise - 400

Total SP: [1900 Points]

[Analyzing] [3]
[Calm Mind] [3]
[Cero Mastery] [3]
[Battle Analysis] [3]
[Pain Tolerance] [3]
[Weapon: Natural Weapons] [2]

[Nakajima Kimiko]

In a moment's notice, what was nothing more than a strange recreation of a mountainous area had turned into something that was more akin to a battlefield. The rocky grounds once seemingly peaceful and devoid of any scars became the receptive of many bullet-like cubes that were shot in its direction with great velocity, and the air that was once merely quiet now was constantly whistling the tune of supersonic projectiles. There was no way to tell what kind of weapon was actually responsible for the shooting of these cubes, but whatever it was, it was doing so with such power that these aforementioned projectiles were able to downright pierce through any objects they touched with outstanding violence. The many holes that were left in the wake of their impact against the ground - and unfortunately, the two monitor screens that one of these projectiles had been diverted into - was a testament to that shocking statement.

Kimiko was, of course, very angry that this was what they were dealing with now. She was glad to see that she and Ailene have both perhaps found the one who could potentially lead them towards Walker, but she had expected the one responsible for the beast's imprisonment to at least have the decency to show themselves. Yes, he was most likely nothing more than your typical gangster scumbag who only cares about himself, but she liked to think that there were some members of the yakuza that held similar beliefs to hers when it came to dealing with conflict. Indeed, she had once believed that there were a few who would take matters in their own hands in an honorable fashion, the same way the samurai of old would, to confront their enemies head-on. But no, it would seem that that was nothing more than some romanticized version of the yakuza. Oh, how she misses manga and video games... At least she can respect her opponents in those, even if they are fake.

In any case, they needed to find whoever or whatever was responsible for shooting these strange cubes; after all, complaining about how dishonorable her opponent was could only get them so. As such, the scarlet-eyed swordswoman would quickly start searching for the source of the cubes. Unfortunately for both her and Ailene, it was rather difficult to actually find whatever this thing may be. The projectiles came from above, but from where they stood, it almost seemed as though they came from nowhere in particular. Well, at least that was how it seemed at a first glance. However, as Kimiko observed the "skies" above them, she would quickly realize that the cubes came from one particular spot. It harbored the exact same color as the ceiling and walls, allowing it to be practically camouflaged within the room. Only a bird's eye view would have allowed them to witness it. Clever. "Oh, you..." the Shinigami would growl as she realized what was happening before she called towards Ailene. "It's over there!" 

Fortunately, Kimiko wasn't the only one who had noticed the cube's position, as no sooner than about a second or two after she called it out, Ailene would immediately respond by sending two blasts of energy straight towards the sky-colored cube which floated above the ground. It was a magical attack, sure, but at this point, the swordswoman was not going to complain about that. A dishonorable opponent does not deserve an honorable battle. Unfortunately, the Cero seemingly did nothing to the source of the projectiles. Though its shooting was halted for a brief moment, the Cero beams were seemingly stopped by the sudden creation of multiple steel cubes in front of it. The cubes brightened from the heat with a few of them harboring visible cracks after all was said and done, but they nevertheless protected their shooter from harm. Naturally, the sight of the failed attack was enough to cause Kimiko to clench her teeth.

"Tch!" She hissed angrily as she prepared herself to move, unable to belief that such a blast could be blocked the way it was. Whatever this cube was, she was not going to let Ailene's efforts go down in vain, and so, she decided to act while she had the chance to do so. Taking a step forward, the Shinigami would clench her teeth before she vanished with Shunpo at a speed of 4320. It was done incredibly quickly, enough so that the cube didn't seem capable to react immediately upon seeing her form suddenly appear right at the side of its wall. "RaaaAAAH!" A cry would come out of her as she unsheathed her blade in another vertical Iaijutsu strike, one that was sent right towards the top of the cube. Despite her rather-lacking physical strength not quite allowing her to deal severe damage to the bright blue cube, the strike was powerful enough to cause it to be smacked downward towards the ground with decent speed. If it was not for its ability to float, it would have downright crashed against the ground like the rest of the projectiles it had shot.

Of course, the Shinigami would continue her assault, taking advantage of its ability to float by maintaining her momentum. She followed it close by during her attack, continued to strike it countless times with her overwhelming speed. It was relentless, merciless, the work of a speed demon in action. However, though it appeared impressive, this spectacle definitely lacked any sort of impact, as the physical damage was not at all enough to cause the cube to cease functioning. This was made most apparent when Kimiko would suddenly find herself facing a light forming in front of the cube while she was preparing yet another Iaijutsu attack. Dodge! Her thoughts would reflexively scream as she attempted to move away from the cube before it would unleash the equivalent of a shotgun blast of cubes towards her directions. She had moved away fast enough to prevent herself from being as obliterated by the projectiles like the rocks that were behind her in that instant, but one or two of them had collided with the side of her left arm, which was enough to cause a chunk of flesh to be consequently separated from it.

Needless to say, it was all quite painful, and for a moment, the Shinigami simply stood there moaning in agony as she tried to fight off the pain. Her entire upper left arm felt as though it was set on fire, and although she has started training with Shizukakane to get used to that kind of feeling, it still hurt like hell. Of course, she wasn't the only one who was in pain, as Ailene had been shot. The none of them were mortally wounded, but they definitely had been taken down a notch. "You filth!" She shouted as she fought off the pain for now, shivering as she focused onto the cube again with rising spiritual energy. The mystical power's red sheen shone violently around her being, enough so to cause some parts of the ground to crack around her. It was truly as though she had become a totally different person than the one she was outside of battle. "What? You can't fight for real, so you use a toy to do the job for you?!"

As she shouted at the cube, it would surprisingly do nothing in response to it, something which prevented Kimiko from continuing her assault for the time being. After some passed, however, a voice resonated from the cube. It appeared to be coming out of some sort of microphone-like system. "You Shinigami really are the loudest people in the world. I know you guys look straight out of some shitty samurai flick, but that doesn't mean you need to act the part," it said in a condescending tone with a voice that was surprisingly light, given the kind of organization it was associated to. It sounded less like a voice that would be owned by a gruff or even an inexperienced wannabe gangster, and more so something that would better fit some kind of high school delinquent. Not that it mattered to Kimiko, whose whole culture she had been slowly getting used to over the last few years was trampled onto seemingly without any hesitation at all.

"Wha- Hey!" She found herself almost comically blurting out despite the blood lust that was previously surrounding her. You could practically see the smoke coming out of her ears. "Who do you think you are?"

"The guy who just messed you two up in less than a minute?" He retorted confidently, which caused the smoke coming out of Kimiko's ears to downright turn jet black. "That's right. Unlike you, I don't need some fancy sword to kick your ass." The sheer attitude of this man! Not only is he dishonorable, but he also is outright disrespectful! As the darker-haired woman would stand there trying to deal with the emotional damage that he had caused, the voice in the cube would eventually drop the pretentious tone and instead take a more serious approach. "Anyway, I'm gonna guess you found the mess upstairs. That's already bad enough, but I'm gonna also guess you messed with the shit I keep on my computer, and that's way worse, so I'll make this short. Either you decide to work for us, in which case you'll get pleeeenty of good stuff along the way... or we continue what we were doing just now. Your move."

SPOILER: Click to show

{Technique Used (Reiatsu: 4270/4320)}

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.

[Ailene Haschiro]

As Ailene let loose a pair of twin Cero at the cube, she was expecting at least some sort of damage. Sure, her sealed state left much to be desired in power, but she was not that weak? Right? As the Cero flew true and hit their mark, Ailene let out a grin and a chuckle. Right before colliding with them, however, the gunman generated something in the way of the Cero. A wall of cubes suddenly manifested as the Cero collided with them, dispersing violently and protecting the ship. Though unsuccesful, the plates heated up and glowed a white-hot. Thanks to her keen eye, Ailene also noticed that small cracks also seemed to form over them. This gave her an indicator that they could be overpowered. 

As her attack failed, Kimiko seemed to be annoyed by this. The Arrancar could read it in her body language rather easily as she took a step forward. Her body was tense, she was nearly seething and her expression showed disgust and annoyance as clear as day. The Arrancar would be rather surprised as she watched the Shinigami vanish. She blinked and could articulate it quite well. "A Shunpo. The analog to our Sonido..." The Shinigami was at this point moving far too fast for anyone to truly comprehend where she was moving to. All she'd hear is a sudden battle cry. "RaaaAAAH!" Ailene looked up as she saw the Shinigami right next to the cube.

Kimiko proceeded to slash relentlessly at the cube. Cut after cut after cut. From this position, Ailene had no idea what damage that she was actually doing to it, but that did not matter. Her speed was awe-inspiring. Even with her analytical eye, Ailene had a hard time making out just how many times that the Shinigami had delivered a vicious slash at the cube, forcing it down to the ground. Suddenly, Ailene heard a loud shot from the top. A shotgun blast! Kimiko would yet again display her speed as she seemed to effortlessly and seamlessly dodge the barrage which shot out and dug their way into the rock face. Ailene stood awestruck. As Ailene saw Kimiko's form again, she noticed that a few of the shrapnel had dug its way into her skin as some blood dripped down.

Ailene was not sure if it was the wound, the situation or whether whoever they were fighting had simply received the ire of the Shinigami. She barked out with venom in her voice, "You filth!" In some ways it was shocking to the Arrancar. To see Kimiko's calm demeanor crumble in the face of this adversary. Yet she understood. Her own calm had faded when she saw how they were treating Hollows such as Walker. Kimiko roared once more. "What? You can't fight for real, so you use a toy to do the job for you?!" Ailene's eyes darted over to the cube for any semblance of a reaction. After all, these were Yakuza according to Kimiko. Gang members. Delinquents. Ailene that they simply couldn't help, but stroe their ego.

At first there was nothing. Not a single reaction, but soon Ailene heard a voice. It was not Kimiko's nor hers. It was a booming voice that came from the cube. "You Shinigami really are the loudest people in the world. I know you guys look straight out of some shitty samurai flick, but that doesn't mean you need to act the part," Even Ailene was forced to scoff at this comment. She was not the one being verbally assaulted and yet it stung her as well. After all, she'd taken the time to bond with Kimiko, however small that it was. Besides, he had no manners whatsoever. This admittedly annoyed Ailene quite a bit. Ever the courteous one, Ailene hated disrespect. Kimiko seemed to have a few choice words though. "Who do you think you are?"

