Hope Extinguished

[Ishikawa Seiji]

Thread Title: Hope Extinguished
Participants: Ishikawa Seiji & Sonadora
World: Human World
Death Setting: Non Death Enabled
Rating: R
Location: Ōta City, Tokyo, Japan
Special Conditions: None.
Circumstances: On a regular day, a small patrol from the Kidō Corps has been requested by the 3rd Division to investigate a rather strange reiatsu disturbance in a city that is rarely patrolled. Everything seems fine, if a little boring, well at first. What lies in wait is anything but dull.

[Ishikawa Seiji]

Travelling could be such a pain.

Back and forth from one place to another, as he had found rather quickly, the realities of being a Shinigami did not grant anyone the ability to travel rapidly. It was quite frankly, a real fucking letdown. With all they were capable of, going across Rukongai from the Seiretei still took weeks if you were heading further out and while he loathed such an aspect particularly from personal experience. They had at least gotten one thing right, transport to the other realms. It was thanks to such capabilities, that of the Senkaimon, managed by the 13th Division that they were even able to accept the task they'd been given. Well, they was a broad term, he and two others. Though he couldn't quite picture what was unusual enough of a request that the 3rd Division would ask for backup from them of all people, but he was not about to complain about having something to do beside paperwork for once. It was refreshing to know there was something to be done.

Unfortunately, it was not as pleasant as he might have liked, not with the 20th seat beside them, complaining about the whole ordeal when he had wanted to train. The man, Oyama Jiro, was quite the arrogant sort. A rarity within the squad, but one that stood out simply due to how loud he was. How this fool ever got a seated position of any kind, the emerald haired Shinigami would never understand. Lowest as he was on the totem pole however, he had to listen, no matter how much he griped about it silently at having to obey orders from a man who thought himself a master of Kidō already. As if he hadn't already watched not two days before, that same individual getting absolutely thrashed by their 5th seat and in turn blasted so badly he'd had to spend the day after with the 4th just to recover. While he had said nothing about such matters, it had been rather satisfying to watch someone so foolhardy knocked down a peg or two. Only to end up stuck with him now.

What luck.

On top of such matters, was the clear lack of information they'd been given to work with, and that was even before stepping into the human world. Apparently thought dangerous enough that the 3rd had wanted to send a few extra hands who knew better as to what they might be dealing with. Seiji thought it was more like they were tossing the work onto them, a task they didn't want to deal with. But work was work, and he wasn't going to grumble about it, only a certain people he was paired with. The other was unseated, just as he was, one he'd rarely spoken to but that was fine. Long as everything got done he didn't much care. He'd grabbed his asauchi that morning, with still not a single sign of a voice or anything but blackness when he was in Jinzen, secured to his obi before he'd headed to their meeting point. Barely a few words were exchanged between the trio before they stepped through and rushed across the Dangai and out the other side.

It was... different.

Given he had only been to the Human World during the evening hours, seeing it from so high up and in the light of day made it look rather unique. Modern as well, comparatively speaking, but this place was far larger than where he had first traveled. Steps through the air and a few jumps to slow their fall and soon enough they were inside the building in question. His sensory capabilities were pitiful compared to just about anyone else, but even he could feel something off, a shift in the air that wasn't right or normal. The reiatsu didn't feel inherently dangerous or threatening, just malicious. In a way that made him thick of a predator merely toying with their food for hours on end before finally devouring it whole. Standing on the second floor, the whole place seemed somewhat abandoned, glancing out of the window they had entered from to watch many of the innocent souls or rather humans pass the place by without a care in the world. So deep within the city, yet no one seemed to give a damn, how odd. Maybe there had been rumors about this place?

None of the trio drew their weapons, but there was plenty of slow considerate steps as they explored the place. There wasn't a sign of anyone here, at least not currently, but maybe there had been. Though the report had stated there was no one around, so why here out of everywhere? "Ne, Oyama-san ya think we're too late for what used ta be here?" He questioned out loud, getting only a shrug in return from the younger male as quiet footsteps led him forward. The many rooms left plenty to search, but they found nothing and as such moved upwards. There were still plenty more floors to check before they could head back, dull work, but the change of scenery was something. For the following three floors, they found absolutely nothing of note or interest, which was a real pity. It was only on the sixth floor that any of them began to feel that shift in reiatsu more prominently. Not a great sign.

It was not Shinigami reiatsu, or a human's either, a mix of a hollows? It seemed that way, but there weren't any in the area from what little they'd check. Not that they'd checked far, still, it began rather obvious as the rookie Shinigami opened yet another door. Only to take in a sharp breath as he bore witness to the remnants of horrors left within. Random body parts strewn about, all human by the look of it, not a blade in sight. Well shit. Stepping into the blood laden room, whatever had caused it, hadn't been subtle in the slightest. Was the disturbance the mix of reiatsu here or the sudden absence of any kind of spiritual energy entirely? His smile flickered and faded for a moment, he could feel any kind of hollow presence nearby and that was worrying enough. Either they'd left and might return, or something much more frightening had done this. Right now, he'd just have to hope for the latter, and maybe figure out a way to clean this mess up too. Before he called the other two in here and risked either of them throwing up and adding to the mess of this place.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}
Strength - 50
Speed - 290
Spiritual Pressure - 150 (+25%) = 187
Reiatsu Strength - 150 (+25%) = 187
Light Aura - 40
Dark Aura - 60
Instinct - 100 (-25%) = 75
Senses - 100 (-25%) = 75
Energy Sensory - 0
Healing Expertise - 0

[Analyzing] [1]
[Battle Analysis] [1]
[Kidō Mastery] [1]
[Stealth] [1]
[Pain Tolerance] [1]
[Weapon: Katana & Wakizashi] [1]
[Strength of Will] [1]
[Mental Incantation] [1]

[Sonadora]

The day had started like any other for many of the denizens of the Japanese metropolis of Ōta City, Tokyo. They all awoke from their slumber, risen from their beds, brushed their teeth, ate breakfast, and then left to accomplish their various activities they had planned for the day. Under the multi-colored fortresses which took the form of the buildings of this industrial ward, they pressed on onto the sidewalks, heading towards whatever establishments their purpose remains. Some headed to work in the various office spaces scattered about the settlement, while others instead headed towards the metro stations to head downtown. If not, they instead headed by car, as pointed out by the sheer amount of automobiles passing by onto the streets. Many would even go to school, as few as these students may be in this place. Yet, despite the great quantity these people form, none of them seemed capable of realizing the truth behind one specific building they passed by everyday, one particular apartment complex.

Perhaps, for them, it was a benediction. However, for a specific Hollow who was watching it from a safe distance at the time, for this one Sonadora whose name has now been forgotten by the common Shinigami, it was nothing short of a grave mistake, the result of a terrible night that has now left her forced to commit to a counter-measure for a plan she had thought as of yet to be sufficient.

This apartment complex was once supposed to be both a testing and feeding ground for the beast. Among the others in the area that she could have instead settled for, it was chosen because of its ability to insulate noise, to harbor many people at once seemingly without any difficulties, and of the fact that it previously harbored a serial killer who had been contemplating the idea of murdering his neighbors for months. Theoretically, it was the best location she had happened to find in a very long while. Even those she had stumbled upon during her days as an Adjuchas were not as rewarding in comparison. With that in mind, she had been preparing this building for mass consumption for three days in a row, fighting the hunger in her heart the best she could before the right time to act. For this amount of time have the people inside of this complex screamed and cried and begged for death, submitted to the chaos of Nightmares they believed to be their own creation. In their agony, they allowed the monster to learn a great deal about her abilities as a Stray and of her limits.

All of this preparation never came to the conclusion it deserved. Everything came to an end when two specific individuals came to meet her yesterday. The first was a stranger, a beast of Karakura Town named Teresa. To Sonadora, she was the greatest of the two. Despite their philosophical differences, she was able to have a conversation with her, and in so doing, she was able to perhaps turn this antlered one into a potential ally. It was a worthy addition to her future plans. The second individual could not have been any more disastrous in comparison. This foolish being - a pathetic mongrel who referred to itself as Vagabond who she now believed to be a living embarrassment to the entirety of Hollowkind - was a thief who attempted to ruin her plans by forcing himself into the complex so as to consume all the Humans inside. Naturally, this caused a ruckus, as she was not going to allow it to happen, and so, here she is now, reaping the consequences of this failure.

She did not mind the fact that Vagabond tried to steal her prey. It was a terrible occurrence, of course, but she somewhat admired him for even daring to do something tainted by incredible risk. If anything, she would have perhaps attempted to achieve the same thing if she was in his place so as to achieve faster evolution. No, that wasn't why she hated this mongrel, this disgusting hound. The reason why she loathed him was because he put their conjoined existence at risk by forcing the both of them to release copious amounts of reiatsu to battle each other, amounts that were far greater than the lighter ones she'd liberate onto her testing grounds. This wouldn't have been so bad in a place like Karakura Town which is constantly invaded by Hollows due to its current spiritual state as the Jūreichi, but it was a completely different matter when it came to the likes of Tokyo, this massive city she and countless other Hollows use as a means to evolve quickly without having to deal with the Shinigami. Now, it is certain that these celestial guardians will come to investigate the area, and no explanation is needed to describe what is going to happen next.

From where she stood, the purple slits which gleamed from the fog could already see the aforementioned consequences appear in the air. A divide appeared in the sky, and from it then came three beings. The Shinigami. They were here. Just seeing them already brought a heavy sigh from her charred carcass. Damn this vulture, the beast's mind swore to itself as she saw them descend and then enter the building. She knew what they were going to find in there. Yesterday afternoon, before her encounter with Teresa and Vagabond, she was planning to use the serial killer as a means to make sure that this would be nothing but a simple national disaster, nothing that would force the hands of those who remain in their Soul Society. All she would have needed to do would have been to simply use her powers to convince the serial killer to act and that would have been it. Unfortunately, the thief had killed the serial killer, and in so doing, killed any means for her to make any of this convincing even with the burst of reiatsu. This forced her to attempt to clean the mess as quickly as possible by bringing every dead body - both physical and spiritual - inside one single room with a few blades she collected from the kitchens of every room, but the time allotted to her to complete such a monumental was simply too short. She didn't even have enough time to scatter any blades or attempt to bring about a physical justification as to why the Souls decided to kill themselves. In short, the quantity of time was so minuscule that the quality of her work was squandered... and obviously, the Shinigami are going to find it.

She could have fled. She could have simply left all of her sloppy work behind and not care about what would happen to this city now that the Shinigami would be aware of the presence of Hollows - including her - in this area. However, she didn't. Maybe it was the anger towards Vagabond or the Shinigami fueling her core that prevented her to leave, but she simply could not find herself running away from this. If she could, she would have fled away from Tokyo by this point and would have perhaps already reached Kyoto. No, instead, she devised another plan. These Shinigami, at a first glance, did not look strong at all... If she can bring those filthy soldiers' Souls within her bosom, communications between them and their Soul Society will be strained, and they will be unable to report the matter. She'll find a way to blame it on Vagabond, and in so doing, the other soldiers performing reconnaissance on Tokyo will chase him instead of conducting an entire sweep of the city. By doing so, she will not only secure herself, but also the other Hollows she may find and use as allies later. The plan was imperfect, yet it was the only right one she had in mind now. It will have to make due to ensure her return to her rightful state.