"The guy who just messed you two up in less than a minute?" Ailene rolled her eyes. A typical response from someone who sounded young. As though he aimed to sound big and tough. "That's right. Unlike you, I don't need some fancy sword to kick your ass." Ailene shook her head solemnly as she continued to listen as she looked at Kimiko. The Shinigami was getting visibly annoyed. Ailene did her best to remain calm. No use in giving him power over them. The mics echoed for a moment. Ailene's eyes widened at his next comment. She tilted her head and bit her lip somewhat. She was neither annoyed nor enticed. She simply stared at the cube for a little. 

"Anyway, I'm gonna guess you found the mess upstairs. That's already bad enough, but I'm gonna also guess you messed with the shit I keep on my computer, and that's way worse, so I'll make this short. Either you decide to work for us, in which case you'll get pleeeenty of good stuff along the way... or we continue what we were doing just now. Your move." Ailene sighed for a moment as she glared at the cube. "Just who the hell does this guy think he is? Thinks he can bribe us over with promises of good things. Then again...his computer? Perhaps he can tell us just where they are keeping the Hollows.." She bit her lip somewhat as she peered at the cube. 

Looking down at her shoulder, the wound still oozing a bit of blood, Ailene gently wiped it off on her arm just in case. Holding her arm behind her back, the Arrancar glared and spoke. "I don't know about Kimiko, but I've no desire to throw my lot in with disrespectful, little brats such as you. You think Hollows are a commodity for you to buy and sell? How naive. You should know that when back into a corner...an animal will show how desperately its instinct to survive is." With that, Ailene would use a Sonido. This one was far grander though. Despite her lack of understanding of how to use technology, she had a general understanding of they worked.

She reasoned that if he had to use a microphone to speak, he likely needed a device to receive sound as well. Running on this presumption, Ailene utilized a Sonido Grande. Ailene suddenly vanished at a speed of 1800. While much faster than her use of the Sonido or Sin Sonido, this was not the true purpose of the Sonido Grande. As Ailene moved, a shockwave of sound dispersed from her body. This sound, much akin to a white noise, would assault the senses of those in the room which much to Ailene's chagrin would include Kimiko. Ailene knew it would hurt, but she was hoping it would affect the man within the cube, the small space and amplification via speakers that hopefully existed within the technologically robust cube would make it utter sensory hell. To Kimiko, this pain would likely also be agonizing as it bore its way into the ears of anyone in the room. Not only that, but it would generate a wave of wind that threatened to crash into just about everything. Even Ailene's clothes were at the mercy of the torrent of wind which battered her robes, tearing large parts of it off.

She'd use the speed of the Sonido Grande to land atop the cube as the man inside was hopefully in agony over the sound produced by her. Regardless, Ailene quickly knelt and focused her reiatsu once more. As she did, she suddenly sparked with electricity. Cero Lightning. A variation of Cero that Ailene had formerly used to end the life of one of the henchmen. That instance was a much smaller and precise version of what Ailene was performing now. She'd allow the electricity to stream out, all around her, consuming both herself at the cube in a torrent of electrical fury. Her goal? To short circuit anything electronic in her immediate vicinity which started with the cube. If it worked, it would not be without cost, however. First and foremost was the fatigue and the large portions of reiatsu that she had spend for both the Sonido and this Cero. Ailene was taking Cero Lightning to its most logical extreme after all. On top of this, the electricity whipped around wildly, touching Ailene every now and then. The tendrils of electricity simply charred portions of her flesh as she simply aimed to take this damn cube out of comission!

Assuming that her plan worked, she'd let the electricity die down. Her body would no longer be assaulted by electricity, and she dearly hoped that the cube would be laying against the ground, all of its prominent electrical functions shorted out from the voltage that just ran through it. Ailene gasped softly as she stopped sparking. Steam rose off of her body. Large portions of her clothes had been torn off and pieces of her body, namely her legs and arms were either somewhat charred or twitching. Thankfully the torn clothes allowed her to remain modest. Her waist, however, was almost entirely revealed. If Kimiko looked closely, she'd be able to see a large imprint of a black seven resting on her waist. The mark of the Septima Espada.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Sonido Grande}
Technique Name: [Sonido Grande]

Class: [2]

Technique Type: [Hollow Technique]

Technique Element: [None]

Technique Description and Effects:

This is a stronger Sonido. It moves with higher speed, meaning 15x the speed of the user. Its true power, however, lies in sound. The sound is massive and disorienting, like a sonic boom. It causes pain of varying degrees according to the foe's sensory stat. At 50 senses, the pain is strong and disruptive. This is increased by each 50 of senses. At 100 senses, this is agony to hear. 200, you're in sensory hell, and will feel actual disorientation for one post. Senses at 300 or above, you're rolling on the ground in agony. This pain can't be countered by pain tolerance, either, since it's actual physiological disruption. If the foe's senses are above 200, they're reduced by 50 when exposed to this. The massive wind force from this move also blasts people away, and can cause lacerations depending on the speed.

How to use technique:

Step.

Drawback:

The user will feel very winded from this. It can only be used once every three of the user's posts. It costs six times a normal Sonido. Clothes are gonna get torn apart by this due to the sheer speed, and held objects will be lost with a strength less than 400. Legs are gonna suffer some cuts from the speed. Use it twice in a row, and skin starts shearing off, taking away Hierro. Thrice, and the leg bones shatter.

Made by: [Rey Diablo]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Cero Lightning - 100 OS}
Technique Name: [Cero Lightning]

Class: [3]

Technique Type (Kido, Hollow/Arrancar Technique, Human World Dweller Technique, Other): [Arrancar]

Usable By (Technique is available to which races?): [Arrancar]

Technique Element: [Lightning]

Technique Description and Effects: [Cero Lightning is one of the most advanced, forms of a Cero. While it does not provide the stunning raw power of the higher class Cero, it is nonetheless a formidable weapon and also can be adapted to multiple purposes in battle, or out of battle.

When used, instead of the blast of energy most Cero produce, Cero Lightning creates crackling bolts of lightning to expel from the user in the direction they have aimed. While not as fast as a Bala, this technique requires no charge time, unlike normal Cero, and is three times as fast as a normal Cero. Like Shoji Cero, this technique can be extended for longer durations, and a user can employ a single use of this technique for up to two posts (including the post they used it). When unleashing this Cero at full power it is capable of burning targets with half or less RS than the user to ash instantly. In fact, even those that have equal reiatsu strength to the user can be burnt to ash if they are exposed to a full power blast for two consecutive posts. Even if a target is too strong to outright destroy with this power, it causes serious burns and blisters across the target’s form, and creates immense pain and electric shocks to cascade across their body, requiring a Pain Tolerance of 2 (or equivalent) to withstand, else the target will crumple in a heap, incapacitated by the pain and electrocution.

There is one other incredibly useful trait to this Cero. The user possesses complete and utter control over its power and form. The user can unleash concentrated, killing bursts of this power to annihilate the opponent, or they can create massive arcs of lightning to ensure that the opponent cannot dodge. The user is freely able to adjust the power of this technique on a 1:1 ratio with size. That is to say, if the user halves the power of the technique, they will double the space the technique covers, and so on and so forth. Naturally, because the user is lessening the power, it makes this technique easier to resist, but compensates by making it much harder to avoid. The amount of space this attack covers at full power is comparable to that of the user’s bala.]

How to use technique (How is it activated?): [Although this technique is a Cero move, it is used much more like a Bala.]

Technique Drawbacks (Limitations, repercussions for use, etc)

[If one possesses a reiatsu strength that is 50% greater than the user, then they can resist the effects of the pain, getting away with minimal injuries, or even, if their reiatsu strength is double the user’s, being completely unharmed. Individuals with a Pain Tolerance of 2 can ignore the agonizing pain, though it will still be present, and continue to fight, only suffering the weakness of their injuries. Individuals with a Pain Tolerance of 3 (or greater) can outright push through the Cero, and be relatively unimpeded by it, if they are strong enough to survive it, minus the injuries they would receive from it. It has the standard cost of a Class 3 technique. Using this technique for more than a post fatigues the user greatly. The fatigue is intense enough that the user cannot maintain a single use of Cero Lightning for more than two posts.

The use of this technique causes slight burns to form on the bodypart using the power, which will steadily worsen with repeated use. These burns cannot be healed by High Speed Regeneration, or other immediate healing techniques and must either heal on their own, or be treated post-battle. Repeated use will cause these burns to worsen, and if a single limb uses them enough (ie. Over ten times in a single thread), the limb will burn away into ash.

Made By: Col Arana

[Nakajima Kimiko]

It was needless to say that the scarlet-eyed Shinigami was not quite enjoying how this night was progressing so far. Before she had left the Soul Society earlier today, she had honestly believed that this would have been nothing more than a typical hunt, just a job, something that was on par with the rest of the missions she has undergone with the only difference being in how difficult it would be to take out the target this time around. However, so far, this has turned out to be anything but a normal mission. If anything, minus the traitorous members of the Seventh Division that had dared to allow themselves to become corrupted by the yakuza, this was a repeat of what had happened some time ago in Karakura Town. Worse yet, the clandestine operations were not only the same as they were years ago, but downright better. It wasn't just some ragtag band of thugs in Karakura Town that was coordinating this now; instead, it seemed like the whole yakuza was involved. Well, at least a couple of clans.

And the absolute worst part about it? It would seem that these clans had access to Fullbringers.

Kimiko wasn't sure as to how they were able to actually recruit such people into their ranks, but it was becoming increasingly clear to her that whoever she and Ailene were currently confronting together was just like that man she has met before, the one named Raphael. He was not a Shinigami nor a Hollow; rather, he was a Human capable of wielding both spiritual energy and a weapon of his own making. His cube appears to have applications that allows it to interact with modern technology, but its ability to float and create smaller cubes from out of nowhere made it thoroughly obvious that its origin was supernatural. Well, unless this cube is supposed to be some kind of futuristic weapon, though she personally found that theory to be implausible. Moreover, he was also visibly experienced in employing spiritual energy, much more so than the man she confronted before so long ago. It was enough information to give the swordswoman a serious headache, one that she would have preferred to avoid given that she was still dealing with the pain resonating in her left arm.

Well, whatever. Conceptually, the situation has not really changed: they are dealing with a member of a yakuza clan that are capturing Hollows and planning to sell them to the black market. There was no way to tell if the owner of the cube was in charge of the whole operation, but they still have the man's computer and the files contained within it. If they are able to keep it safe enough during this battle for it to remain functional, they could get the man to tell them about the whole thing in detail, as well as potentially give them leads as to where to go next. Should this rather-makeshift plan work, Kimiko could then return the news to the Soul Society, inform Jin about it all, and from there on out, they could potentially dismantle the entire thing. That is, of course, if everything works out as intended. For all she knows, the owner of the cube could most likely remain forever uncooperative, even if they go into great lengths to interrogate him.

There was unfortunately still a long way to go before this happens, however, as so far, it did not seem as though the owner of the cube was going to cooperate any time soon. His arrogant attitude was a testament to that, as so well represented by his generous offer. Kimiko could not believe that he even so much as tried to bribe them the way he did. There were so many things wrong with it, so many terrible things that oh-so perfectly showcased how terrible some members of the yakuza can truly be. However, what she hated the most about it was the utter confidence behind the words that proposed it. It was clear that he felt like he was in total control of the situation, like he could finish them off at any moment just because had landed two good shots on them. The coward, her thoughts growled quietly in her mind as she glared at the cube, all the while her spiritual pressure grew around her. It was enough to cause the ground beneath her feet to crack. He must think he's so tough, hiding behind that thing.

Of course, her decision was made long ago. Unlike Kunio and his band, the prospect of "good stuff", as the man so eloquently described, was not at all enough for her to betray the goal of the Soul Society. Doing so would not only be an affront to what she stood for as a Shinigami, but it would also be a total insult to what she is and what she stands for. "Same. Sorry, but people like you are way too lame for me," the Shinigami would add after Ailene spoke her opinion of the cube-wielder's person, growling a little bit as she did so. "We're gonna end this quick." With that said, a pulse of spiritual energy would then start building up around her body. It did so powerfully, causing the ground around her to crack even further. The nearby rocks were slowly crushed, the bits of grass that were present here and there flattened. Then, the young woman pushed her thumb against the guard of her blade. "Quieten, Shizukakane." Her declaration caused the ground around her to crack even further as the blank scabbard of her blade became suddenly covered by markings of black ink, a drawing of a grass field under a rising sun. It would seem that the rise of energy was such that it almost downright materialized into something visible to the naked eye, trails of white ink that were exhumed from the blade. It encircled Kimiko's position in a radius of about 25 meters around her, and needless to say, it was enough to bring a snort out of the cube's microphone, almost as if its owner was about to construct some witty comment about it all.

But that comment never came. In fact, it never even began to take shape, as before the first word that would have composed was told, Ailene had finished speaking and had made her next move. Soon after she vanished, the area was instantly filled by not only a violent wind that crashed into the nearby rocks, but also a loud noise that Kimiko could not quite describe. Regardless, it hurt. It hurt like hell, enough so to cause her to wince and clench her teeth hard against one another as it filled her ears. Fortunately for her, Shizukakane's ability made it less deafening, but it did not change the fact that it made her feel as though her eardrums were about to explode. "Argh!" She screamed from the pain as she stood there with her left hand pressed against an ear and her right shoulder pressed onto the other, the wind ripping away the parts of her Shihakusho that had been damaged from the cube that crashed into it just earlier. Damn it! Doesn't that woman know about the term "friendly fire"?! She could have at least told her to take cover or something!

Despite the fact that the attack hurt the Shinigami quite a fair bit, its main target suffered much more than her, judging by the swearing that immediately erupted from the cube. "GAAARGH, FUCK!" The voice in the microphone as a disgusting noise of interference and broken electronics then followed suit. Even the cube itself seemed as though it was hurting, shaking rapidly as though trembling in pain. His voice didn't come through after that, but it was quite clear now that he had been more hurt than he could have ever imagined. It gave enough time for Ailene to then close the gap between them and unleash yet another attack, one that caused Kimiko's eyes to widen as she was forced to move away to safety this time around. The blast of electricity that ensued was such that it caused the area to be covered in a bright blue hue for a moment. It was also loud yet again, something which caused the swordswoman to clench her teeth even further.

Once the attacks were over, the vicinity then became quiet. The transition from loudness to quietness was enough to cause the Shinigami to stagger and pant lightly. "Ow..." she muttered quietly to herself as she looked back towards the cube. A part of her honestly wanted to berate Ailene for what had just happened, but considering how absolutely fried the cube appeared to be as it lied on the ground, the other part of her instead preferred to simply sigh it off. She'd keep an eye on the cube as she herself approached the scene, making sure to not remain too close to the Arrancar as she did so, then lightly stomped the cube. "Stupid piece of junk," she huffed before she looked on over to her partner. Although she visibly found the imprint on the woman's waist to be a bit strange, she made no note of it, mostly because she simply had no idea of what it was supposed to mean. For all she knew, it was some fancy tattoo. No, instead, she was simply more worried for her injuries. "Tch... he got you bad. Are you able to walk that off?" 

For a brief moment, it almost seemed as though the battle was over, but there was something about the cube that still bothered Kimiko. No, not just the cube: the entire room. It had gone far too quiet for her liking, especially given that they had just fought against somebody who was previously admittedly strong enough to at least injure them. Though she found his ways to be too infuriating for her tastes, she could not say that his abilities weren't impressive. In so doing, it was only natural of her to start thinking that this was a trick. She would look around with a frown, trying to see if there was anything in the room that could potentially be cubic in shape, then looked down to the fallen cube. Her gaze remained on it for a short while, enough so that it almost seemed awkward. Eventually, however, she hummed. "Hm... Alright, well... I guess that was it," she would say before she turned her body towards the computer, coincidentally turning her back to the cube as she did so. "Let's go back to the computer. I need to bring those files back t-"

Her blade, Shizukakane, was then suddenly unleashed towards the cube in a vicious Iaijutsu attack. It was done quickly, insanely so, with the aid of Shunpo Karin, which was enough to make her attack imperceptible to the eyes of both Ailene... and the owner of the cube, the very one which was still exhuming spiritual energy despite having been roasted to bits by the Arrancar's Cero Lightning. A nasty, disheartening sound of tearing through metal and plastic then rang as The Zanpakuto's enhanced steel cut through the cube's like butter. Oddly enough, however, it did not quite the cube in two. Rather, what happened then could only be described as bizarre. As the cube was cut, pieces of electronic equipment would be flown out of the fissure that was created by it. They would appear small at first, but then reach a more fitting size as they were expelled from the cube at a rapid pace. Although this was already quite strange enough, but the end of Kimiko's attack, a literal person would be thrown out of the cube as well, sporting a cut to their chest as they were flown out of the cube.

"A-Argh!" The person cried out in pain as they were expelled into the air. It was such an unexpected sight that Kimiko, in utter disbelief, could only watch as they landed on the ground and squirmed in pain for a brief moment. Wow... that was an actual person. A young one at that. They sported long blue hair, youthful features, and overall looked like a teenager wearing a fur coat. Now, one may be wondering why the word "they" is constantly being used in this sentence. The only reason why that was was because, at this point, Kimiko had honestly no idea of what the hell she was even looking at. Strangely-colored hair was one thing she has gotten used to thanks to the Soul Society's odd style trends, but at the very least, she can tell me when someone is a guy or a girl. The only thing she could tell out of every odd feature this person sported was that they were not Japanese. No, they instead appeared to be a westerner. "Y-You cow...! How did you know?!"

"You tried to shoot me in the back. There's no way you're going to sneak up on me again after that," she huffed as she wiped the blood off her blade before returning it to its scabbard. Her eyes were wide with anger, and her spiritual pressure was high again, enough so to cause Ailene to feel it. Fortunately, she was decently aware of it enough to move away from the weakened Arrancar towards the young one. "Dishonorable... girls like you don't deserve honorable battle."

There was a pause there, one that caused the area to grow completely silent as the blue-haired one simply stared at her. Their gaze was at first confused, though soon, anger started brewing within it, enough so that an aura of spiritual energy appeared around their body. "... God damn it, I'm not a fucking chick!" He shouted before he pulled himself up from the ground, then something from his pocket. It was yet another cube, one that sported a deeper shade of blue compared to the one that was taken down. He would then let go of the cube, allowing it to float above his right hand before he raised his left arm. This caused a multitude of smaller cubes to appear behind him. "I'm going to fuck you up, Shinigami!" 

Well, that was a reaction! The sight of the bluehead riling themselves up was enough to cause the Shinigami to recoil in surprise. "But... you look like a girl! How was I supposed to know?!" She first comically tried to argue almost childishly before she just gave up. There was no way any one of her words were going to calm their enemy, quite unfortunately enough. As she realized this, the woman would sigh as she prepared herself to fight again. It looks like she will have to suffer through this ranged battle for a little bit longer. "Damn it."

SPOILER: Click to show

{Blue-Haired Specialist}

Blue-Haired Specialist


Class: Fullbringer - Mercenary (3)
Rank: 1

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu: 4170/4320 | Shizukakane (0.6m) : 10 Posts Remaining | Light Gauge : 0%}
Technique Name: Shunpo Karin (瞬歩カリン, Pure Flash Steps)

Class: 5

Technique Type: Kidō

Technique Element: None

Technique Description and Effects

The famous "partial Shunpo" technique. This allows the user to initiate a single movement at Shunpo speed with one limb. This cannot be used without initiating the forward momentum. The user will need to move their arm the way they normally would before this technique can be activated. Momentum for this technique cannot be controlled. This means once the user initiates this technique, they cannot stop their limb from the movement.

How to use technique

Stated above.

Drawback

Also stated above. Higher Reiatsu cost than normal Shunpo. Limit is once per post. More taxing on stamina than regular Shunpo.

Made by: Admin

[Ailene Haschiro]

"GAAARGH, FUCK!" This is all the Espada heard as she moved in using her Sonido Grande, but in some ways, it was music to her ears. It gave her a clear indication that the sudden, intense white noise that radiated from Ailene had done something to at least cripple the man inside of the floating cube. As she positioned herself atop the Fullbringers' cube, she began to expel the Cero Lightning all over her body, sparking outward violently and ripping through anything nearby, namely the Fullbringer. Ailene gritted her teeth as she allowed herself to become enveloped in the lightning. Using Cero Lightning normally caused increasingly severe burns to develop with more and more use. They'd form all over her body this time, cooking her slowly.

Once satisfied, Ailene would allow the electricity to stop crackling and no longer be discharged through her entire body. As she did, the Arancar nearly collapsed. Steam rose off of her and parts of her body were reddened, flesh charred to a crisp. She sighed, still catching herself with her hand as she fell forward. Her breathing would be labored, and she was very clearly exhausted. In her stupor, she did not even realize that Kimiko had approached, only taking notice of the Shinigami once she was upon the cube that Ailene had attempted to torch. She'd stomp the cube as she spoke with a clearly dissenting tone. "Stupid piece of junk," The Arrancar chuckled very lightly.