Her plan now in motion, Sonadora moved upward from where she stood so as to land on the roof of the apartment complex. Her weak body shrouded in fog landed quietly, after which it then analyzed the area. An entrance to the building was there, one that would lead her to a stairwell heading down towards the top floor, the seventh. Taking that entrance was an unnecessary risk to take, especially since she was now certain they had reached the mess that once was the Humans which lived in this complex, and so she'd find herself trapped and forced to retreat outside where they would most likely perform better. So, instead of heading through that door, she turned and headed towards the outskirts of the roof before carefully bringing herself down. There was one window on the fourth floor from which one of her previous victims had jumped off. It was the first corpse she had thrown into that mess upstairs, or rather the pile of bones that remained after he was taken care of. More importantly, the window was still broken. She could make her safe entry from there unscathed.

Once inside, she stood in the middle of the suicide victim's room on her two feet, staring forward towards the door. She had left it opened ever since last night, back when she was guiding Teresa through the complex. It was a miracle that, compared to the other rooms, it had survived the least amount of physical damage during her battle with Vagabond. With a quiet step, she moved onward through the door, her fog following her still, then stood in the hallway. No one in the vicinity. Good. They were indeed still upstairs. She had taken a risk coming here and, now, she needed to act quickly before they would be made aware of her presence. Her slits went from one end of the hallway to the other, analyzing it the same way she has done it so many times before, then disappeared into the fog, a sign that she had closed them. The fog then slowly started to enter her body, revealing more and more of her imp-like stature before it then stopped.

Holy Veil. With this mental declaration pulsing through Sonadora's mind, the fog suddenly expanded from her body. It poured from the very pores of her skin like a cruel vapor, filling the hallway around her, and even its brethren above and below. In total, it covered about twenty-five meters all around Sonadora, which was more than enough to cover much of the building interior from where she stood. Given she was on the fourth floor, it easily reached for the sixth, giving her the ample information that she needed of both the area and her enemies. Just like she had perceived, there were three people out there. One of them was tall, about six feet or so, but aside from that, the others were just what she expected of lower-grade Shinigami: typical swordsmen. Still, she wasn't going to come to conclusions this quickly. She will deal with all of them in time, and once she does, she will learn of their abilities, of their being, of their fears.

After she released her fog, the beast started moving forward as quietly as she could, eyes frowning as she considered what to do. Considering they were three, it would be best to separate them. A decoy will do. Raising her hand, she thus focused her mind onto two focal points: one on the sixth floor and the other on the fourth, in a room near her. The first would be a child hiding in a closet screaming for help, while the second would be a weeping woman near the bloodied room curled into a ball, that would mimic the cries of a mother who has lost her child. That should be a good-enough attempt to separate them. In the meanwhile, the beast would move to the room adjacent to the mother's, one that had a window in case things would go awry. She'd make sure to both open the window and let the door slightly opened, then wait to see what would happen. A clearer view would have allowed me to assess them further, but this should be sufficient, she analyzed still. Come, Shinigami. Come help these two poor Humans.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}

Statistics

Physical	Spiritual		Sensory	Miscellaneous
Strength: 31 Speed: 70	Reiatsu Strength: 87 (70+17) Spiritual Pressure: 90 (72+18)		Instincts: 50 (66-16)        Senses: 50 (66-16) Energy Sensory: 0	Light Aura: 0 Dark Aura: 100 Healing Expertise: 0

Skills

Mental	Battle		Body	Utility
Analyzing: 1 Strength of Will: 1	Battle Analysis: 1 Battle Focus: 1 Pain Tolerance: 1		Acrobatics: 1      Stealth: 1	Charisma: 1

SPOILER: Click to show

{Techniques Used (Reiatsu: 870/900 | Holy Veil : 3 Posts Remaining | Messenger of God (x2) : 3 Posts Remaining)}
Technique Name: Holy Veil

Technique Type: Custom Hollow Technique | Fog Manipulation

Technique Element: None

Usable by: Hollow

Class: 1-7

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 250 (Vasto Lorde), 40 (Adjuchas), 15 (Gillian), 10 (Stray)

Technique Description and Effects

A basic technique which represents Sonadora's control over her primordial ability. The creature allows minuscule pores present all over her skin to open, causing reiatsu formed in her body to be driven out in the form of a thick fog using her as its epicenter. The fog in question is white in appearance, draping the area in a veil of white that renders everything surrounding a living being difficult to perceive. From afar, it appears as a vaguely-cubic aerosol that is otherwise physically imperceptible from its natural counterpart. Its effects are in hindsight also identical to the latter's, rendering any environment it is present in damp and humid. Should a living being be present in this fog, the Embraced state will be applied to their soul. This allows Sonadora to sense their position in the fog by detecting the shape of the aerosol around the bodies of her targets, permitting her to identify what she may be facing depending on the information available to her, and employ the use of Daydreams against them in order to apply the Slumbered state to their soul.

Although its main supernatural use stops there, the fog can also be utilized in a more advanced fashion by the Hollow should it possess the mastery to do so, notably by using it as a form of camouflage or intimidation. For instance, with focus, she can bring the fog to only drape her body and make herself appear grander than she is with it. Additionally, this same focus can also allow her to forcibly push the epicenter of the fog away from herself for means of distraction or offense.


Drawbacks and Weaknesses

Considering that the fog is composed of Sonadora's own reiatsu, it can be difficult for the creature to keep it active in a certain area for a long period of time. Unless the fog is only delimited to the very pores of her skin, simply deciding to cover an area with it requires an initial amount of reiatsu to be spent depending on her Class. Once this value is spent, half of that value must then be spent again three posts later in order to maintain the fog. The fog's size and the range of visibility available to a being located within it are also rather limited as the both of these factors are as well delimited by the Hollow's Class. The values in question can be seen below:

Class	Maximum Size	Maximum Visibility
Vasto Lorde	100m	35m
Adjuchas	75m	30m
Gillian	50m	20m
Stray	25m	10m

The fog is also not invincible. Like any other normal fog, it can be pushed away by a large amount of hot air colliding with it so long as the air in question is also made with or simply affected by one's reiatsu. This rids any target which was previously located within it of the Embraced or Slumbered state if they are successful, removing Sonadora's influence upon their soul.

---

Technique Name: Messenger of God

Technique Type: Custom Hollow Technique | Daydream Being

Technique Element: None

Usable by: Hollow

Class: 1-7

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 250 (50% stats), 80 (25% stats), 10 (no stats)

Technique Description and Effects

The most powerful Daydream that Sonadora can ever conjure with the extent of her ability. The creature conjures what it refers to as a Messenger of God, the equivalent of a puppet at her disposal. It possesses no thoughts or free will, and bends itself to all the commands that the Hollow gives to it. Without command, they are devoid of motion. The totality of its appearance can be decided by Sonadora altogether, which can allow them to appear as a member of any race, even mindless animals. This, for instance, allows them to appear as mere bystanders during battle or as a clone of a target.

The primary purpose of a Messenger of God is to provide trickery and confusion on a battlefield. They are to be used as decoys or as mere elements of the environment to distract targets from danger. Due to this, they are rather weak and, if stricken, can be easily defeated. However, alternatively, a Messenger can also be blessed with a fraction of Sonadora's power in order to act as a proper weapon at her disposal once the Hollow becomes an Adjuchas. These Messengers possess either a quarter or half of the Hollow's stats, and can fight on her behalf for at least three posts before she needs to spend any more reiatsu to maintain them on the field. Once she reaches the state of Vasto Lorde, she will be able to create Messengers possessing half of her stats.

All attacks received from a Messenger of God applies 50 Fatigue to a target if they possess half of Sonadora's stats. Otherwise, they instead apply 25 Fatigue.


Drawbacks and Weaknesses

Despite how convincing it may seem, the appearance of a Messenger of God is not perfect, as there are many signs within it which can reveal its true nature to targets. Like any Daydream, it is incapable of actually causing any physical damage to a target, as it instead only conveys exhaustion, meaning that it cannot actually have any effect on the environment, no matter how many times they may attempt to damage it. This includes Messengers which happen to possess weaponry such as Zanpakuto, Fullbring, Dolls, fangs or claws. They leave no fingerprints or footprints, cannot apply pressure to an object surrounding them, and cannot be affected by something like snow or rain. Additionally, they are also incapable of executing ranged attacks as they must explicitly hit the target with a melee attack in order to cause any exhaustion to it. Any ranged attack caused by them is only an illusion and cannot be treated as real.

[Ishikawa Seiji]

The air reeked of blood and death, a mix of reiatsu he could not hope to determine, as much as he wished to. He was still a novice in many areas and that meant he was lacking plenty, most importantly that of information as to what caused this. It didn't seem like typical hollow behavior, there would usually be no trace left of any body had it been so. But the spiritual energy even around this entire building was strange, even Oyama had commented on it as they'd arrived but then swiftly dismissed it. Maybe they'd been too hasty about that. Hidden eyes casting a sweeping glance across what remained, it certainly didn't seem as if it was the work of anything supernatural. Would another human being do such a thing? He'd seen plenty of it from souls, did such acts mirror themselves within this world? It was rather likely, but even if that could be the case, it still didn't explain why the 3rd had such trouble with this area. If that were true, they wouldn't have been called out here to investigate to begin with. Hm.

Kneeling beside one such pile of remains, small remnants of blood soaking through his clothing and staining the black fabric, he had to wonder. He had seen plenty of gruesome and terrible things, partook in some himself out of a need to survive, but something in his gut told him that not everything added up. That he was missing some kind of information, and he really hated that, not knowing. Knowing gave him power and an advantage into the situation, but here, it felt as though he were stumbling around in the dark with not a single light in sight to guide him or steer him in the right direction. Sucking in a breath slowly, as to avoid throwing up himself and making this room smell even worse than it already did, there was no reason to remain here for too long. Still, the others would need to see this. Wandering around not too far away from the area, based on what he could hear of their rather loud footsteps.

"Oyama-san, Kei-san, ya might wanna come see this. Jus' take a deep breath fore ya come in, it ain' a nice sight." He warned, voice raised just enough to be heard even as he stood, the stains and stench of blood now upon his attire ignored in favor of moving towards the door. To stop them rushing in and falling face first into mutilated body parts, the last thing they needed was to cause more of a scene. Of course, only the former of the two actually listened to his advice. Causing loud swearing from the former, and a rather disgusting sight as Kei rushed out the room, the sounds of hurling out of a nearby window reached his ears. Ew. Not just to listen to, but certainly for anyone that might be stupid enough to be below. Covered in vomit that seemed to spring from the middle of thin air to ruin a poor human's day. What a shame. Still, once his superior regained his senses and seemed to force down the urge to release the contents of his last meal into the atmosphere, just as he had, they could actually focus.

"This don' look like no hollow's doin' ta me, but the whole place feels weird. Did one of 'em find these humans already dead and grabbed a quick snack ya think?" It was strange either way, and Oyama spend a few minutes looking things over as he had, yet found little more than he did. A spiritual being was certainly involved, that much was certain. But beyond that, without another more skilled at sensing and separating reiatsu signatures into individual people or beings, it felt as if they had come to somewhat of a dead end. A real pain, given from the report they'd all seen before travelling out, the 3rd Division had reached a similar conclusion. All he got in response from Oyama was an agreement of his own thoughts and a shrug of the man's shoulders. Oh helpful this one, much like a parrot, again he wondered why the other had been promoted to begin with if he seemed as clueless as one such as he with less experience in the field.

They'd have to do this the hard way, then.