It seemed that this would catch the attention of Kimiko who noticed the clear marking on Ailene's waist but did not seem to ask on it. She looked downward, noticing that much of her clothing had been torn off. Parts of her robe still remained that comically allowed her to cover herself as a blush spread across her cheeks. Ailene listened, even though the embarrassment as Kimiko spoke. "Tch... he got you bad. Are you able to walk that off?" Ailene tilted her head, looking at her shoulder. A clear wound still remained, but the bleeding had already stopped. The skin around it reddened and charred, Ailene rotated her shoulder with a small hint of pain as a groan rang from her lips. 

Ailene gave a small nod as she spoke. "Huh..yeah, I'm fine." She continued to move about somewhat slowly, the small occasional twitch affecting her arm. She breathed out calmly, closing her eyes as she smiled and nodded. "Admittedly I may have done more harm to myself than this one did to me.." She pointed down at the cube, clearly referring to the Fullbringer inside of the cube. "These burns..." She gently ran her hand along patches the skin that weren't mutilated by her. "These are gonna take some time to heal, but it shouldn't hinder me too much!" A playful grin arose on her face as she stared at Kimiko. Having hopefully eased Kimiko's thoughts, the Shinigami seemed to want to get back to the usual business. "Hm... Alright, well... I guess that was it," Ailene nodded as she, with minor difficulty, hopped off of the cube and created a few feet of distance, walking towards Kimiko. "Let's go back to the computer. I need to bring those files back t-"

In the blink of an eye, faster than Ailene could even recognize, the Shinigami had not only moved, but one of her blades had been drawn. All that Ailene got was that she could hear the splitting of metal and a notable cry as a man flew forth from the cube. "A-Argh!" Ailene blinked as she stared at both the man and more notably Kimiko in utter awe. "W..what just happened...She did move right? Clearly, she did, but...I could even see it. It was nearly instantaneous..." Ailene bit her lip as she continued staring at Kimiko, bewildered. "If this partnership of ours does go south...I will need to be very careful..." Her thoughts would be disrupted as the Fullbringer yelled out. "Y-You cow...! How did you know?!"

Ailene blinked, looking down at the man, just as confused as the man. Ailene had no idea what he was even talking about. Kimiko would have a seemingly better grasp on the tactical situation and responded. "You tried to shoot me in the back. There's no way you're going to sneak up on me again after that," Ailene looked bewildered. She felt a surge of reiatsu erupt from Kimiko, brushing against Ailene's wounds somewhat uncomfortably. "Dishonorable... girls like you don't deserve honorable battle." This did not just get a reaction from the Fullbringer. Even Ailene looked at Kimiko with a look of confusion. "Girl? Kimiko. Who are you talking to?..." It had certainly gotten some level of scorn from the Fullbringer as she yelled. "... God damn it, I'm not a fucking chick!"

The Arrancar simply shook her head as she breathed out calmly. She was finally getting better control of her faculties. Her body was not twitching anymore. It still burned, but other than that, she felt fine. The man proceeded to continue yelling, getting on Ailene's nerves. "I'm going to fuck you up, Shinigami!" Not only was he unnecessarily rude to Kimiko, but Ailene felt like she was being ignored. He, so far, only acknowledged the Shinigami in the room, completely disregarding Ailene's presence. It seemed that even Kimiko was getting riled up. "But... you look like a girl! How was I supposed to know?!" Ailene closed her eyes and growled very softly. She muttered to herself. "Children...all of you are acting like children." Kimiko's arguments were simply punctuated by two words. "Damn it."

Ailene looked at the Fullbringer. His reiatsu also began to flare, eliciting yet another growl from Ailene. He had seemed so fixated on Kimiko that Ailene focused her reiatsu into her fist. She breathed out as calmly as she could as she made a simple punching motion at the Fullbringer. From her fist it then erupted. Not a Cero, but instead Bala. A dense orb of reiatsu which was about the size of a basketball. There was one notable quality that the Bala possessed. Its speed. Moving at twenty times the speed of a Cero, the Bala that Ailene fired at this Fullbringer would make its mark in the blink of an eye. A nearly point-blank Bala was nearly impossible to dodge without sufficient warning and plenty of preemptive action. 

Ailene was preying upon his fixation, hoping that the Fullbringer did not take note of her movements. After all, he was rather upset. If her Bala landed, the Fullbringer would feel it crash against his ankle. Without a sufficient defense, he'd likely find himself yelling in pain. At worst, the force of the Bala pushed his bones out of place, dislocating it and causing him to fall to the ground. If this was the case, Ailene began to approach at a leisurely speed of 50. It would take few seconds to make her way to the Fullbringer. If his body had crashed to the ground from the Bala, she'd unsheathe her Zanpakutou for the first time of her shared partnership with Kimiko.

She'd press the blade ever so gently under the Fullbringers' chin, pressing it lightly against his neck. Her eyes appeared cold as she spoke. "You know...you lack manners. In my day, we'd cut out the tongue of those that did not know how to behave properly in public. Before we resort to that, let's try this again..." She'd continue peering at the Fullbringer, speaking in the same dispassionate tone. "You are in the presence of two ladies. I suggest you help us and if you do, you may just get away with your life..." Her tone of voice began to shift in that moment. It became less cold. More...joyful. Her reiatsu began to feel cold once more as her voice nearly warped, sounding far smoother as she finished. "If you'd like to test me, I can promise you that I have far worse sides than this one. One that would like nothing more than to devour you whole. So I recommend that you play nice for your own sake." With that, she'd press her blade a little more into his neck, drawing some blood which ran down the length of her Zanpakutou. She knew just where to cut so that he would not bleed out after all. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko had to admit that, at first, she wasn't sure if she could believe that Ailene was going to be fully okay with those wounds. Her shoulder had been pierced almost effortlessly by one of those smaller cubes, enough so that it was quite punctured through with a rather notable hole, and she had literally electrocuted herself in order to fry whatever technology their enemy was using. However, upon analyzing her ally's body with a closer look, her first opinion soon started to change. The hole that she had in her shoulder was still there, but the bleeding had actually completely stopped. There wasn't even the smallest of drops. Even the skin around the wound seemed to be ridding itself of the tear and wear that the cube had unleashed upon it, safe for the burns which appeared to take longer to heal in comparison. Huh... I could have sworn she was still bleeding a minute ago, she wondered as she gazed at the wound with light confusion. I wouldn't shrug off a wound like that so easily. Either she's used a spell while I wasn't looking... or her recovery speed is insane.   

Whatever the answer was for this question that was starting to arise, it would have to wait, for the cube owner had survived the Arrancar's and the Shinigami's attacks seemingly without a scratch. Indeed, though his cube was disabled and then destroyed, he himself was fine and dandy with only but perhaps damage to his ears. Well, that and his ego, for he then went on to quite loudly proclaim the anger he felt for Kimiko in the moment. His teeth were clenched hard against one another as he gazed at the scarlet-eyed woman, his blue hairs raised ever-so-slightly by the spiritual energy that was starting to surround him. The cubes that he had conjured behind him hummed quietly from the energy, seemingly prepared to follow the man's bidding. "I don't give a shit! Even your thunder bitch of a friend fucking knew I was a guy!" He shouted, still firmly stuck on the matter that the Shinigami had so unluckily raised. Yes, he was young alright. Perhaps he was an underdeveloped young adult physically, but mentally, he was very clearly a teenager.

With that said, his rage did not totally control him, as proven by the way he handled the cubes he summoned thereafter. Maintaining what seemed to be his Fullbring over his right hand as it floated near his body, he would gesture for the cubes to follow him with his left. As he moved his fingers accordingly, the many cubes would move around him in an attempt to prepare him for what was to come. Eight of them would surround his position in a cubic formation, while the rest would circle around this formation as though orbiting the man. It was all done with shocking speed, enough so to at the very least be faster than Ailene, though not quite as fast as Kimiko herself. Considering this, you would think that would have given him plenty of time to completely register everything that was going on around him so as to build the perfect defense. Hell, even the swordswoman had to admit that he was starting to look quite a fair bit impressive here. Quite unfortunately for him, however, Ailene had other plans.

His leg was instantly dislocated by the Arrancar's Bala. No, perhaps worse than that: it seemed outright broken. Kimiko, having never seen such a thing be showcased to her before, barely reacted to it happening, and for a moment there, she watched with a confused gaze as the boy screamed in pain and fell to the ground alongside his steel cubes. "ARGH! A-Argh...! M-My... Ah, my leg!" He winced in pain and agony, writhing on the ground as he looked on over to his injury. Yes, it was definitely broken. The sheer pressure the Bala had applied to his leg had completely shifted its position in a disgusting way, making it look odd and downright awful. "You... bitch! You fucking broke it! You broke my leg!" While he laid there on the ground, he'd moan in the pain and discomfort, breathing in and out as he desperately attempted to get used to it by putting himself on his back. It was all most pathetic sight, one that threw Kimiko off almost instantly.

However, even as the man remained there with a leg that was most definitely broken, she didn't drop her guard. So far, the man had proven that he was one who used tricks to get what he wanted. Even if he himself had been taken off-guard by Ailene's Bala, it in no way meant that he was completely out of the fight. So, with her spiritual energy still surrounding her being, she would approach the man at a position opposite to Ailene, just to make sure she and the man would not be engulfed by Shizukakane's ink-like energy. As she approached, she would deliberately slash the fallen steel cubes away from him, making sure that he would not attempt to use them again. "You really like cubes, don't you?" She huffed as she then stood there, letting the Zanpakuto power her being as it absorbed the noise around her. Her tone did not hide her hatred of his ability. "How lame. At least wield a sword like everybody else." 

The man didn't respond to her, instead clutching onto the cube that was floating above him just earlier as tightly as he possibly could. It was probably because of the broken leg. His suffering, at the very least, seemed to be genuine enough to appear rather convincing,. Then again, perhaps he did not respond because Ailene was currently talking to him in that tone of hers. The person that he had been spying on from the security of his now-destroyed cube did not seem to be so calm after all, as the more she spoke, the more she started to appear as something completely different. Her spiritual energy grew cold, her demeanor became more excited, and her blade... Well, it was now quite literally slowly protruding the skin of his neck. Even so, the young man did not seem to be deterred by this. If anything, he still seemed to be quite angry, to say the least. "What's that supposed to mean? You want to eat my ass or something?" He spat, seemingly uncaring or unable to understand that he was not actually speaking to a Shinigami. "Fuck you!"

"Oh, man, will you just shut up?" Kimiko couldn't help but let out at this point. His behavior was honestly becoming very exasperating, and at this point, she was starting to develop a desire to silence him. Even so, she could hear Shizukakane's voice telling her to remain calm and still. The remnants of his voice in her head told her to focus, to analyze. She could not agree more. Again, the feeling from before was omnipresent, and she felt as though this was yet another trap of the young man's. It just felt wrong. "Keep an eye on him," she thus decided to tell Ailene in that moment, her hand remaining close to her blade as she did so. "I haven't seen a shadiest kid in my entire life." Her partner's behavior was a bit worrying, but given that they were fighting an unpredictable enemy, she could not allow herself to be bothered by it just yet.