Or at least that was the intention, at least until something seemed to shift not between them, and only just as Kei had begun to extract herself from the window. Now done with emptying the contents of her stomach, yet the disturbing thing wasn't that she looked about ready to do so once more when she returned to his line of sight. No, it was something else entirely and nothing any of them had caused, at least Seiji certainly hadn't seen or heard either of them release their Zanpakuto. Nor did such seem like their abilities, from what little he knew of the two of them, were capable of such a feat. Certainly not Kei, recalling memories brought no mention of her being capable of Shikai, just as he wasn't. He knew Oyama was closer, but this couldn't be him, informed as such by the confused gaze that mirrored his own, albeit more obvious. It was strange, filling each room slowly and presumably other parts of the building as well.

Fog.

He could hardly see through it, a silver sheen reflecting in his vision and causing him to glance around. Footsteps leading them quickly out of the bloodied room, only to be met with not an agreement to leave or find higher ground to see things better, but to the sound of voices. Two that had not been there before, not even when they'd arrived and begun looking around. Crying out for help. One closer than the other, clearly, but no less frequent or helpless sounding. Odd, why now? It was only as he considered the timing of such a thing, this fog and suddenly there are humans crying out? What about before? They hadn't exactly been silent in entering the building, regular souls couldn't see them after all, so why now, what had caused it and did it mean that someone else - a spiritually aware human perhaps - was still around and frightening them? Either way he wouldn't find out a single thing by just standing around here.

Before he could do more, Oyama was barking orders to both Kei and him, and the two went off rushing two floors below. "Would ya wait two seconds! Somethin' ain'- maa forget it. Ya ain' gonna listen ta me anyways." The last sentence mumbled to himself as the two took off downstairs, to check and see if they could help whomever it was. Leaving him up here, just freaking great. With a sigh and a short inhale, coughing a little even with the fog remaining, he pushed his way through it as best he could. Towards a sound he was all too familiar with really, the vocal cords of a small child crying out were nothing new when he had listened to such cries daily, though never from a human. Only ever from desperate souls crying out, either for food or for a way to end it all. To move on from the cycle that was the Soul Society. No such luck for one such as he, instead forcefully landed into situations such as these. How fun.

Reaching the room in question, his pace slowed considerably, senses on high alert as he creaked the door open as softly as he could. If something had been nearby to cause such a reaction, he ought to be careful. But when he could neither sense any kind of hostile reiatsu or see anything else present within the room, save for destroyed possessions, only then did he reach out towards the closet. Carefully and gradually opening it, kneeling down so he was eye level with the young child, even if they could not really see his own. "Hey hey, easy I ain' gonna hurt ya but it ain't safe here. So if ya come with me, I'll get ya someplace safe, then we can find yer parents 'kay? What's yer name kiddo?" For once, he spoke softer, leaving time between each word so she understood rather than rattling it off quickly. A screaming child wasn't easy to calm, but offering to help usually did the trick and not charging at them often worked like a charm. Many he found wanted comfort, not demands or orders. He simply had to hope the others would be successful as well.

[Sonadora]

If there was one thing that Sonadora has learned from Humans as she hunted them throughout the ages, it was that the vast majority of them and their variants all have a deep desire to provide help to something which requires it. It does not matter whether that something is another Human like them, an animal or even an inanimate object: the greater number will always attempt to provide it aid whenever necessary. This is especially the case whenever this something requires aid not simply because it requires cooperation, but because it is danger. As such, in a perhaps-comical fashion, there are no other beings in this world that will naturally wish to provide as much aid as possible to everything around them than the Shinigami. Considering this piece of information, it was thus only natural that the one thing that would definitely attract the attention of those in this very building with her would be the cries for help of a mother and child both, the logic behind the sudden apparition of these cries be damned.

The cries of the beast's creations immediately caused an effect on the three Shinigami, and as to be expected, they each decided to go for one of the two apparitions. The tallest of the three went for the child which stood on the same floor as the bloodied room, while the other two instead went straight for the mother. There was a clear difference in speed between the tallest and the two other Shinigami as the latter beings headed for the woman; in fact, one of them had moved his mouth before heading down, which caused the tallest to open his mouth as they left. This caused the Hollow to almost hum quietly to herself. So she was dealing with an inexperienced group which lacked synergy between one another... In other words, the soldiers she was facing lacked teamwork. Perfect. If she can take them down in the next few minutes, she can consume them rapidly enough to prevent any and all communications between them and their Soul Society. Once that is done, finding ways to blame it all on Vagabond to chase him away from Tokyo will become a much easier task.

Still, she was now faced with a small decision. Does she want to attack the one who stands alone on the sixth floor, the one who is about to reach for the child, or does she instead want to finish off the two who are now heading towards her position on the fourth floor? The bestial side that has appeared in her mind once again following her return to this miserable carcass naturally beckoned her to hunt the lone warrior; after all, it is typically unnecessary to fight alone against two beings. All she needed to do was get out of that window, use the child apparition as bait, then take him by surprise. That is typically how she always treats her prey. However, her thoughtful side prevented her from going at it right away. The fact that he did not follow his comrades as they headed downstairs was a bit problematic. It was a sign of autonomy, something that is uncharacteristic within many Shinigami which are not official leaders. Moreover, his reaction to the carnage that had been committed in that room was much lighter compared to his comrades'. Being simply taken aback by a sight of such wild violence was nothing compared to cursing so loudly that she could hear the words even from here two floors below or running away to throw up spiritual vomit onto the streets outside from a nearby window.

For the following moment, the foggy monster would ponder on this matter quietly to herself before she would eventually make her decision. Out of all the three, it was clear that the one who cursed and the other who threw up were the weakest. If they cannot handle the sudden sight of such extreme violence, then they are probably not very proficient in expecting the unexpected, which is a clear sign of mental weakness. Without strength of mind, the body fails to properly convey its true power. It was a phenomenon that has seen occur in many beings, even Hollows that unfortunately decided to do battle with her rather than cooperate with her. As such, regardless of the fact that there are two of them, surprise alone should be enough to take them out at once. They will most likely be completely unable to react. So, like a predator prowling for prey, she awaited them patiently in the room next to the crying mother's crouching still behind the door.

It took them about twenty seconds to arrive to the fourth floor. They had done so without too much exhaustion and quickly enough for their average builds, though not nearly as fast as the sheer speed Sonadora has witnessed from a few officers she consumed in her past. Upon locating the wailing of the woman in the room next to her own, the loud Shinigami barked once more before the both of them would rush towards it. None of them had bothered to pay attention to her slightly-ajar door, though perhaps she could not blame them; after all, her fog is thick enough to almost blind a select number of beings. Still, she had to admit that she was starting to see the barking one's brashness as being supremely inelegant. It scratched at her ears like a nail dragged against a chalkboard. So impatient. So uncivilized. He even kicked the door of the room the crying lady was located in without even a shred of thought passing through his head. If this was supposed to be the leader of this patrol, Sonadora was not surprised the tallest officer did not follow him. Perhaps the other would have done best to not follow him too.

As they headed inside of the room to interact with the woman, she slowly brought herself out of her own room on all four. The wailing of her apparition was strong enough to prevent the Shinigami from hearing the creaking of the door. She wailed and wailed uncontrollably, curled up in a ball as though her fright was sop powerful that she could not face the world any longer. Given where she was positioned in this building, it was a convincing act for these two officers who approached her the best they could. Of course, as Shinigami, they were very aware that this woman was shaped as a proper Human and therefore could not see them, but the barking one nevertheless treated the woman almost as though she could, telling her to quiet down. He even took out his blade, something which caused Sonadora to pause for a moment. Did he believe the apparition to be a normal Soul? How... How idiotic. This man was beyond saving, something that even his female partner seemed to realize as she suggested to simply use one of their memory-wiping devices. Her own patience was now starting to be pushed to her limit.

Nevertheless, she moved quietly into the room, preventing her frustration with the man's behavior from taking over her. She was already bothered by the fact that she needed to do engage these Shinigami as is: she did not need additional emotional torment. On all four still, she pressed on slowly, silently as they continued to interact with her creation. By now, the female officer had approached the woman while the barking one instead stood not far behind, his sword not sheathed back in its scabbard. Keeping an eye on the both of them, the beast slowly raised herself from the ground behind the inattentive man, awaiting for the female officer to raise that memory-wiping device of hers. The very moment her apparition would look towards the device as it would activate, the barking one suddenly felt something move behind him before the front of his neck was ripped apart. It came so fast that the man did not have time to emit any loud noises, instead only gargling which the female officer did not hear at the time. He would stand there in panic, eventually stumbling back as he raised his hands towards his bloodied neck. Although he would attempt to warn the unaware female officer, no words came, instead only more gurgling. By the time she finally heard the terrible noise, she turned back to face the looming shadow of the beast. "Fools," she huffed before she had her apparition head butt the officer, which surprised her enough to make her stumble. Shockingly, the head butt didn't hurt. What did were the teeth that then sunk into the upper part of her face. The only thing she could do was scream in pure terror and agony, the sound of which was so muffled against the creature's mask that it did not reach the outskirts of the room.

Soul(s) Consumed: 2x Class 8 Shinigami (NPC)

Meanwhile, the child - more specifically, a boy - above on the sixth floor cried in his closet, seemingly not moving at all from the fright he felt then. Like the woman, he seemed almost paralyzed by it, completely unable to bring himself to run. It was only once the doors opened that he moved just a bit more. In a panic, he curled himself into a ball and cried louder. "NOOO!!" He screamed at first, breathing quickly as though expecting to get hurt. However, once he heard the voice, he steadily stopped screaming before turning his head towards the man. Somehow, in a way that he himself seemingly did not understand, he could see him. "Y-You... Y-You came here to save me...? F-From the... monster?" He whimpered towards the green-haired one, sniffing as he did so. Almost desperately then, he tried to wipe away the tears with the sleeves of his white bunny jacket as he slowly pushed himself out of the closet. "H-Haru... My... My name is Haru... "

For all intents and purposes, it really did seem like a normal child. There was nothing abnormal about him or his attitude in hindsight. As he got out of the closet, he'd look around with another sniff before he whimpered. "My mom... Did you save her?" He asked the Shinigami almost hopefully, though still affected by his fright. "The monster... I saw it hit my mom...!"

SPOILER: Click to show

{Techniques in Use (Reiatsu: 870/900 | Holy Veil : 2 Posts Remaining | Messenger of God : 2 Posts Remaining)}
Technique Name: Holy Veil

Technique Type: Custom Hollow Technique | Fog Manipulation

Technique Element: None

Usable by: Hollow

Class: 1-7

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 250 (Vasto Lorde), 40 (Adjuchas), 15 (Gillian), 10 (Stray)

Technique Description and Effects

A basic technique which represents Sonadora's control over her primordial ability. The creature allows minuscule pores present all over her skin to open, causing reiatsu formed in her body to be driven out in the form of a thick fog using her as its epicenter. The fog in question is white in appearance, draping the area in a veil of white that renders everything surrounding a living being difficult to perceive. From afar, it appears as a vaguely-cubic aerosol that is otherwise physically imperceptible from its natural counterpart. Its effects are in hindsight also identical to the latter's, rendering any environment it is present in damp and humid. Should a living being be present in this fog, the Embraced state will be applied to their soul. This allows Sonadora to sense their position in the fog by detecting the shape of the aerosol around the bodies of her targets, permitting her to identify what she may be facing depending on the information available to her, and employ the use of Daydreams against them in order to apply the Slumbered state to their soul.

Although its main supernatural use stops there, the fog can also be utilized in a more advanced fashion by the Hollow should it possess the mastery to do so, notably by using it as a form of camouflage or intimidation. For instance, with focus, she can bring the fog to only drape her body and make herself appear grander than she is with it. Additionally, this same focus can also allow her to forcibly push the epicenter of the fog away from herself for means of distraction or offense.