The young man's eyes shifted from Ailene towards the exit in that moment. From the outside, he was very clearly trying his best to appear as tough as possible, but his gaze seemed to hint at something else that was going on inside of him. Since she was closer to him, the Arrancar would be the first to notice this. Eventually, as time went on, the bravado would drop and with a gulp, the young man sighed, frustrated. "Why the hell is it that it's always chicks that want to kill me? Stupid bitches, all of them," he huffed mostly to himself before he stared at Ailene with a slightly calmer gaze as he fully lied on his back. His cube was held with the both of his hands near his chest. It was not floating anymore, but it was still giving off hints of spiritual energy. "There, you fucking got me, I'm done. I can't fight with a busted leg, especially not against a Shinigami with some weird-ass paint brush and whatever the fuck you're supposed to be. What do you want from me?"

         Reiatsu: 4170/4320 | Shizukakane (0.6m) : 9 Posts Remaining | Light Gauge : 15%

[Ailene Haschiro]

"ARGH! A-Argh...! M-My... Ah, my leg!" Ailee smirked a little at this reaction. As he writhed in agony. The Espada focused her eyes upon the now shattered leg of the Fullbringer. With her medical proficiecy, Ailene could easily tell that his legs was ruined. Likely requiring reconstructive surgery, Ailene had very little sympathy for this Fullbringer. As she began her approach, she listened to the Fullbringer bark out in anger. "You... bitch! You fucking broke it! You broke my leg!" Her brow furrowed. He was getting a little more than annoying. As she approached, the cubes began to drop of the floor. As they did, Kimiko made her approach as well.

As she circled around Ailene and the Fullbringer, the Espada took notice of a strange aura that surrounded Kimiko. Ailene was curious about it though she would not make any inquiries about it. Now was not the time for it after all. She had to deal with this brat after all. "You really like cubes, don't you?" Kimiko's voice filled the silence of the room as Ailene took note of something. She still seemed to be annoyed about something. They had won, right? He was at their mercy. Just wh- "How lame. At least wield a sword like everybody else." As Kimiko said this just around the time when Ailene was pressing her blade against the Fullbringers' throat, she could not help, but look at Kimiko with a bit of scorn.

"Just what the hell is she on about? She clearly has a penchant for sword fighting and has declared that she has very little spiritual capability and yet...this aura of hers..." Ailene thought about it some more as she simply tried to feel it out. Even with her rather average energy sensing skills, Ailene could sense the reiatsu that charged the air. It was erupted like a fountain from Kimiko. Ailene did not say a word though. She did not want to upset Kimiko, but there was something about this that did not seem to add up. Perhaps she'd have a chance to look into this later. For now, she'd make her threat to the Fullbringer. As she did and her voice underwent a slight chance, she could feel a growing force within her. At the same time, she felt an emotion. "Is that...satisfaction..?"

The Espada turned her gaze to the Fullbringer as he spoke. "What's that supposed to mean? You want to eat my ass or something?" As he spat up and spoke, Ailene's vision darkened. "Fuck you!" Ailene stared at him. If a stare could kill, then he would be dead three times over. Before she could say a word, Kimiko spoke in her stead. "Oh, man, will you just shut up?" Shortly afterwards, Kimiko continued as she directed her voice at Ailene. "Keep an eye on him," The Espada simply sighed and nodded as she kept her gaze focused upon the Fullbringer. At the same time, she'd continue to press her blade against his throat which kept the thread clear.

Suddenly Ailene noted something. Something about the constitution of this Fullbringer. It shifted even if it was only slightly at first. Soon it became far more noticeable though. His bravado. His confidence. They had diminished. Finally, he spoke. "Why the hell is it that it's always chicks that want to kill me? Stupid bitches, all of them," As she began to fall onto his back, Ailene would sheath her blade. There was no need. As he spoke, Ailene raised an eyebrow. "There, you fucking got me, I'm done. I can't fight with a busted leg, especially not against a Shinigami with some weird-ass paint brush and whatever the fuck you're supposed to be. What do you want from me?"

Ailene chuckled ever so slightly. She pressed her hand against her thigh. She'd speak in calm tone, but it carried an intensity with it. An authority of sorts. "Well. It seems that you can reasonable after all. Though I do believe in educating others. My name is Ailene Haschiro and you are speaking to an Arrancar. You clearly know what a Hollow is. Think of me as a Hollow who has gained the abilities of a Shinigami." She grinned a little and gave a smirk. With that out of the way, the Arrancar continued in the same calming voice. "As for what we want, it's quite simple. The release of the Hollows that are being held her. If you comply...I'll allow you to walk away. Sound fair?" Ailene's eyes remained focused on him, peering down with the same calm intensity.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

The Fullbringer had yet to show any sign that proved that he was intimidated by Ailene as his eyes kept looking back at her with that same unbecoming energy of his. No matter how many glares she shot at him, how many threats she threw in his direction, and how close her blade neared his throat, he still kept himself close to that terrible attitude of his without even so much as flinch towards the opposite direction. Really, his ultimate stubbornness was quite impressive at this point, maybe even a little bit admirable. Either this young one was the bravest (or perhaps the stupidest) that has ever been born in the Living World, or he has been in this position so many times prior to this that his mind simply could not conjure any sort of violent emotion towards it all any longer. Judging by his line of profession and how his arrogance has so far brought him to such a low point in this current battle, it was unfortunately quite safe to say that it was probably the latter.

It was a sad realization for the Shinigami. She didn't know what the owner of the cube had gone through, but it was quite clear that he had been forged by battle for so long that not only any feeling of remorse he felt for killing had been thoroughly erased from his mind, but he also was not scared to actually die anymore. In a way, it was as if they were fighting a child soldier, or at the very least someone who has witnessed bloodshed over the course of their entire life. The worst part about it, really, was that there was absolutely no way that this guy was even a member of the yakuza proper. If his accent and his complete lack of decency was anything to go by, he was definitely a foreigner, more specifically someone who came either from Canada or the United States of America. Was he a gang member? A mercenary, an assassin? She doubted that there were going to find any answers from him, but either way, someone of his age shouldn't be caught up such terrible things, regardless of where they are.

Then again, maybe there was no point in being actually sad for the boy; after all, he was still someone who had just attempted to kill her and Ailene in cold blood without any one of them noticing. She couldn't get past the fact that he had quite literally tried to pick them off with the equivalent of a silenced sniper rifle like in one of those old action flicks from way back then, and then tried to prepare an attack while feigning his own defeat. Everything about him was shady. Absolutely everything. It was why, when he told Ailene that he had fully given up, she had decided to remain ready to continue fighting him. The Arrancar could give her as many looks as she wanted to, she was not going to think of him as being defeated until he his strange Fullbring has been completely taken care of and he is no longer physically capable of fighting any longer. So far, only one of those conditions has been met. We'll see if the other is respected soon.

As Kimiko kept watched on the boy, he did not give her any of his attention. Logically, there was no reason for him to do so in any capacity, as it would not bring him anything of value. Instead, he maintained his gaze on the woman who has so far been the most honest when it came to how she wanted to treat him. The authoritarian tone the Arrancar adopted as she spoke, again, did not faze him in the slightest, though as he then spoke of her nature, he couldn't help but grin at her almost amusingly. "Seriously? A Shinigami working with a Hollow? Man, and I thought what we were doing was fucked up!" He'd laugh in a mocking tone before he would then groan and wince as he felt his broken leg ache in pain. Needless to say, it did not take long for him to regret laughing in the first place. "Argh, god fucking damn it... What a joke. Even the Shinigami officers my boss hired back then were less shady than miss paint brush here." 

His eyes very briefly looked towards the exit again. It was clear that he was trying to escape, and he was not making any effort to hide it to Ailene. This eye movement only became more obvious by the time Ailene delivered her request, which Kimiko by then started to notice from where she stood. Eventually, his eyes simply closed and they remained stuck on Ailene, though by then, even the Shinigami had noticed that he was looking toward the exit. It was just that obvious. What the hell was he doing? Was he going to try something reckless? "Don't do anything stupid, alright?" She warned out loud as she remained in her position, still ready to act any given moment. Oddly enough, it seemed as though the air around her had become quieter, so much so that there was a strange disconnect between her position and the rest of the room. "This doesn't need to end badly for anyone."

"And what the fuck do you want me to do, exactly? Just shut the fuck up. Let your friend do the talking." The young man shot back, visibly irritated, before she fully focused on Ailene again, all the while Kimiko's gaze darkened. His eyes had become wide, most probably because of the pain he felt in his leg. Either that, or he was starting to feel the officer's spiritual energy, which he was now starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by. He could feel the darkness within it, how abnormal it was for it to be exhumed by a Shinigami... but he could not allow himself to lose face before it. As such, he completely focused onto the calmer Arrancar. "Anyway... fine, I'll do it. I don't fucking care what happens to these Hollows anyway. Let me just first... fucking stand up. I need to use my Metatron to release them."

It took a moment for the Shinigami to understand what the young man even meant when he named that thing, but it turns out that he was talking about his Fullbring, the cubic object that he was still holding onto even as he lied down there on the ground. What a weird name to give to a cube, of all things... It sounded like the name of an obscure rock band. Should the young man be allowed to stand up by Ailene, his Metatron would lightly pulse with spiritual energy before creating smaller steel cubes around his legs and back. It was done slowly, with the pressure on his leg clearly causing him pain. Eventually, he would be practically standing over the cubes, clenching his teeth as he fought the pain and kept his Fullbring near him. If he was not allowed to do such a thing, he would instead remain on the ground, though unbeknownst to the two women, he would generate the cubes underneath the ground beneath him. "Y-You checked my computer, so I'm gonna guess you kinda know a little about how this shit works. They're all inside of my Metatron. I can't release them all at once, so you're gonna have to stand back."  

Again, Kimiko kept an eye on him. She didn't like how cooperative he had suddenly become, and quite frankly, the more this went on, the more she was starting to believe he was indeed going to do something reckless. However, as the young man proceeded to use his ability, it did seem as though what he was doing was actually genuine. Using his spiritual connection to his Fullbring, the boy would send the Metatron away from his person before then having it open in front of them. As it opened, what was contained inside would be safely released alongside another cube that was colored in a a deeper shade of blue compared to the last. There was a surprising amount of openings, with each of them revealing a surprising amount of technological equipment and... floors? Indeed, there were concrete floors, brick floors, even panel floors. It was like the cube had captured a multitude of literal rooms. "Just give me a minute. The Hollows are in the first ones," he sighed rather impatiently as he released what he had stored. He didn't seem to be very happy about showing off that equipment of his, and in all honest, he couldn't really be blamed for feeling this way. There were a lot of computers in there, many of which seemed at least moderately important.