Drawbacks and Weaknesses

Considering that the fog is composed of Sonadora's own reiatsu, it can be difficult for the creature to keep it active in a certain area for a long period of time. Unless the fog is only delimited to the very pores of her skin, simply deciding to cover an area with it requires an initial amount of reiatsu to be spent depending on her Class. Once this value is spent, half of that value must then be spent again three posts later in order to maintain the fog. The fog's size and the range of visibility available to a being located within it are also rather limited as the both of these factors are as well delimited by the Hollow's Class. The values in question can be seen below:

Class	Maximum Size	Maximum Visibility
Vasto Lorde	100m	35m
Adjuchas	75m	30m
Gillian	50m	20m
Stray	25m	10m

The fog is also not invincible. Like any other normal fog, it can be pushed away by a large amount of hot air colliding with it so long as the air in question is also made with or simply affected by one's reiatsu. This rids any target which was previously located within it of the Embraced or Slumbered state if they are successful, removing Sonadora's influence upon their soul.

---

Technique Name: Messenger of God

Technique Type: Custom Hollow Technique | Daydream Being

Technique Element: None

Usable by: Hollow

Class: 1-7

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 250 (50% stats), 80 (25% stats), 10 (no stats)

Technique Description and Effects

The most powerful Daydream that Sonadora can ever conjure with the extent of her ability. The creature conjures what it refers to as a Messenger of God, the equivalent of a puppet at her disposal. It possesses no thoughts or free will, and bends itself to all the commands that the Hollow gives to it. Without command, they are devoid of motion. The totality of its appearance can be decided by Sonadora altogether, which can allow them to appear as a member of any race, even mindless animals. This, for instance, allows them to appear as mere bystanders during battle or as a clone of a target.

The primary purpose of a Messenger of God is to provide trickery and confusion on a battlefield. They are to be used as decoys or as mere elements of the environment to distract targets from danger. Due to this, they are rather weak and, if stricken, can be easily defeated. However, alternatively, a Messenger can also be blessed with a fraction of Sonadora's power in order to act as a proper weapon at her disposal once the Hollow becomes an Adjuchas. These Messengers possess either a quarter or half of the Hollow's stats, and can fight on her behalf for at least three posts before she needs to spend any more reiatsu to maintain them on the field. Once she reaches the state of Vasto Lorde, she will be able to create Messengers possessing half of her stats.

All attacks received from a Messenger of God applies 50 Fatigue to a target if they possess half of Sonadora's stats. Otherwise, they instead apply 25 Fatigue.


Drawbacks and Weaknesses

Despite how convincing it may seem, the appearance of a Messenger of God is not perfect, as there are many signs within it which can reveal its true nature to targets. Like any Daydream, it is incapable of actually causing any physical damage to a target, as it instead only conveys exhaustion, meaning that it cannot actually have any effect on the environment, no matter how many times they may attempt to damage it. This includes Messengers which happen to possess weaponry such as Zanpakuto, Fullbring, Dolls, fangs or claws. They leave no fingerprints or footprints, cannot apply pressure to an object surrounding them, and cannot be affected by something like snow or rain. Additionally, they are also incapable of executing ranged attacks as they must explicitly hit the target with a melee attack in order to cause any exhaustion to it. Any ranged attack caused by them is only an illusion and cannot be treated as real.

[Ishikawa Seiji]

It was hopeless.

No matter what he said or did, he knew the others wouldn't listen. yet with danger appearing so suddenly when all but five minutes before, everything had at least seemed fine, Seiji wasn't too keen in at the very least not going higher to see what might have caused it. Nothing seemed different when he glanced to a window outside, humans still mingled and walked about on the other side of the street. Completely unaware or what lived around them, although most avoided coming near the apartment complex, that had already been stated in the reports and wasn't that unusual. The fact of the matter was, that from what little he could see through, there was no fog beyond this place. So why? Was it something that hadn't been mentioned before? Something in the air around this specific area that the Third Division hadn't picked up on while they were present? Or something entirely new altogether? He couldn't be sure as to why or how.

There was one thing however, that he was certain of. It wasn't a matter to be brushed aside casually, whatever this fog was, it hadn't been here minutes before, or even prior to the three of them entering the building. Something was up and that meant he nor the others likely wouldn't be leaving until a cause was discovered. Be it from errant spiritual energy within the vicinity, or something that shouldn't be here lurking around nearby. Either way he wasn't about to just give and ignore this, regardless of the difficulty of it all. Far more than they'd been told, obviously, did no one notice it before. Had they been followed through the Senkaimon? It wasn't completely unlikely, and neither of his colleagues seemed to pay quite as much attention to their surroundings as he did. But even then, his instincts would only get him so far, no one trained anyone at the academy for something like this. Dammit.

It was as those two left and the fog appeared, that the emerald Shinigami's steps slowed considerably. Not that he couldn't hear the distressed child nearby, but that fact did not explain the obvious. Why only now? Why not start shouting and screaming for help as soon as they had heard even an inkling of someone else being in the building instead of blank nothingness? It simply didn't add up. No one listened, and despite his attempts to stop either of them, it fell on deaf ears. Leaving him standing alone and heaving out a quiet sigh, as hidden eyes looked through broken glass to the skies above. It if wasn't above the building raining down, which it certainly did not seem to be. It meant there was something within, something creating it on one of these floors. Well, they hadn't checked them all and given how little time they'd spent here, it was possible all of them had just missed something rather obvious.

Yet, everything in his gut told him otherwise. None of them were that stupid, nor completely blind for that matter, so it had to be more recent. Something or someone was influencing the area, and there was no point in trying to check everywhere if he could barely see five feet ahead of him. The fog had to go, but before even that, well he couldn't just leave the damn kid to suffer sobbing and terrified all by himself for hours on end while he searched the place, even if this whole thing was becoming stranger and stranger by the minute. With the other two rushing off downstairs to the lower floors to investigate, the emerald haired Shinigami takes his time moving about the place. Checking rooms again that he had barely glanced in and breezed past, one hand now firmly held on his Zanpakuto's hilt. Not fully gripping it, but resting there, prepared to react if need be. He wasn't about to take any chances, not when he was alone.

Meanwhile, the other two Shinigami raced quickly down the fights of stairs within the abandoned building, hardly taking note or perhaps not even caring, that the fog remained here as well even as they descended further down. Or that it was getting slightly thicker. Nevertheless they continued down as Seiji searched, finding little of true worth or purpose. Reaching the woman hadn't taken very long, a few minutes at most, and by the the young girl of the trio was conversing with her. Trying to ascertain what had happened, and if there were others in the building that she was looking for before they escorted her out. In truth, neither she nor the superior of the trio got that far. Cut down before they could get much further, first him against movement too fast to react, ripped apart from the very air he breathed. She had screamed, oh how she yelled and shrieked for it to stop, for someone to help. It did nothing.

Seiji heard not a peep of such destruction. Instead finding very little of use, save for what he had already seen. It didn't appear to be getting worse, or feel that way from what little he could sense. Not much at all really. But that didn't mean something still wasn't causing it. Stepping into the room where the sound emanated from, opening the closet only to be met with a screaming child, purely in fear, he couldn't help but wince briefly as he tried to calm the boy. He wasn't the best, but he didn't think he'd been too awful to the kids that had asked for his help in Rukongai either whenever he went back. Hands raised as the child yelled as loud as his lungs could possibly manage, hands away from his Zanpakuto for the moment as he spoke, and hopefully waited for realization to dawn that he wasn't here to kill the kid. That was a normal reaction to being found while hiding he supposed. What wasn't, was the answer he got.

Question is, how can this kid see me. Seems human enough, and if he is, poor kid shouldn't have a clue. Can't be the fog causing it can it?" Words that rumbled around inside his head as the boy spoke of a monster. So there was something here, something that he'd seen? Well, it explained some things, but not everything. Given he wasn't within his gigai, it should be impossible and he couldn't sense much of anything from him, no real spiritual power that would allow him to notice someone such as him or the others. It just didn't add up, dammit. As he whimpered, and finally seemed to understand, Seiji lowered his hands back to his sides. Smile in place certainly, though far less threatening than he might be with an anxious and demanding adult. "Sure am. Did ya see what it looked like kid, it's real important so I know what I'm lookin' for. Can't be lettin' it stay here if it's tryin' ta hurt ya, right?" It was simple enough reasoning to understand, and he hoped that was more than sufficient for the boy to follow him. At least for now until he could get this kid elsewhere, at this rate once they were out of the building, they might just have to call for backup. Damn, and here he had wanted to do this without resorting to something like that.

Haru. Simple enough to remember and that would do fine for him. "Nice ta meet ya Haru, ya can call me Seiji 'kay? Let's get ya outta here." Once ensuring the boy was out of the small space, he closed the doors, a hand back upon his Zanpakuto as he gestured for the boy to follow him, slowly and quietly towards where they'd come in from. He'd have to carry the boy out, and be quick about it, but he was sure he could manage with a little Shunpo. When asked about the mother, it clicked into place, ah so that was the other sound, and though he fell quiet for a moment to consider. He did eventually answer while walking, hidden eyes glancing back over his shoulder at the young innocent boy. "I got some other people with me, they'll be helpin' yer mom outta there and once we're out, we'll go meet 'em. Sound good? " He wouldn't call them friends, because they simply weren't that. Merely people he worked with, he could only wonder if they'd gotten outside already. Maybe. Hopefully, if they were smart.

[Sonadora]

The boy, Haru, seemed to be in a state of post traumatic stress as he remained in the closet. Although he appeared to be trusting the officer well-enough, he was pale and visibly absolutely terrified of everything that was happening around him. The fog which enveloped around corner of the rooms and halls, the violence which he must have seen occur in some capacity for him to be alive now, and the blood and guts that filled the room just further away from the one he had secluded himself into... All of these elements are definitely going to leave him broken for some time even if he gets it out of here safely enough. Hell, his mother is most likely going to be a factor in all of this too. Yet, despite all of that, he remained responsive enough to listen to the Shinigami without panicking too much, or worse, screaming again. Perhaps it was the man's smile that did it. There is not a more powerful tool to quell a children's inquiries than a warm smile.

This nevertheless did not quite made him emotionally stronger. Well, at least it didn't so yet. For a moment, it seemed as though the mere thought of being saved by the man left him simply sniffing to himself, like he had no real answers to give to the his questions as he tried to battle his own emotions. He was shivering as he did so, forcing himself to press on so that he could get out of here as safely as possible. Oddly enough, no tears came from his eyes as he underwent this process. Eventually, however, he'd successfully push through and look up to the man with a little bit of hope in his childish gaze. "O-Okay..." he'd first mutter as he pushed himself out of the closet and approached him with red eyes that definitely had created tears over the course of the day. The promise of his mother being saved too was apparently enough to sooth him for at least a few more minutes. "W-We can't... let the monster stay here, no..." 

As the two would proceed outside of the room, the child would do so at a slightly-slower pace. He was looking left, right, and behind him, as though he was scared what he deemed as "the monster" was going to come out and swallow him whole. This somewhat forced him to remain close to Seiji, which, by the time he turned his frightened gaze once again, also made him remember his previous question. "It... was so fast..." he seemed to finally recall with another sniff. "It had... clouds around it... I couldn't see..." The more he spoke of the beast, the more frightened it seemed to be as his sniff turned into a sob. "I-It took my mom...! I couldn't see it, but... but it took my mom!" His voice was loud, loud enough to resonate all around the hall they were in, and it seemed that the echo of his voice alone was enough to cause him to freeze and sniff again. He was at least aware that he was being a bit of a nuisance at the moment. "I'm scared, Seiji-onii-san..."

---

Meanwhile, down below on the fourth floor, Sonadora had finished dispatching the two Shinigami. She had left them in the room in which they had met their demise, their bodies disfigured and dead. The large burly man had his neck left barren and void of skin and muscle, leaving only but the bone underneath visible. If he was not breathing before and somehow had survived his terrible fate, he was definitely dead now. In comparison, the female had visibly suffered a shorter, yet much more painful fate. Much of her skull was removed from her upper lip to the top of her head, leaving only but a disgusting hole that once formed the inside of her head connected to a loose jaw. There were no eyes or even a tongue. Judging by how distended the jaw was, she unfortunately had lived through much of this process as her life was violently ripped away from her body. If it was not for the fact the beast had remained so close to her during consumption, her screams of terrified agony would have been heard from even outside the building.

The foggy creature was not too happy about how she had consumed them once she left the room. She felt now that her body was filthier than ever before, soiled with blood from her jaw to the upper chest. There were even bits and pieces of flesh that she had to personally grab and throw away. "Revolting," she would mutter underneath her breath as she returned to the room in which she waited the Shinigami in and headed for the window. Although her spiritual energy was contained appropriately, there was a clear hatred in it, something that was caused by this repulsion of hers. It was needless, yes, for her to feel this way, but she simply could not help it at all. Again, she had reduced herself to a beast in order to eliminate what she hates most. Even if she had no choice but to do so in order to survive this encounter, she could not shake away the disappointment. Once she will return to her true form, she will make sure to reduce these bestial interactions to a minimum. Her kind should not have to suffer such divine humiliation.

As she reached the aforementioned window, she would stop and quietly open it with both hands, making sure to keep an ear out for the voices above. So far, she could only hear the cries of her creation, which was good. She still had time. So long as that device remains void of suspicion, she can take advantage of the remaining fool's need to save it. With that in mind, she brought herself out of the window, then stuck herself to the outside wall on all four. With the help of her physical abilities, she pressed herself onto it and pushed onward. Meanwhile, she made sure to keep an eye on those who were wandering around the building. So far, none had noticed or heard the chaos inside, as they seemed still too preoccupied by their usual commute to even notice the excess fog that followed her wake. Good. Once again, she still had time. The last thing she needs is policemen and investigators heading onto the scene to see what was going on while she dealt with that last Shinigami.

Once she reached the outskirts of the sixth floor, she remained near the windows and pressed what could be considered as her ears against the walls. It was somewhat faint, especially with the usual city noise in the background, but her fog could capt the man's movements as he approached the closet. Moreover, she could still hear the screaming of the fake child and, following suit, the man's voice. From that point on, she would then spy on the two, making sure that her creation committed to its role as it acted its way into the man's heart. Making sure that its acting was on point was easy enough: even a brain-dead Quincy could make this device act believably in front of their sworn enemy. What was harder to keep an ear out of them from the outside. It forced her to move, something which beckoned her to act carefully as she moved around any windows which would give out her position. The noise that emanated from her was limited, but if that officer sees so much as her shadow, she could be compromised.

Of course, she was going to stay here spying on this Shinigami all day. That would be a waste of time. So, instead, she would find the right place on the outside wall where she could lock his position with her fog, then act. Something about this particular officer still was strange to her, so she found it best not to rush him down right away as she did with the others. His autonomy and lack of shock displayed before violence still eluded her too much. So, she instead decided to go for the more discreet strategy. The last time she had come on this floor, there was a small painting on the wall held behind glass left fractured by her battle with Vagabond. It will do. Word of God. Upon declaring her technique, she sent her reiatsu throughout the fog, launching it straight towards the small painting. Once Seiji and the Messenger would pass by it, it would suddenly pulse as though affected by an unknown force before shattering into fragments of glass. The fragments would head straight for Seiji, and if they would hit him, they would disappear to somehow instantly be reformed into the fractured glass pane before the painting.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Techniques in Use (Reiatsu: 860/900 | Holy Veil : 1 Post Remaining | Messenger of God : 1 Post Remaining) }

Technique Name: Word of God (Name)

Technique Type: Custom Hollow Technique | Single Daydream

Technique Element: None

Usable by: Hollow

Class: 1-7

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 250 (Decree), 40 (Order), 15 (Command), 10 (Name)

Technique Description and Effects

One of Sonadora's simplest Daydreams that can be conveyed to those Embraced by the fog. The creature conjures an obstacle around the target's vicinity meant to strike it from any direction. For the purpose of stealth and intimidation, these obstacles often take the form of a rather-mundane object located within the environment which surrounds the target. These include falling construction equipment, electrical wires detaching themselves from nearby power lines, or sewage manholes suddenly being launched towards the target's direction due to an abrupt gas leak. The size of the object in question depends on the power of the Word, as seen below:

• Decree: Immense objects (planes, office buildings, electrical pylons, etc.) | 80 Fatigue
  
• Order: Large objects (trucks, suburb homes, power generators, etc.) | 60 Fatigue
  
• Command: Medium-sized objects (cars, furniture, etc.) | 40 Fatigue
  
• Name: Small objects (toys, kitchenware, fragments of glass, etc.) | 20 Fatigue
  

Should the Hollow will it so, the Word of God can remain within the fog for more than just a single post, though an amount of reiatsu equal to the one that has been used to conjure it is required to be spent per additional post in order to do so. If this cannot be done, the Daydream will dissipate once a post has passed or it has hit the target, conveying mental exhaustion to its soul.


Drawbacks and Weaknesses

Like any Daydream, a Word of God is incapable of actually causing any physical damage to a target, as it instead only conveys exhaustion. It cannot be changed once it has been conjured, and it cannot be lengthened or rendered smaller by any means after the fact. Additionally, the more powerful a Word of God is, the more reiatsu Sonadora will need in order to execute it, so much so that the very potency of the reiatsu currently at her disposal may be unavailable until she reaches a higher stage of the Hollow evolutionary process. This reflects in the fact that she can only start casting a Command as a Gillian, an Order as an Adjuchas, and a Decree as a Vasto Lorde.

---

Technique Name: Holy Veil

Technique Type: Custom Hollow Technique | Fog Manipulation

Technique Element: None

Usable by: Hollow

Class: 1-7

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 250 (Vasto Lorde), 40 (Adjuchas), 15 (Gillian), 10 (Stray)

Technique Description and Effects

A basic technique which represents Sonadora's control over her primordial ability. The creature allows minuscule pores present all over her skin to open, causing reiatsu formed in her body to be driven out in the form of a thick fog using her as its epicenter. The fog in question is white in appearance, draping the area in a veil of white that renders everything surrounding a living being difficult to perceive. From afar, it appears as a vaguely-cubic aerosol that is otherwise physically imperceptible from its natural counterpart. Its effects are in hindsight also identical to the latter's, rendering any environment it is present in damp and humid. Should a living being be present in this fog, the Embraced state will be applied to their soul. This allows Sonadora to sense their position in the fog by detecting the shape of the aerosol around the bodies of her targets, permitting her to identify what she may be facing depending on the information available to her, and employ the use of Daydreams against them in order to apply the Slumbered state to their soul.

Although its main supernatural use stops there, the fog can also be utilized in a more advanced fashion by the Hollow should it possess the mastery to do so, notably by using it as a form of camouflage or intimidation. For instance, with focus, she can bring the fog to only drape her body and make herself appear grander than she is with it. Additionally, this same focus can also allow her to forcibly push the epicenter of the fog away from herself for means of distraction or offense.


Drawbacks and Weaknesses

Considering that the fog is composed of Sonadora's own reiatsu, it can be difficult for the creature to keep it active in a certain area for a long period of time. Unless the fog is only delimited to the very pores of her skin, simply deciding to cover an area with it requires an initial amount of reiatsu to be spent depending on her Class. Once this value is spent, half of that value must then be spent again three posts later in order to maintain the fog. The fog's size and the range of visibility available to a being located within it are also rather limited as the both of these factors are as well delimited by the Hollow's Class. The values in question can be seen below:

Class	Maximum Size	Maximum Visibility
Vasto Lorde	100m	35m
Adjuchas	75m	30m
Gillian	50m	20m
Stray	25m	10m

The fog is also not invincible. Like any other normal fog, it can be pushed away by a large amount of hot air colliding with it so long as the air in question is also made with or simply affected by one's reiatsu. This rids any target which was previously located within it of the Embraced or Slumbered state if they are successful, removing Sonadora's influence upon their soul.

---

Technique Name: Messenger of God

Technique Type: Custom Hollow Technique | Daydream Being

Technique Element: None

Usable by: Hollow

Class: 1-7

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 250 (50% stats), 80 (25% stats), 10 (no stats)

Technique Description and Effects

The most powerful Daydream that Sonadora can ever conjure with the extent of her ability. The creature conjures what it refers to as a Messenger of God, the equivalent of a puppet at her disposal. It possesses no thoughts or free will, and bends itself to all the commands that the Hollow gives to it. Without command, they are devoid of motion. The totality of its appearance can be decided by Sonadora altogether, which can allow them to appear as a member of any race, even mindless animals. This, for instance, allows them to appear as mere bystanders during battle or as a clone of a target.

The primary purpose of a Messenger of God is to provide trickery and confusion on a battlefield. They are to be used as decoys or as mere elements of the environment to distract targets from danger. Due to this, they are rather weak and, if stricken, can be easily defeated. However, alternatively, a Messenger can also be blessed with a fraction of Sonadora's power in order to act as a proper weapon at her disposal once the Hollow becomes an Adjuchas. These Messengers possess either a quarter or half of the Hollow's stats, and can fight on her behalf for at least three posts before she needs to spend any more reiatsu to maintain them on the field. Once she reaches the state of Vasto Lorde, she will be able to create Messengers possessing half of her stats.

All attacks received from a Messenger of God applies 50 Fatigue to a target if they possess half of Sonadora's stats. Otherwise, they instead apply 25 Fatigue.


Drawbacks and Weaknesses

Despite how convincing it may seem, the appearance of a Messenger of God is not perfect, as there are many signs within it which can reveal its true nature to targets. Like any Daydream, it is incapable of actually causing any physical damage to a target, as it instead only conveys exhaustion, meaning that it cannot actually have any effect on the environment, no matter how many times they may attempt to damage it. This includes Messengers which happen to possess weaponry such as Zanpakuto, Fullbring, Dolls, fangs or claws. They leave no fingerprints or footprints, cannot apply pressure to an object surrounding them, and cannot be affected by something like snow or rain. Additionally, they are also incapable of executing ranged attacks as they must explicitly hit the target with a melee attack in order to cause any exhaustion to it. Any ranged attack caused by them is only an illusion and cannot be treated as real.

[Ishikawa Seiji]

No matter what he did. This wasn't going to be simple. With fog still coalescing around what seemed to be the entire building, and save for a vague direction to the flowers below, no idea were those he had arrived with were. Or if they were even still alive for that matter, it left the emerald haired Shinigami with very few options indeed. So much so, that if this boy truly was as human as he appeared, it make things all the more difficult. He could hardly just jump out of the nearest window six floors up with the boy over his shoulder, Shunpo would help sure, but if that was truly the case. Then the likelihood of being seen was simply too great to ignore or push to one side. The roof was certainly an option, but getting up there meant trying to lead the kid without him screaming his head off. Or running off in abject fear as he seemed to have done the first time round. They had been told this would be simple to handle, so much for getting back to the Seiretei before the late afternoon.