However, he would indeed eventually reach the room that both Kimiko and Ailene at the very least wanted. It was the one they had seen in that terrible camera feed on the computer, the very same which showed that large, lanky, bloody Hollow held by an awful machine. As it was released, the beast named Walker would let out a cry of surprise from the light, groaning as it remained there, panting heavily. The sight of the beast caused Kimiko's eyes to widen. The sight of his broken self was already horrible to witness on the camera feed, but it was even worse now. "Walker..." She found herself muttering in a mixture of horror and disgust. She, a hunter of Hollows, was showing pity to the very thing she was supposed to kill tonight. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to kill it now. Instead, her steel gaze had turned back towards the young man. "What have you done to him? Did you torture him?"

"I don't fucking know... I'm not the one who did those things to it. You can blame the fucking bitch at the top for that," the boy would tell her with another groan as he remained there. "They just hired me to keep all that shit in a safe space. I can't say there's anyone better out there to do that shit other than me." He was being honest, at the very least, telling the two women some bit of truth as he he had his cubes direct him towards a set of computers installed at the base of the machine. Well, it was less of a computer, and more so a terminal of sorts, one that appeared to rather rudimentary in nature. Either way, after he interacted with the terminal, the latches around the Hollow would open, and eventually, its brittle body would find itself freed from the constraints, enough so that it would be allowed to slowly fall onto its knees as it continued to pant. Not once did he turn his head towards the boy. It seemed the thought of doing so alone was enough to make him tremble. After the process was completed, the boy would let out a sigh before turning away from the Hollow and letting the cubes float him away from it. His broken leg was still clearly hurting him, but at the very least could move. "Oh, one more thing... You bitches might already know by now, but they also hired me to do something else too," he'd say in a casual tone before, suddenly, that tone then became infinitely more serious.

 "Kill all witnesses."

Kimiko's eyes widened as he heard that tone being used, and instantly, she attempted to rush towards him after hearing him say those words. God damn it, he was going to do something reckless! That damned brat! She would try to take a step forward with a Shunpo towards his direction, but before she could do, Walker would suddenly let out a loud scream of pain and suffering that caused him to tremble all over in agony. Taken aback by this, the Shinigami would step away, shocked, which gave plenty of the time for the boy to vanish in a column of light towards the exit. Out there, near the entrance, the kid would let out a victorious cry before shouting as multiple cubes now covered his body like a makeshift pod. "Yeah, that's right, fuck you, you sluts!" He shouted from afar, enough so that his voice echoed throughout the room. "Have fun getting fucked by your precious little Hollow now!"

After that, he was gone, his cubes bringing him up the stairs. The Shinigami was now beyond annoyed, clenching her teeth deeply as she watched the boy literally flee the scene. Damn it, damn it, damn it! She was the one watching over him, and despite this, she still got caught! "You gotta be kidding me!" She could only let out with a frustrated huff before she then looked on towards Walker. The thing was now thrashing about, enough so to force Kimiko to make some distance as it hit the ground multiple times and screamed madly like a loud animal, holding its head with both hands as it then stood up and roared. It was so powerful that it causes the entire room to shake as though it was hit by an earthquake. "Shit... Don't let him get close to the computer!"

SPOILER: Click to show

{Walker}

Walker


Class: Hollow - Mutant Stray (4)
Rank: 1

          Reiatsu: 4170/4320 | Shizukakane (1m) : 8 Posts Remaining | Light Gauge : 30%

[Ailene Haschiro]

"Seriously? A Shinigami working with a Hollow? Man, and I thought what we were doing was fucked up!" As he coughed in pain, clutching his knee, Ailene raised an eyebrow. Among the threats. Among the injuries that he sustained and likely was going to suffer from for a long time...he still found a way to be snarky. In truth, if Ailene was not so annoyed by his manners, then his tenacity would admirable. Somewhat. Regardless this got Ailene thinking. Why was it such a big deal for a Shinigami and an Arrancar to work together? Sure, they had their differences, and one desperately sought the purification of the other, but it would not be the first time that Ailene has accompanied a Shinigami.

Some time ago, Ailene had assisted a Shinigami in attempting to purge a Quincy encampment. It was one of the few times that Ailene got to meet the less noble of the Seireitei. Camila, at the time an Unseated Shinigami of the Thirteenth Division, chose to accompany her. While Ailene sought to go about this peacefully, Camila had other plans. From what Ailene could recall, the Shinigami had a rough history with Quincy which led to an almost searing hatred. It would be this hatred that led her to drawing her first blood against the Quincy. For as much as Ailene tried, she could not contend with the swarms of Quincy and eventually was forced to use Resurrecciòn. Together they slaughtered the encampment and left no survivors. Ailene's stomach still turned at the memory.

This moment of reminiscence would leave Ailene staring into blank space for what seemed like an entire minute as the conversation raged on. Ailene would finally be snapped out of it as she heard the Fullbringer speak. "And what the fuck do you want me to do, exactly? Just shut the fuck up. Let your friend do the talking." Ailene blinked as she tried to recollect her thoughts. After a few moments she'd make her offer. His assistance for his life. In truth, Ailene felt that it would be a fair deal. The Fullbringer initially seemed to play along. "Anyway... fine, I'll do it. I don't fucking care what happens to these Hollows anyway. Let me just first... fucking stand up. I need to use my Metatron to release them."

The Arrancar simply blinked for a moment. The Fullbringer would surge his reiatsu, letting some cubes form. They'd coalesce, seemingly creating something bigger and grander as the Fullbringer piped up. "Y-You checked my computer, so I'm gonna guess you kinda know a little about how this shit works. They're all inside of my Metatron. I can't release them all at once, so you're gonna have to stand back." Ailene admittedly shared in Kimiko skepticism. His choice to help was sudden. Ailene thought about it for a moment. "Is it fear of death? It's not respect. He's not the type. Hmm. Best be sure to approach this with an open mind and not walk in blindly..." 

The Fullbringer willed his Metatron to expand before him, showing control panels and advanced equipment that Ailene had to admit she did not understand. Instead, she'd just take his word for it as he seemed to be of genuine assistance. "Just give me a minute. The Hollows are in the first ones," Ailene nodded as she watched a column detach from the fake sky above, sinking and revealing more technological equipment and multiple cubes. Her brain was going to hurt form all this. She could only hope that this would be over quick. Soon they'd reach their quarry as the door opened slowly. Ailene would immediately catch a glimpse of the Hollow within.

It was not unlike how it appeared on the camera feed though from here Ailene could gather much more as it seemingly recoiled, shrieking from the light. Ailene's stomach turned for a moment. The sight of it being covered in blood and from what Ailene could notice, many incisions upon its body made Ailene grumble in anger. Soon, Kimiko would acknowledge the Hollow. "Walker..." Ailene looked at it calmly or at least as calmly as she could. "So then. This is our quarry? This Walker that Soul Society wants to eliminate? When I look at him now...I do feel pity for his existence. The horror he must have been through...perhaps-..." Ailene's thoughts would be interrupted by the Shinigami who addressed the Fullbringer. "What have you done to him? Did you torture him?"

There would be little guilt in the boy's voice as he retorted. "I don't fucking know... I'm not the one who did those things to it. You can blame the fucking bitch at the top for that," He'd pause for a moment and then continued. "They just hired me to keep all that shit in a safe space. I can't say there's anyone better out there to do that shit other than me." With a few more motions, the Fullbringer would allow Walker to go free. His restraints would be released as the Hollow seemingly cowered, utterly exhausted. Ailene's eyes were fixated upon the Hollow...so much so that she did not notice the Fullbringer begin to move away. "Oh, one more thing... You bitches might already know by now, but they also hired me to do something else too," Ailene raised an eyebrow. "What would your other task be?" Ailene's expression would grow dark as the Fullbringer spoke. "Kill all witnesses." His voice would be far more serious as he spoke this three choice words.

It seemed that Ailene would pick up on it faster as she was preparing to seemingly cut down this Fullbringer, but the unlikely pair would be distracted, looking back at the Hollow as it roared. Both frozen in place, the Fullbringer disappeared in his column of light. As he was at the entrance, he continued to gloat. "Yeah, that's right, fuck you, you sluts! Have fun getting fucked by your precious little Hollow now!" Ailene growled as the Fullbringer disappeared from sight and the two of them would be met by the gaze of Walker. Ailene sighed and steeled herself. They'd have far bigger problems on their hand now then some upstart brat. 

As Kimiko spoke, she echoed a thought that was on Ailene's mind as well. "You gotta be kidding me!" The gangly Hollow started to thrash about; a roar erupted from its disfigured maw. Ailene blinked as the room itself began to shake. Instinctively, Ailene covered her ears with her hands. The roar. It was so loud! As it began to quiet down, Kimiko spoke. "Shit... Don't let him get close to the computer!" Ailene nodded and sighed. There was one immediate ability she could use to try and restrain the Hollow. She breathed out and allowed her reiatsu to surge. It began to blanket the area around them and then it would begin to push down.

Walkers' movements would suddenly appear lethargic. They would be much slower. Deliberate. While Kimiko would likely also feel Ailene's reiatsu upon the wind, Ailene would try to lessen effect of her gravitational pressure in Kimiko's direction. She'd likely feel the surge of reiatsu pushing down, but it'd be far less. The wounds sustained by Walker, however, would make it far less resilient to Ailene's gravitational pressure. Instead, the Hollow would be forced to its knees. Even if it found the strength and the will to stand, it's capabilities would be severely hindered the consistent pressure that began crack down on it. It would by no means be lethal, but it would certainly be more than a love tap... 

As this was the case, Ailene would slowly approach the Hollow. As she did, she'd allow another surge of reiatsu to channel through her. This reiatsu, however, would not increase the gravitational pressure. No. Instead, she merely tapped the Hollow's malnourished form. As she did, a notable static roared into life among her thoughts. It would be unclear. Almost like it was being filtered through a radio. Soon it would become much clearer due to her mastery of it. "It's the perfect specimen! An opportunity to test the serum!-" The static continued and then another voice filtered through. This time, a female voice. "Report any changes in behavior to me. I want to be the first to know!" Amidst the voice, Ailene also heard an earth-shattering roar, not unlike the one that Walker had unleashed not moments prior. Suddenly the static ended.

Ailene blinked for a moment as she looked upon the bleeding form of Walker. She sighed. Charla Serena was a technique that was used to demoralize others. It gave little context and instead peered deep into the soul to search for anything to latch onto. The beauty of it was that Ailene had some context to the situation. She could more appropriately use it to try and soothe Walker. After all, she had empathized and soothed wild animals before. The question was...how intelligent is this Hollow? Hopefully they'd find out soon as Ailene spoke, the Hollow presumedly still being restrained by the pressure that Ailene was exerting. "I see. You were tortured. Mutilated. Experimented on. They tested this serum on you. You were in anguish. We don't seek your harm. Perhaps we can even help..." While her pressure was still being exerted, Ailene's voice sounded warm and soothing by comparison. Perhaps her words in conjunction with Charla Serena, an ability which could drain a foe of their morale, would be enough to calm this Hollow down. If not, if Ailene got any glimpse of aggression, she'd at least try to Sonido backward to create distance. 

SPOILER: Click to show

{Charla Serena - 5/5}
Technique Name: [Charla Serena]

Class: [4]

Technique Type: [Arrancar]

Usable By: [Arrancar of Las Noches]

Technique Element: [Not Applicable]

Technique Description and Effects: [Insert Below]

Part of being a Hollow is the constant fear or death or injury. The fate of those eaten is not a painless one. It is the most primitive form of existence. As a result of it many who become Arrancar and transcend that lifestyle maintain savage instincts, but what none speak of is the calm in the face of death that so many of them are capable of. Other races do not exist in such an environment.

Charla Serena is an expansion of the ability called Pesquis and it is used both offensively and to the advantage of its user. Like Pesquis it is active for five posts. While it is active its user is capable of brief glimpses into the psychological weaknesses of the opponent during each exchange of attacks. This is not mind control, personality reading, or history reading. It is specifically a look into what words would most demoralize someone. The Arrancar does not learn context but as long as the words are used appropriately they can be used to make the Arrancar appear psychic to the opponent's mind.

This is an ability that works on the user's maturity and ability to calm their hearts and manipulate the minds of others to probe for weaknesses. This is a skill of veteran combatants. As such it is not dependent on offensive ability. It is dependent on class and rank level. Those of higher class can use this against those of lower class. If classes are equal or someone is superior then rank level takes precedence.

While the power is in use opponents will be worn down mentally and their concentration can be broken, even as far as many times in a post. The greater of an advantage the user has in class or rank level or both the greater the disruption to an opponent's focus. With a two class superiority + one rank level superiority this can be used to disrupt an enemy's "combat state" and make it impossible to focus strategically and will lead to many terrible blunders and to a cold mind that cannot read or analyze the situation well. This technique must be active to achieve these effects. With mere two class superiority or one rank level superiority only partial effects of this ability can be achieved.

With greater superiority than what was stated a far greater, exponentially more powerful disruption of an opponent's mental state can be achieved. This effect grows more and more powerful the longer a fight goes on provided the user appears to be in control and appears to be dominating the fight.

How to use technique: [Insert Below]

It must be activated like Pesquis and must be refreshed after the 5/5 post is reached.

Technique Drawbacks (Insert Below)

While this can read into the vulnerabilities of an opponent it also opens up the user's vulnerabilities. Adversaries that are of the same rank level or class can then gain the same information from the opponent. They do not gain the power to use it but if the opponent is already quite cunning then it would be valuable information to them.

One may resist this technique with Strength of Will or Calm Mind but these skills are minimally effective against two class one rank level superiority.

Made By: [Kuroi Naito]

Reserved?: [Arrancar of Las Noches]

[Nakajima Kimiko]

To say that Kimiko's emotions had skyrocketed quite negatively was nothing short of an understatement. She absolutely could not believe everything that was happening in front of her. Well, no, actually, she could believe it; after all, she had been somewhat expecting it, since the man had made sure to make himself appear as the most dishonorable and cowardly warrior imaginable. The problem was that she had hoped it wouldn't have happened regardless of it all. Instead of actually cooperating with them to the best of his ability after being subsequently taken down in battle, the sly Fullbringer had played what appeared to perhaps be the last yet cruelest trick up his sleeves. Not only did she and Ailene now had to deal with the fact that they had lost a potential informer that could have brought them more information on the criminal activities of the yakuza, but they also had a Hollow let loose that could not have appeared any more agitated.

If the aforementioned Hollow would not have been present at this point in time, the Shinigami would have actually gone to hunt down the Fullbringer. She would have made sure to completely knock him out so that he would not attempt to attack them again, brought him back to the Soul Society with her, and then would have delivered him to the authorities there for interrogation. If that was impossible, she would have at the very least attempted to interrogate him again with proper precautions, or done anything else that could have allowed her to quell the anger that she now held for him. Unfortunately, she would have to let him escape for this time, as there were much more important matters for her to attend to. Given his line of work, she isn't sure if they are going to meet again. For all she knows, he will probably end up dead, and by then, he will have become yet another sinner thrown into the fiery depths of Hell. However, if they ever happen to do so in the near future, she will make sure that his disrespectful, dishonorable, cowardly hide never dares to flee her sight again.

In any case, seeing Walker seemingly prepare himself to go on an emotional rampage as enough of a reason for Kimiko to position herself so that her back would be facing the distant computer. She had no idea of how intelligent Walker was supposed to be: the reports that she was given prior to her hunt never stated his intellect. In so doing, it was possible that, in his thrashing, the beast would inadvertently damage the computer, which could be catastrophic if it ever happens to damage the hard drive within it. Sure, she had only come here to kill Walker, but now that it was clear that the Hollow black market was still thriving, they need as much information about it as they can so that they can shut it down once more. Damn it... Why couldn't all of this have just been a simple mission?  She briefly complained in her mind as the development of it all somewhat stumped her. I shouldn't be making discoveries like this... That's not my job.

Perhaps fortunately for both her and the computer, Ailene would go on to attempt to subdue her fellow Hollow by way of what Kimiko could only assume to purely be gravitational pressure at first, as she could feel it from here. While she only received a minor version of it that appeared to as a simple push towards the ground that she could resist to a degree, Walker got the brunt of it. It was very clear that his injuries did not allow him to stand up against the force. Even though it screamed and screamed, and then started to flail his arms around him almost maniacally, the pressure kept pressing onto his back until he found himself in a position that could only be described as a gesture of prostration. Cracks formed around his body as he fell on his knees with his upper limbs laid forward by the side of his head. It was an impressive feat, though it was clear from the way that the beast still attempted to struggle against the pressure against his body that he was still compelled to attack them.

What happened next was an even stranger sight for the Shinigami, as she then saw the beast... seemingly quiet down. Indeed, for a moment there, it almost seemed as though the Hollow had been appeased. His breathing lessened, its grunts of pain became less apparent, and overall, he almost appeared to be in a better mood. Almost. There were still hints of aggression around him, and quite frankly, Kimiko was so unsure of what was going on that she felt compelled to remain ready so as to be able to intervene at any given moment. Despite this, he was calm enough to allow Ailene to approach him, which was good progress, all things considered. Eventually, though, from the way the Arrancar spoke to her, the Shinigami found herself staring at her in a bit of disbelief. What is she doing? Is she... reading his mind?  She wondered almost openly as she stared at her, frowning lightly in the moment. The Arrancar was admittedly using information they themselves already knew, but the way she spoke made it seem as though she was indeed intruding the beast's thoughts. It was... peculiar, to say the least, and not quite a concept whose existence she enjoyed being reminded of.

This strange appeasing technique or whatever Ailene had employed on Walker unfortunately did not last for very long. Though he almost docile for a brief moment, as though completely ready to give up and submit himself to the Arrancar, his body suddenly shook abruptly. In his head, the boy's words resonated. Kill all witnesses. They repeated over and over and over, enough so that Ailene would be able to hear it via Charla Serena, and with each repetition came a feeling of great pain that spread throughout its body. It was so bad that a voice to come from the mouth of its twisted mask. "I'm sorry...!" He would first say lowly before then raising his head, his arms, and thereafter, his whole body as he shockingly fought against the gravitational pressure against his will. "I'M SORRY!!" Wide swipes of his arms would then be executed in the direction of the Arrancar. They were done quickly with great strength, enough so that they caused the ground and nearby rocks to be parted upon impact.

Whatever Ailene had done to Walker, it had not worked. If anything, it had made him even more agitated, causing him to roar again. The roar was even louder than the previous one, which this time caused an awful ringing to echo within Kimiko's ears despite Shizukakane's ability. She would clench her teeth at first out of pain, feeling hurt by the ringing... but then she would realize that something strange had happened to her body. For some reason, she could not move. She couldn't even move an inch. "What the hell?" She would let out confusingly, unable to understand what was happening at first. This same phenomenon would occur in Ailene's body. Eventually, though, as Walker would then move his body as he finished roaring, their bodies would be allowed to move again. This caused Kimiko's body to move forward irregularly, which caused her to almost trip and fall on the ground. Naturally, the sheer fact that she was experiencing this caused her to look towards their new enemy with a deep frown.

It took a moment for her to properly understand what was going on, though as she further attempted to move towards the Hollow, she would somewhat get what was going on. Every time Walker moved, her body was then permitted to move as well, though it could not do so at its usual speed. In fact, it seemed as though she could only move at his speed, or to be more precise, the speed that he was employing at that point in time. If he wasn't moving, she wasn't moving either. How did she know all of this? Well, it was because the Hollow had decided to move towards her, and in her attempt to understand what was happening, she had made sure to keep her distances from him. "So I suppose that's why they call you Walker," she would huff as she remained very much bothered by the constant ringing in her ears. It seemed as though that particular pain was constant, which was very distracting. Shizukakane is at the very least toning it down somewhat.

It didn't help that she generally was still struggling to decide whether to kill him or not, especially after all that's happened. Even as he walked towards her so as to keep Kimiko at his pace, the beast seemed to be in pain, panting heavily as he raised one arm towards her, and the other in Ailene's direction. It was almost as though he wanted to reach out for Kimiko, and wanted Ailene to stay put where she stood, as though he was trying his damnedest to keep her uninvolved. "It hurts... Everything... hurts...!" It whimpered as he continued to shake and let out low monstrous growls underneath his breath. It was a pathetic sight, one thoroughly unfitting for a large Hollow such as he. In normal circumstances, he would have probably looked horrifying. "Must... stop this pain...! I must... kill all intruders...!"