The young boy, Haru, seemed a little too traumatized to even properly listen to a single word he was saying nor any questions he asked. Not the greatest sign in the world. He'd seen reactions just like it within the outskirts of Rukongai. Children broken by the world around them, often hiding in fear and not even trying to steal to survive. They had simply given up, that spark dying from many he'd witnessed. Even some with spiritual pressure, with such potential were left to rot and fade away. Luckily thus far, the young child was not completely unresponsive to his words, at least not for the moment. Though he still remained tucked within the closet with the doors wide open. But for a moment, he kept still. Half kneeling with one hand against the rubble filled ground to support his weight as he waited for the other to calm down, it would take time, this whole ordeal of getting the kid out of here would. Without a doubt.

Eventually, as a few minutes passed Haru appeared to gain enough composure to both move and answer him. Well a little anyway, it was sparse and didn't exactly give him any of the information he was looking for, but he'd have to take what he could get right now. Given something was clearly here, causing this chaos, he wasn't going to bet on time being on his side. Not that it had ever been to begin with. Reddened eyes barely phased him, and frankly, as much as he could attempt to comfort the child. Now wasn't entirely the best time to do so. Even if his perpetual expression seemed not to scary or worry the young boy as it did so many others he encountered, he was not about to count on that lasting forever. Or to this kid listening to every instruction he gave, not to mention if he started crying or screaming again. If whatever had caused this fog was still here, well it would just make things worse.

"Hey easy, easy. Ain't wrong ta be scared, but ya can't keep bein' so loud if I'm helpin' ya get outta here alive.'Kay?" He stopped only briefly to speak up, barely slowing down to reassure the boy. It wasn't much, but if they wanted to get out of here quickly, comforting such a small child wasn't quite on his highest list of priorities right now. Resonating voice or not, remaining here would do neither of them any good. And given his own dismal sensing capabilities, he couldn't tell where the other two were either. Wasting time trying to find them, as noble as it might be in the eyes of others. It wouldn't help this kid with getting out of here, in fact it was more likely to make things ten times worse and then he'd have a screaming sobbing child on his hands. Something he hadn't signed up for when agreeing to this mission, or what he wanted right now for that matter. Those two could take care of themselves, surely they were not that stupid as to linger around after finding a living soul within the building. Right?

He could hope not. A thought soon pushed aside like a raging river, from one to the next, it was endless. Mind shifting through what information he had, and what little he could do to get out of this, while still if needed being able to return to find those idiots. Should they not have chosen the smart option. Each step careful, measured as a hand fell free from the confines of his uniform to gesture silently. A simple wave of thin fingers to indicate that Haru follow him, quietly meander just behind him, a challenge for a child and he knew he was asking a lot. But no one ever said survival was easy. His opposite hand in view, wrist gently resting atop the hilt of his Zanpakuto. Not completely on edge at the slightest sound, but alert, as he'd been taught to be by more than one teacher. Experience across centuries, for starters, and plenty of others that had attempted to drill into him what the wilds of Rukongai had already long since beaten into him. Perhaps that was why he learnt better by doing, rather than listening.

Regardless of such experiences, here and now, he had to rely on instinct. Slow movements leading the pair to the edge of the sixth floor. Where he planned to head down, if he could. If not, then it would be straight up to the roof. A risk it might be, but if he was quick, no human would be any the wiser to a child seemingly teleporting to the ground below without a scratch. Though it wasn't ideal, so leaving out of a somewhat regular entrance, even if this building had long since been abandoned, was probably a better idea. Easier to explain to those that asked, especially if there happened to be anyone nearby that could actually see him as this one could. As strange as that fact remained, he did not dwell on it. Clearer thoughts could be had beyond this fog, beyond the mess and the memory of bodily remains scattered across a room like chew toys. Nothing utterly out of the ordinary, but the sight had never helped relax him, not by a long shot.

It was nearing such an edge, that something strange happened. Throughout their trip into this place, it held plenty of long forgotten objects, items no human would use any more by the look of it. One such things were barely hanging onto the walls, paintings, and he'd paid them no mind. Not until something seemed to shift, barely perceptible to the inexperienced Shinigami but it was definitely there. What, he couldn't say. By when glass shards from such an object launched themselves right at him moments later, he had his answer. Reiatsu. Someone was using reiatsu and it had to be nearby! Thankfully, he had the chance to see such an attack coming. Giving him enough time to dive forward, towards the paining and roll beneath it to land kneeling. "Stay right there, ya got it?" He called, glancing back to the young boy within his care, before he was up on his feet again. Moving forward, towards the window, to search, to seek and destroy whatever had caused this.

His first task, ripping the paining straight off the wall as he went, letting the object crash to the floor. Glass shards spreading everywhere, if it could be used once, it could be used again. It wasn't an overly large painting and with the weakness of the wall in general, it did not take long to yank from it's holding place. A hand soon back on the hilt of his Zanapakuto, he moved to the window slowly. Listening for anything, breathing, movement, the slightest sound or change in light that might help figure out where this thing was. "Ya can come out anytime ya want ya know. Yer not gonna like it if I find ya first. Only chance yer gettin' really, unless ya wanna start runin' away but where's the fun in that?" A warning and a test all in one go, voice steady, that smile remained, even if it was a little more tight than usual. He wasn't about to just leave this place or back-down like a coward either. Hell no.

[Sonadora]

The foggy beast beyond the walls of the building remained still as her fog registered the Shinigami's movement. They were slow, methodical, alert, and quite frankly, the fact that they were to be described as such kept her on her toes. It was not uncommon for the officers that she has fought to react this way upon facing a threat that they cannot see, but such confidence typically is only seen in the more experienced of their kind. Considering that the other two reapers that she slaughtered were both nothing more than pathetic excuses that should have never have been given a weapon to begin with, she had expected that this one would have reacted similarly to them now that they were gone, especially now that he had a child to defend. However, he again proved to be different compared to them. He did not even flinch once the aforementioned child started screaming through his panicking act. It was a very concerning development. A warrior from a life past, perhaps?  She quietly theorized as she remained quiet. Whoever this may be, I cannot falter before him.

That was an understatement. Ideally, she needs to kill this Shinigami before leaving this place. If she cannot kill him and devour his soul, then he will contact his precious Soul Society, and by then, her main base of operations will be put under quarantine by a batch of officers she will have absolutely no way to eliminate. There will be no way for her to return to not only this particular district of Tokyo for the time being, but the entire city outright. That is not even mentioning the countless Hollow lives that will be lost in the process as well, something which she will have to assume the responsibility of for quite some time through the pain and suffering of the hunger this body almost cannot bear. It will be a disaster, to say if not the very least about it. Of course, she has other plans to mitigate this disaster and prevent it from becoming any worse, but she definitely would prefer to not have to rely upon them so soon after being returned to this pathetic form.

All of these thoughts and conclusions were what pushed the beast to directly attack the Shinigami through the fog. She wanted to not only absolutely confirm if this warrior was more experienced than he seemed to be compared to the others she consumed, but also see if she could kill him rapidly-enough to prevent him from calling for backup or alerting the nearby Human populace. So, she created a vision that would potentially precede the following carnage, a Word of God in the form of broken shards of glass expelled from a nearby cased painting. The shards were shot rapidly, enough so to cause a normal Human to be too surprised to react accordingly to it and thus be hit by them, bringing them closer to her divine realm. Given that analogy that she had seen many times in the past as she experimented with said normal Humans, she had fully expected at least one of these shards to hit the Shinigami. The result of this was nothing short of unexpected. What...? She could only muster in her head as she remained there on the wall, shocked. That's... impossible.

None of the shards had hit the Shinigami. Not a single one.

Somehow, the officer found the strength and prowess to dodge the shards and land underneath the painting. His speed had been outright immaculate; in fact, he seemed so fast to her that she could already tell he was much faster than she ever could be in this form. Such speed, if put to test in a physical battle, would immediately overpower her, and by then, she will be reduced to nothing. Being reminded of the frailty of this body infuriated her for a moment, enough so to cause her to clench her left claw into a tight fist as she condemned the weakness that she was currently cursed to endure. However, she then calmed down with a silent sigh. No. I shall not falter. I shall not bring to myself another needless defeat, she promised to herself then. The Shinigami is stronger in body, but not in mind. He remains too caring of the child. She would then turn her gaze towards the wall, or rather more precisely, where the child was supposed to be in the hallway. He is the key to victory.

---

Haru could only watch in horror as the glass suddenly exploded from the painting and headed straight for Seiji. His eyes widened extensively upon seeing it, and his mouth opened wide as a sound of childish terror came from him. "AAAH! Seiji-onii-san!!" He cried loudly, enough so to cause his voice to echo throughout the halls again. Considering how loud he was, it was a miracle no one had even heard him thus far outside of the building; after all, there was an ample number of broken windows around her. Perhaps fortunately, though, he was not hurt by the shards of glass that attempted to strike the swordsman, as none of them had gone far enough to reach him. Well, at least that's how it seemed to be. It was probably because he had not even moved when it occurred. Either that, or he was just simply incredibly lucky, which was not really an impossibility considering that he seemingly survived for all this time in this awful place.

Once the attack seemingly ended, the poor boy could only stand there looking left and right, frightened. The fact that the officer was not hit by the glass shards at least seemed to be a bit of a relief for him, but it was quite clear the presence of the monster was edging him closer and closer to the verge of panic. "T-T-T-The monster..." he shook as he breathed in heavily, sniffing. Again, no tears seem to come from his eyes. "S-Seiji-onii-san... I-I wanna g-go...!" His words had devolved into quiet whimpers. Nevermind panic; at this point, he was downright entering an emotional breakdown. His reaction was unfortunately to be expected, as the wails of the mother could not be heard anymore and the other Shinigami officers Seiji had promised would go save her have not yet returned, but he was definitely painting a target on himself at this point. If this goes on, the beast will not target Seiji: it will target Haru to take advantage of him.

A figure would then suddenly pass by one of the windows that could be seen from a room with a torn-door as Seiji would taunt the beast to come. It was dark, so dark that it appeared as a shadow, and Haru had seen it, causing him to freeze. "A-Ah...!" He'd whimper again, which caused him to shiver and unconsciously press himself against a nearby wall. A door was close to him, closed and seemingly locked. However, once he had pressed himself against that wall, the door then started to slowly open. He seemingly did not hear it do so, but once he did, he would scream loudly enough. "N-NOOO- ARGH!" His voice boomed across the hallway before he then visibly started to choke as he was violently pulled towards the room behind the door, which had an open window the beast remained close to with her hand opened towards its direction. Once Haru would be inside, the door would then close with a thundering bang.

Should Seiji come closer to the door and attempt to open it, it will suddenly then push itself towards him at a rapid pace in an attempt to smash itself onto him. Should it hit or miss him, it would then suddenly revert into its original position like the frame window. Meanwhile, Haru would scream behind the door as he was dragged outside of the building to who-knows-where.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Techniques in Use (Reiatsu: 835/900 | Holy Veil : 3 Posts Remaining | Messenger of God : 3 Posts Remaining) }

Technique Name: Word of God (Name)

Technique Type: Custom Hollow Technique | Single Daydream

Technique Element: None

Usable by: Hollow

Class: 1-7

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 250 (Decree), 40 (Order), 15 (Command), 10 (Name)

Technique Description and Effects

One of Sonadora's simplest Daydreams that can be conveyed to those Embraced by the fog. The creature conjures an obstacle around the target's vicinity meant to strike it from any direction. For the purpose of stealth and intimidation, these obstacles often take the form of a rather-mundane object located within the environment which surrounds the target. These include falling construction equipment, electrical wires detaching themselves from nearby power lines, or sewage manholes suddenly being launched towards the target's direction due to an abrupt gas leak. The size of the object in question depends on the power of the Word, as seen below:

• Decree: Immense objects (planes, office buildings, electrical pylons, etc.) | 80 Fatigue
  
• Order: Large objects (trucks, suburb homes, power generators, etc.) | 60 Fatigue
  
• Command: Medium-sized objects (cars, furniture, etc.) | 40 Fatigue
  
• Name: Small objects (toys, kitchenware, fragments of glass, etc.) | 20 Fatigue
  

Should the Hollow will it so, the Word of God can remain within the fog for more than just a single post, though an amount of reiatsu equal to the one that has been used to conjure it is required to be spent per additional post in order to do so. If this cannot be done, the Daydream will dissipate once a post has passed or it has hit the target, conveying mental exhaustion to its soul.


Drawbacks and Weaknesses

Like any Daydream, a Word of God is incapable of actually causing any physical damage to a target, as it instead only conveys exhaustion. It cannot be changed once it has been conjured, and it cannot be lengthened or rendered smaller by any means after the fact. Additionally, the more powerful a Word of God is, the more reiatsu Sonadora will need in order to execute it, so much so that the very potency of the reiatsu currently at her disposal may be unavailable until she reaches a higher stage of the Hollow evolutionary process. This reflects in the fact that she can only start casting a Command as a Gillian, an Order as an Adjuchas, and a Decree as a Vasto Lorde.

---

Technique Name: Holy Veil

Technique Type: Custom Hollow Technique | Fog Manipulation

Technique Element: None

Usable by: Hollow

Class: 1-7

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 250 (Vasto Lorde), 40 (Adjuchas), 15 (Gillian), 10 (Stray)

Technique Description and Effects

A basic technique which represents Sonadora's control over her primordial ability. The creature allows minuscule pores present all over her skin to open, causing reiatsu formed in her body to be driven out in the form of a thick fog using her as its epicenter. The fog in question is white in appearance, draping the area in a veil of white that renders everything surrounding a living being difficult to perceive. From afar, it appears as a vaguely-cubic aerosol that is otherwise physically imperceptible from its natural counterpart. Its effects are in hindsight also identical to the latter's, rendering any environment it is present in damp and humid. Should a living being be present in this fog, the Embraced state will be applied to their soul. This allows Sonadora to sense their position in the fog by detecting the shape of the aerosol around the bodies of her targets, permitting her to identify what she may be facing depending on the information available to her, and employ the use of Daydreams against them in order to apply the Slumbered state to their soul.

Although its main supernatural use stops there, the fog can also be utilized in a more advanced fashion by the Hollow should it possess the mastery to do so, notably by using it as a form of camouflage or intimidation. For instance, with focus, she can bring the fog to only drape her body and make herself appear grander than she is with it. Additionally, this same focus can also allow her to forcibly push the epicenter of the fog away from herself for means of distraction or offense.


Drawbacks and Weaknesses

Considering that the fog is composed of Sonadora's own reiatsu, it can be difficult for the creature to keep it active in a certain area for a long period of time. Unless the fog is only delimited to the very pores of her skin, simply deciding to cover an area with it requires an initial amount of reiatsu to be spent depending on her Class. Once this value is spent, half of that value must then be spent again three posts later in order to maintain the fog. The fog's size and the range of visibility available to a being located within it are also rather limited as the both of these factors are as well delimited by the Hollow's Class. The values in question can be seen below:

Class	Maximum Size	Maximum Visibility
Vasto Lorde	100m	35m
Adjuchas	75m	30m
Gillian	50m	20m
Stray	25m	10m

The fog is also not invincible. Like any other normal fog, it can be pushed away by a large amount of hot air colliding with it so long as the air in question is also made with or simply affected by one's reiatsu. This rids any target which was previously located within it of the Embraced or Slumbered state if they are successful, removing Sonadora's influence upon their soul.

---

Technique Name: Messenger of God

Technique Type: Custom Hollow Technique | Daydream Being

Technique Element: None

Usable by: Hollow

Class: 1-7

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 250 (50% stats), 80 (25% stats), 10 (no stats)

Technique Description and Effects

The most powerful Daydream that Sonadora can ever conjure with the extent of her ability. The creature conjures what it refers to as a Messenger of God, the equivalent of a puppet at her disposal. It possesses no thoughts or free will, and bends itself to all the commands that the Hollow gives to it. Without command, they are devoid of motion. The totality of its appearance can be decided by Sonadora altogether, which can allow them to appear as a member of any race, even mindless animals. This, for instance, allows them to appear as mere bystanders during battle or as a clone of a target.

The primary purpose of a Messenger of God is to provide trickery and confusion on a battlefield. They are to be used as decoys or as mere elements of the environment to distract targets from danger. Due to this, they are rather weak and, if stricken, can be easily defeated. However, alternatively, a Messenger can also be blessed with a fraction of Sonadora's power in order to act as a proper weapon at her disposal once the Hollow becomes an Adjuchas. These Messengers possess either a quarter or half of the Hollow's stats, and can fight on her behalf for at least three posts before she needs to spend any more reiatsu to maintain them on the field. Once she reaches the state of Vasto Lorde, she will be able to create Messengers possessing half of her stats.

All attacks received from a Messenger of God applies 50 Fatigue to a target if they possess half of Sonadora's stats. Otherwise, they instead apply 25 Fatigue.


Drawbacks and Weaknesses

Despite how convincing it may seem, the appearance of a Messenger of God is not perfect, as there are many signs within it which can reveal its true nature to targets. Like any Daydream, it is incapable of actually causing any physical damage to a target, as it instead only conveys exhaustion, meaning that it cannot actually have any effect on the environment, no matter how many times they may attempt to damage it. This includes Messengers which happen to possess weaponry such as Zanpakuto, Fullbring, Dolls, fangs or claws. They leave no fingerprints or footprints, cannot apply pressure to an object surrounding them, and cannot be affected by something like snow or rain. Additionally, they are also incapable of executing ranged attacks as they must explicitly hit the target with a melee attack in order to cause any exhaustion to it. Any ranged attack caused by them is only an illusion and cannot be treated as real.

[Ishikawa Seiji]

No matter the screaming or panic, he couldn't afford to lose focus. Not when he knew something was here, watching him, likely just waiting for the split second in which he slipped up. Yet given whatever this hollow was, remained hidden away from his sight. Trying to pick away at his defenses and anything else, told him that surely they couldn't be so far ahead of him? Would any of such beings toy with a meal rather than giving into the overwhelming hunger they felt? Either way, he couldn't dwell on the matter too much. Not with a child still in the building, he couldn't change what horrors had already been witnessed by the poor kid, but he could at least attempt to get him out of here and back to whatever family he had. No innocent child deserved to be kicked into the dirt, not when they were still human, this was not Rukongai and he wasn't about to let this become another place of unneeded suffering. There was enough of that within the Soul Soceity.

Despite the ever worsening situation as each minute ticked on by, he would not let his thoughts distract him. With seemingly no backup now, given he'd not heard from those two in a while, he had to do this alone. If they had simply both fled out of fear, or something far worse, he couldn't be certain yet. Nor was this really the opportune time to check and see if either of them had gotten out or lacked the common sense to flee if they had been totally outmatched. Now, getting the kid out was the priority, an uphill battle of a task, given at the same time it seemed they or rather he, was being tracked and hunted down like a wild animal. If this remaining fog was any indication that something still lingered waiting to try and rip him apart. He couldn't blame whatever or whoever this was, especially if he was invading their turf, but leaving without doing anything was no longer an option. Not when things were expected of them, even as unseated Shinigami, expected of him.

Running away wouldn't do him or the young boy beside him any good, so instead he moved forward. The shards thrown his way rolled under without a second thought, instinct that led him out of harm's way. Though that didn't mean Haru would share the same fate, but even when he glanced back to where the boy stood, he was seemingly unharmed. It was certainly rather strange yes, but not totally out of the realm of impossibility. As much as some part of him wanted to go and check on the boy, it just wasn't wise. From a distance he looked fine and at the moment it would have to be enough. Steps swift as he approached and destroyed the painting in one singular motion, the smashing glass hitting the ground resounded out into the complex. Echoing against the sound of very little else, save for the boy's cries of fear and anguish. He could do little to ease them now, not until whatever this thing was - presumably a hollow - was dead.

There was unfortunately, very little he could do with this creature still in hiding. He couldn't say it was quite a beast, because such a being would've likely attacked him already and there had been no such physical strike as of yet. Only confusion and further frustration at not seeing them first hand, at not yet seemingly being capable enough to discern and find them on his own without the hollow revealing itself. No matter what he did, it didn't seem to help, even as long strides led him back over towards the young Haru, though not quite reaching him. To try and placate the boy, a hand still locked around the hilt of his Zanpakuto, steps cautious but quick. No matter the state the kid was in, he couldn't afford to drop his guard, not now. "I know I know, ya jus' gotta keep real quiet fer me 'kay?" It was much, but it was something, a near hopeless attempt to reassure as best he could given the circumstances.

Though perhaps turning away from the boy, to challenge and offer a warning to the creature was not the smartest idea he'd ever had. Then again he'd never claimed to be any kind of genius either. Darkness and fog combined was more than enough to obscure his vision, though being near the window had helped, that aid was only brief and ever so fleeting. Measuring each movement and slowing his breathing, Seiji could not be sure as to where, but they had to be close. They just had to be, yet despite his growing certainty on the matter, a certain someone hadn't listen to his request whatsoever. Seeing something, from what he could gather from his reaction, and rushing to a nearby wall to press against it. Not a wise choice, but he could hardly blame a child for trying to rush away from danger when they were scared. The problem was trying to keep him safe, and hunting this being down at the same time.

A flicker of movement, a high pitched scream, a door slamming ever so loudly. Within moments the boy had gone, vanished near the moment the elder had dared turned his head as he searched the fog. Spinning on his heel at the sound and swearing quietly under his breath as the realization of what just occurred dawned upon him, things just had to go and get worse didn't they? Nothing could ever be simple. With no other obvious clue, despite knowing it was almost certainly a trap, he had few other options but to follow it. So he did, a hand upon the handle only to rip it away and rapidly step back seconds later. Only less than a moment away from being slammed in the face and thrown back, the rush of air enough of a warning as to what might have happened. Instead of wait, a blade drawn, slashed downwards to cut the door in two and in turn hopefully shove past the remains into the room. If this being was going to keep using objects against him, he'd just destroy them all until they showed themselves. He had time, well, somewhat. A child in peril non-withstanding.

[Sonadora]

So far, Sonadora had learned quite a few things from this opponent of hers. Firstly, it has come to her understanding that he was a man who was kind to younglings. Though he did not appear as such at a prior glance due to his rather-sharp facial features, he gave quite a fair bit of attention to the device she had conjured to grasp his attention, so much so that he had promised it that he would bring it out of its fabricated predicament. Secondly, she has thus far identified him as a surprisingly-mature individual who has perhaps seen combat more than once in his lifetime despite seemingly having once being under an inexperienced leader's orders. How that has come to be was unknown of her given that she has yet to learn of his fears via her Nightmares; however, if that would not have been the case, he would have reacted similarly to the others once he had witnessed the violence in that room. And finally, there was a third element, one that she is now considering as the most important of them all.

He was definitely, perhaps even most certainly, physically stronger than her.