Kimiko was clenching her teeth now. This was awful. She should not feel this way about a Hollow. Realistically, she should just kill Walker and get this over with, but given all that's happened to him in addition to the yakuza business and, well, Ailene being present in the room, it made whatever decision that needed to made here exceptionally difficult. For a moment, she would look on over to the Arrancar, and with a huff, she would put herself in a combat stance. "Damn it," she would let out seemingly for the nth time since this all began. She was not going to let this monster attack her, regardless of how pitiful he may be! With this in mind, she took a few steps forward as before unleashing a vertical Iaijutsu strike towards Walker's mask. She tried to do it as quickly as possible, but of course, due to this pacing ability that affected her, it came out relatively slow due to the Hollow's own speed. This allowed Walker to predict the attack and briefly stop in his tracks, freezing Kimiko in place, before he then moved backwards. Her momentum was instantly broken, giving him ample time to then move his arm towards her.

The Shinigami, noticing the arm coming towards her, admittedly felt an instinctive urge to move as quickly as possible, and so attempted to utilize Shunpo immediately. Fortunately, it allowed her to move quickly enough out of his grasp, even if it was still slower than usual. She would appear not too far from Ailene's side, enough so that she was out of Shizukakane's inky radius. "Tch... I hate to say this, but ranged combat might be the solution here," she admitted somewhat disappointingly, which was unsurprising given how weak her swordsmanship had become under the Hollow's still-active ability. "I think whatever they gave him is hurting him if he doesn't follow orders." 

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu: 4120/4320 | Shizukakane (1.5m) : 7 Posts Remaining | Light Gauge : 45%}
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.

[Ailene Haschiro]

As Ailene felt the static leave her mind and as she offered her words of encouragement to the Hollow, part of her was hoping that this would go down easily. The emotions that Ailene felt from her heightened empathy were not at all pleasant. She sensed what she expected. There was anger. Hate. Murderous intentions. Yet beneath the veil Ailene could only barely make out a far subtler emotion from the otherwise imposing Hollow. Longing. A longing for what Ailene was not sure. Whatever it was, Ailene was hoping that this could end rather peacefully. Despite her hopes, it seemed that this would not be the case. As she tried to appeal to the Hollow, she heard it speak.

From the twisted mask fragments, a low voice similar to a grumble could be heard. "I'm sorry...!" Ailene simply tilted her head in response to this. "He's sorry? This poor creature. He's suffered so much..." Soon Ailene would notice his movements. Despite his wounds, the Hollow found the will to stand. Its body creaked. Ailene was sure that the creatures' body was going to collapse...fall apart under its own weight due to the wounds and the potent pressure that was forcing it to its knees a few moments ago. The soft grumble from before finally grew louder. The Hollow exclaimed. "I'M SORRY!!" It's movements became wide and sweeping. The Arrancar immediately made her move, shifting backward a few dozen feet using a Sonido to steer clear of its attacks.

In the midst of its swipes, as Ailene created some distance, she took note of one thing. The Hollow was powerful. It's very attacks broke the earth where she was standing not moments prior. The long tendrils of arms also emitted powerful blasts of air that rushed through the area. Ailene braced herself as she felt one of them rush into her, her body standing strong against the cone of air that crashed against her. "Well...guess it's good I moved else I may not be here..." Ailene would take a short moments to look at Kimiko. Her companion was utilizing her Shikai. Between the two of them currently, she was likely the stronger. Ailene could easily level the playing field, but... 

Suddenly a powerful roar emerged from the Hollow. Not only did it continue to bombard her body with more air, but the Arrancar would suddenly feel a ringing in her ear. She gritted her teeth in response to this. The Arrancar braced herself, attempting to cover her ears even despite the roar. As she did, the Arrancar would find little solace in this. In fact, the Arrancar upon attempting to move would find herself unable to. As much as she tried to will herself, it did not matter. Suddenly as Walker moved towards Kimiko, Ailene would find herself being able to move in that short moment. Her hands came against her ears as the ringing continued. As this was occurring, Ailene caught the comment by Kimiko if only barely. "What the hell?" Ailene could certainly echo the concern. 

As the Hollow stopped roaring, the ringing in Ailene's ears dulled. It still haunted her ever so slightly, but it felt far better. Not only that, but as she attempted to uncover her ears she'd find no difficulty in doing so. Despite her aversion to fighting, Ailene was highly analytical. She could gleam much out of this brief encounter. "I see. Movement. That's what you can manipulate..." Ailene would take a moment to rotate her shoulder. As she thought. She could move it without a hitch. "Is it just your roar though? Is there more you are capable of?..." Ailene's suspicion would be confirmed by Kimiko in a different way as the Shinigami made her own comment. "So I suppose that's why they call you Walker," 

Suddenly the Hollow began to move again, seemingly drawing closer to the Shinigami. As it did, Ailene kept her eye on the Hollow. His very form was shaking. Blood kept oozing from parts his body. Ailene frowned. She had all the skill of a highly trained surgeon, perhaps even more. She knew fatigue where she saw it. Actually...it was more than that. Walker seemed exhausted. His words seemed to indicate this as well as he held his hands out to the pair of unlikely companions. His voice alone nearly crushed Ailene. "It hurts... Everything... hurts...!" After some growls, he continued. "Must... stop this pain...! I must... kill all intruders...!"

The Arrancar narrowed her eyes for a moment as the Hollow stared at her. Ailene blinked as she prepared herself. "Is he going to come at me now?!" Suddenly, Kimiko moved faster than the eye could see. Or at least she would normally. She was restricted by Walker's movements, her normally overwhelming speed brought to a new low. It was now much closer than Ailene's but still faster. At least this is what Ailene had guessed. The Shinigami would draw her blade in a swift and seamless motion and as Walker paused, her movements would come to an end. It was almost as though she was paralyzed for that split second, allowing Walker to appropriately anticipate the coming strike. Preparing for the counterattack, Kimiko would suddenly vanish from sight.

In a mere flash, Ailene would find the Shinigami by her side. Ailene blinked as she thought about this. It was pretty valuable information. "So then...our movement is not entirely crippled. We can still use Sonido and Shunpo. That..may prove useful." That's when Kimiko would offer advice that Ailene was surprised by. "Tch... I hate to say this, but ranged combat might be the solution here," The irritation in her voice was crystal clear. Ailene had no doubt that she was disheartened. She would not reply yet. Instead, she'd listen to Kimiko make an inference that Ailene felt was pretty sound. "I think whatever they gave him is hurting him if he doesn't follow orders."

Before Ailene had a moment to reply, the Arrancar felt a presence behind her. It would be indiscernible to both Kimiko and Walker, but Ailene could feel it clear as day. It was a darkness that made her expression turn cold. Her breathing would slow. Ailene did her best to calm herself as she felt the shadow take form. A draconian entity that spoke in her voice. Yet it was smoother. More expressive. "Oh Ailene. The perfect moment. A chance for you to consume this Hollow. Come on. Use our power. We can easily destroy this Walker. We can feast on his remains and then..." Ailene felt talons close around her chin as she looked at Kimiko. "She will be next." 

Ailene simply shook her head. She did what she could to dispel the apparition that was attempting to persuade her to betray not only the Hollow, but Kimiko also. This did not sit well with the Arrancar at all as she simply spoke out. "Yeah...I suppose you're right.." With that Ailene muttered just under her breath for a moment. "But we aren't doing it your way..." Strangely, Ailene's other half would not fade. She'd keep close behind Ailene, watching her every move. Without a second thought, Ailene drew her Zanpakutou. Under the shine of the faux sky, Ailene's blade would glimmer brightly. She'd bring the blade to her hand as she dragged it along her hand. Blood slowly pooled and dripped down her hand and onto the ground. 

If Ailene could move with Walker, she'd raise her arm towards the Hollow as she focused her reiatsu. Suddenly this reiatsu took form as she attempted to take aim at Walker. She sighed, attempting to focus the incredble reiatsu that was surging to her hand as it became enveloped in a crackling blue coloration unlike anything that she had displayed thus far. She growled softly as she charged it for another moment. "You're pretty big. You shouldn't die from this..." She'd then look at Kimiko. "I wouldn't suggest getting close. If this lands...it will do alot more than sting." Once it finished, Ailene stared at Walker and roared. "Gran Rey Cero!" 

As she released the reiatsu, it would leap froth from her bloodied hand, a rush of air shooting outward from the Arrancars' form. As the Cero roared into life, it would be unlike anything that Ailene had used so far. Her regular Cero were impressive and her Cero Lightning demonstrated extreme control. The Gran Rey Cero on the other hand represented immense power. The razor lik disk would zig-zag towards Walker in what seemed like an instant as it flew at thrice the speed on average Cero. Whatever it hit would suddenly be consumed in an intense blast as electricity crackled around the explosion, shockwaves rushing away from the blast. If Walker was on the other end of the blast, he would be consumed in the crackling show of power though Ailene had a feeling that he could survive it. This was, after all, merely meant to incapacitate him. To render him weak. Hopefully they could then decide what to do with the Hollow. 

After firing it, however, Ailene felt her muscles grow tense. She growled in a bit of anger as she breathed out. At a glance, Kimiko could likely tell that she was exhausted. She tried her best to stay on her feet, but to no avail. Falling to one knee, she held herself up just barely. Her breathing was growing quicker. Her form was crumbling. Her reiatsu was fading. She chuckled softly at her current predicament, all the while her other half stood over her for another moment until the apparition faded away. "H..Ha. Maybe if I had actually used my Resurrecciòn, then maybe I could pull myself together, but damn..." She coughed a bit from the fatigue and her frivolous use of her reiatsu. "This is quite a bit even for me..." Ailene hoped that the Cero made its mark. Only time would tell if that was the case...

SPOILER: Click to show

{Gran Rey Cero - 800 OS}Technique Name: [Gran Rey Cero (Grand King's Zero)]

Class: [2]

Technique Type: [Hollow Technique]

Technique Element: Lightning

Technique Description and Effects:

An Espada-exclusive Cero of such great might that its use is forbidden while under the dome of Las Noches. It requires the user's blood to be used as a sacrifice to activate, but when activated is charged at about the same speed as a regular Cero. It is always blue in color, and appears to have the shape of a razor with several prongs. When fired, it zig zags at the enemy instead of firing in a straight line. While charging speed is the same as Cero, firing speed is three times that of Cero, and the actual destruction potential is twice the user's reiatsu strength.

Furthermore, the explosive power is so high that not even several Cero put together can rival it. This technique also releases a large mass of lightning and electricity not only upon firing, but on impact as well. The ferocity of the Gran Rey Cero is nearly unrivaled.

How to use technique:

Fire like a regular Cero, but only after also getting blood on the firing hand from its user. This is usable only by Espada. The secret to its use and why only Espada can use it are both unknown at this present time.

Technique Drawbacks

400 reiatsu cost and blood sacrifice. Can only be fired once per post, up to four times a day.