The man has now avoided two of her attacks. He had done so expertly and borderline prodigiously, dodging all of the pieces of glass that had been expelled from from that cased painting with a simple roll and then cutting off the door that had been launched towards him even during the illusion itself. It was so impressive that the foggy Hollow - who was by now located on the roof - could only balk at it all once again as she felt his movement continue beyond the now-destroyed door. What amazing speed... These Daydreams would have been difficult for even I to avoid properly, and he did so without a shred of harm. His mind must be as quick as his body, she thought then as she analyzed him further with a sense of worry progressively gripping her heart further and further. She promised herself that she would not falter against this warrior, and yet... if I cannot harm him with my Daydreams, then I cannot bring him into the Garden of Eden.

She was so weak. So, so weak. If she would not have been stuck in this pathetic body and this terrible situation both, she would have laid waste to this celestial guardian's soul and rendered him her puppet like she has done to so many who have dared face her in battle before. He had no idea of what she once was, no idea of what kind of powerful entity she was becoming before she encountered the jester who has left her in such a state, and if she could, she would have showed him the maximum extent of her power solely to reduce him to dust. Now, however, she couldn't even so much as touch him, whether it be up close and personal or at a distance. Worse yet, she couldn't even dare to go all out on him, else there might be another group of these officers coming to hunt her down. As such, perhaps to put it at least more eloquently, she was at both a physical and a spiritual impasse, both of which were severely preventing her from going all out on this man.

This frustration that plagued her mind slowly became stronger and stronger as she ran from one end of the building to the other carrying the screaming device. Her pride demanded that she stay and continue this fight to the very end, but the consciousness of her weak physical prowess as a Stray prevented her from doing so. Eventually, however, she realized that this whole battle was starting to lose its meaning and become ultimately extremely pointless to her cause. Now that the officer has proven himself to be more capable than she, she was condemned to lose this fight if she decided to continue it in any other way. Even if she wins and is able to consume the man, the Soul Society will be made aware of the sheer amount of reiatsu that was utilized in order to even accomplish such a feat, and by then, her purpose here would have been left moot. No matter what, she was going to lose this place and have to resort to her counter-plans. There was simply no avoiding it.

In so doing, she would reach the other end of the building and look back towards where the green warrior was supposed to be. By now, she expected him to be close to her thanks to his sheer speed, and in so doing, she would place the device near her chest to hide it from view within her fog as she collected spiritual energy around it, then stand up-right, causing the bits of the fog nearest to her to make her appear grander than life. This foggy appearance of hers would be so tall that it would make her appear as though she stood at double the man's size, towering over him. "I am impressed," the enlarged figure spoke in her coarse and charred voice as it "stared" at the swordsman with blades of purple gleaming bright through the clouds. "In the span of a century, I have yet to face a man so unimpressive. A true Shinigami like yourself would have by now realized the worthlessness of what you are trying to accomplish here." Something was then thrown from the mass of fog towards Seiji. "Return to me once you have grown stronger. Only then shall I allot you any more of my attention."

With her speech finished, Sonadora would then start dissipating the Holy Veil, causing the large figure of fog to slowly begin to fade away as she started to flee the scene towards a sewer grate that could be seen from the edge of the building. If she was lucky enough to flee in time, she would try to brave her disgust and fight the disgusting systems underneath the city, as she now needed to reach her next destination as soon as possible: Ōta Station. Meanwhile, on the rooftop where Seiji was presumably located, was left the device, Haru. Unlike the last time the Shinigami had seen him, his body this time seemed to have been very harmed. Much of it had been mutilated beyond recognition, with parts of his skin ripped off to the bone. He appeared so much in pain that he could not move or even say a word, only let out a laborious noise as his eyes remained wide open. As the fog would leave the roof, he would turn his gaze towards the man who he had once believed to have come to his safety, try to raise his arm towards his direction, then let it fall on the ground as the last bit of his life left his body. By the time the fog would start disappearing around him, so would his body, and soon, nothing would be left of him, leaving the Shinigami alone.

This was over.

[Ishikawa Seiji]

Combat, he'd once been told, was much like a mismatched game of chess. The pieces were all scattered and finding them took some effort, but once you did, things could start falling into place. Of course, even being taught the basics of the game itself had taken his brother quite a few hours. But eventually he had come to understand why. Manipulating others was a common practice in Rukongai, and very little changed when he'd stepped onto the battlefield, it wasn't an individual to be used. But working around a situation so that the circumstances were always in his favor. While the comparison wasn't always an accurate one, today it felt just that, even if the others that had arrived with him seemed to be long since out of the game. That did not mean he was, far from it in fact. The horribly frustrating part however, was that he'd yet to actually see this being - hollow he'd all but confirmed that thought in his mind - before him. Not even a spec of how they actually appeared, nor did they seem keen to engage him up close. It was quite a shame really, smart, but annoying.

Keeping him in the dark, the emerald haired Shinigami knew unless he could do something to change the status quo that had been established by this dammed fog, then nothing new would happen. Besides them both perhaps growing tired of this constant back and forth with no real outcome. Would they tire before he did? The young boy still being terrified certainly didn't help matters, and no matter what he came up with, sorting through one idea after the next, the solution ended the same. Either he could get this kid out and let the hollow escape, or continuing to fight and risk another soul ending up consumed and missing the soul cycle entirely. The fact that the boy could see him, still bothered him, given he had no chain and did not appear to be dead, given the sheer power of his lungs ago to scream and cry. Despite that, he knew asking the boy would yield no answers, whatever sort of being he was, human or not he was still a child. One that likely couldn't give him the knowledge he sought.

He suspected this creature knew that as well, so letting down his focus for just a second to figure it out, wouldn't do him any good. Even turning his back, as it turned out, had been a terrible choice. A want to be careful, to stay alert, and look at where that had gotten him. With a child screaming for help, it was a sheer miracle that none of the humans beyond the complex had heard anything or stepped inside to investigate, and a door slamming shut nearby. If this creature really did hate getting up close as much as he'd observed, then using what was around seemed to be their only option. Meaning if he could get the kid out, even if he wasn't there, then that was one less obstacle in his path. So to speak, killing two birds with one stone, something he'd heard from Shin once. A saying he'd found in the world of the living apparently, it fit rather well. The issue now, was getting to the kid, as much as he wanted to take it slow there simply wasn't the time.

So instead, he quickened his pace, towards the door that slammed shut. A sound that had resounded outwards. A hand reaching out before stepping back three paces, the object itself now slamming outwards and straight at him. If he couldn't outright avoid such a thing to keep going, which seemed obvious given he needed to pass it, then he'd simply have to smash through it. A blade drawn within a second, a single forceful upswing was all it took to cleave the object in two, enough that it fell apart and left him plenty of room to hop on over and into the room in question. Blade now securely held within his left hand, grip tight around the hilt, even as he came into a scene of nothing. The faint scent of blood in the air, yet little else beside more fog. What in the world. There was a window leading out, had the being fled, no then the fog would dissipate surely. If they were using it, that meant control... which meant they'd gone elsewhere in the building.

Turning around, he sprinted back out of the room, that same grin still present. Really this was almost fun, in a weird and confusing kind of way. Moving as swiftly as he could it seemed, still wasn't fast enough, as he began the sounds of screaming echoed around the entire complex once more. But rather than being spread about, it was moving further away and that was more than enough of a goal to chase it down. Maybe even grab the kid out of there if he was particularly lucky. Wherever the being was going, it was clearly quite far. Leading him across, past the room he and the others had first discovered to the other end of the building entirely. Even leaving him to jump up to the next floor up, no thanks to a hole in the ceiling. None of it was too challenging given the complex wasn't quite in a total state of disrepair, simply abandoned by the souls that had once taken up residence here. Enough that reaching the roof wasn't an issue. The problems started, when he came to a standstill.

Sounds of agony, of crying and weeping, of tears and the broken hopelessness of a mere child still rung out even as he came to a standstill. That being hidden within the mist, yet an outline was soon visible and well... it was far larger than he had an anticipated. But that was fine, the sheer volume of a creature didn't always mean they were physically strong. Judging based on their previous actions alone, Seiji didn't doubt that he could at least match this being in raw strength, not that he had a lot of it. But it would be enough, this hollow however did not seem intent on fighting. Only to criticize and mock him for his efforts so far, a hidden gaze kept his focus on the being, yet also on the fog. A brighter color from within caught his attention, but he kept still for the moment, reflexes primed as he listened to them blather on and on. It was quite entertaining and hypocritical of them, something he would have absolutely no problem pointing out.

"Unimpressive eh? Kinda rich comin' from ya ain't it? All this talk o' bein' stronger and yer not even gonna fight. Jus' hidin' away in this fog, as I'm assumin' yer the one creatin' it. If ya think I ain't all that, I'd be happy ta show ya otherwise~" Some would call him utterly foolish, a madman even, for insulting a greater of such stature. Of one who seemed to hold a fair amount of power, but really it was just his way, if they weren't going to show themselves, then he could mock and cajole them as much as he saw fit. Sure half of it was an outright lie, he had very little power at the moment, but if such a hollow was running from him instead of trying to rip his throat out. Then his gut told them that they weren't as great as they proclaimed, that such a being may even be weaker than him, not that he would bet on that. Better to assume others were above you, far less risk of becoming overconfident that way.

Before he could say another word however, or rush forward to see if contact with this being could be made. That brighter light from before rushed at him, one narrowly avoided, the other deflected with his own Zanpakuto, embedded straight into a nearby wall with a thud. By the time his eyes darted back to their previous position, the towering figure was gone and for a a few seconds, he realized that he could see further than before. As if...- the fog! The screaming had stopped, but as the fog faded from the area, leaving bright blue skies above him, so too did the creature. Leaving the young Shinigami cursing under his breath, chasing them would do little good, for if that fog was created again. He'd be in the same position as he had been just moments before, something that would be a waste to repeat. Enough of a failure to try, that with a sigh, the click of a blade being sheathed resounded out into the air above.

Now stepping across the gradually desolate roof, fog clearing and allowing him a clearer picture of what was around him. He found the horrific sight of Haru, something that while terrible to look at, did not sway him into a violent reaction. Instead, it was almost a look of pity that crossed the elder's features, though he approached the boy he stopped no closer than a few steps away. Nothing could be done now, he wasn't nearly fast enough to get the kid to someone that could help in time, but he didn't move. Remaining until the last traces of the child's existence turned into nothingness. Only then did he turn away, quiet footsteps letting him weave back down through the building. The eventual sight of the two he'd came with, what little was left of each of them, was a little harder to swallow. Obnoxious they may have been, but dying it such a way, well it wasn't going to be an easy report to make.

"Taichou ain' gonna like me fer this one." The mutterings of the emerald Shinigami was the only thing that could be heard as he ascended to the apex of the building once more, easier than walking among humans, in case one of them could actually see him. This entire assignment had been a huge catastrophe and with the hollow having escaped, he was sure he was going to be chewed out for that. Still with powers unlike anything else he'd seen, maybe that would help another in the future to track such a being down and put an end to them. With a simple muttering, a blade drawn then sheathed, the bright light atop the abandoned apartment complex faded into nothing as he took the path to return to the Soul Society. As if no one had ever been there in the first place, nothing but specs of blood, death and piles of gore left behind to show the carnage that once ended countless lives.

Hopefully not to be repeated again.

[Kitai Yoru]

46 paragraphs for Ishikawa Seiji, 460 TP awarded, plus 100 TP for winning
42 paragraphs for Sonadora, 420 TP awarded, plus 200 TP for consuming 2 Shinigami