How To Train A Hollow

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Ever since she has obtained and began teaching at her dojo, Kimiko has seen many people pass its gates and participate in her lessons. She saw people who were already experienced in swordsmanship who wished to learn more about the craft, and she saw complete beginners who could barely even use a sword in the first place. Some may think that a person's skill with their weapon makes a teacher's job far easier than usual, and in some ways, the scarlet-eyed woman understood that. Unsurprisingly, it is indeed much less difficult to teach someone how to properly execute a technique when said someone is already acclimated with the basics of swordsmanship. A clear example of this was Emile, the man who was once meant to take the mantle of the previous owner of the Third Seat's school who was now potentially one of her most powerful apprentices. Though he was a swordsman, his aptitude in battle had allowed him to easily transition into it.

However, what the Third Seat truly understood was that one's established mastery was not what ultimately mattered in the teaching of a student. What instead mattered most was the student's attitude. Compared to the students who already had battle experience, Kimiko had seen almost thrice as many who had none, and she has probably seen the whole spectrum the Soul Society had to offer to her. Sure, there was obviously the ones who did really want to learn, and those were able to learn quickly, but there were also some that definitely had more difficulties than others. There were the impatient ones, the shy ones, the stubborn ones... There were even a few who mocked the way she taught things because they believed she was simply wrong. It would be easy to think that the mocking ones were the hardest to teach, as they were often were mere troublemakers who had no passion for the blade, but Kimiko actually believed that the shyest people were actually the worst of them all. Ailene appeared to be one of them.

Shy people don't speak. When they have a problem executing something, they don't attempt to seek help or ask questions. Instead, they merely remain quiet, absorb all of the negative aspects of their failure. Then, as they continue to not wish to seek help and therefore continue to fail constantly, they begin to think that they simply are not worthy of being part of the school, and eventually, they lose their passion and leave. The off-duty officer knew this, because long ago, she was one of those people. She too always believed she could do everything on her own, and it has led her to a slump that could have brought her into a most dark path if she hadn't asked Celes for help with her Inner Hollow. Hell, even now, she does still have issues battling those urges to remain alone. However, she nevertheless was able to conquer them, and she wants people who possess such terrible and limiting feelings to never have to deal with such things.

Funnily enough, the one thing that she noticed had a very good impact on those people was excitement. By using her own as a means of communication, she is often able to induce her emotional energy onto others, which allows them to push through their established boundaries and become more involved in the activity. In a way, it was like the signature shouting of karate fighters. It was a simple thing, nothing that really demanded any sort of spiritual power or any significant physical effort, but it was an incredibly effective one. So far, she had noticed that Ailene was a quiet person, yet had the energy within her to actually be a little bit louder whenever she wanted to. This was exemplified by that earlier moment in her tea shop that pushed her older customer away. That old man may not have liked it in the moment, and it was somewhat understandable that he didn't, but here, his opinion did not matter. Kimiko hoped that Ailene would be able to remember that as they proceeded.

As such, in hopes that the temporary student would proceed, the teacher unsheathed one of her blades. Though she was excited and wanted Ailene to partake in this emotional push, she nevertheless wanted to take it slow in order to get the girl used to it all. This would naturally allow Kimiko to get a good look at the barista's Zanpakuto. Admittedly, upon seeing the blade, the Shinigami would become a little bit quieter as a form of brief admiration. The blade was impressive. It was clear that, like her own weapons, it was made not out of the typical steel that came from the ground, but rather out of pure spiritual energy that came from Ailene's soul. Naturally, this gave the weapon quite the identity... but there was something about it that Kimiko felt wasn't quite right even at a glance. It wasn't really the material or the energy that exhumed from it that caused this feeling of hers to arisen. She wasn't sure of how to put it, but there was something about the blade that felt slightly ominous and dark, as though she needed to avoid this blade at all cost.

After a few seconds passed, however, the officer would simply begin to ignore the feeling she had from it, pushing it away as much as she could so that it would not affect her excitement. There was no point for her to worry about it, especially once she fully realized once again that this was not really a normal Zanpakuto, but rather an Arrancar's. She had never really seen one in action before, but Arrancars tend to normally use their Zanpakuto as a means to contain their true corrupted powers. Naturally, this makes their weaponry much darker in comparison to a Shinigami's blade, and so, it was probably why this particular blade felt so wrong to her. Ailene had never really showed Kimiko how her released ability looked like, but considering how ominous the blade appeared to her, it was perhaps best for her to not even confront her about it for the time being. It just wasn't worth it, not in such a time where they had so much better things to do.

With that in mind, the woman would bring her thoughts back onto the matter at hand, and so raised her blade above her head. She, as mentioned previously, wanted to first start with two-handed swings. The goal was to get Ailene used to holding a blade first and foremost, so that they will then be able to move on to more complex techniques. Despite the fact that she was making sure to keep her pace similar to the barista's so that their pacing would be almost identical, it did not take very long for Kimiko to realize that the Ailene was having a lot of difficulties already. Quite possible everything about her form was wrong. The distribution of her blade's weight across her body was all over the place, the blade itself was dangerously tipping to the right, and she was not holding the grip very well. If she continued to handle her blade this way, it was entirely possible that she would one day drop it by accident and stab herself.

The Shinigami allowed the Arrancar to commit to a few more swings to make sure that her observations was right. Once this observation of hers was complete, she lowered her weapon before raising her open palm. "Stay like that," she would tell the evolved Hollow just as the latter herself was about to drop her own sword. She wanted her to remain with her blade above her head. Shortly after, she would approach the Arrancar on her right side. "You're doing alright so far! There's just a few things that need to be handled a bit better." She would then begin to lightly tap the woman's arms, then her hips, then her legs, all in an attempt to correct the woman's pose. It was all done with surprise precision that would guide the Arrancar towards something that was close to a perfect pose. After all was said and done, Kimiko would then distance herself from Ailene before nodding with a friendly smile. "Alright, now do the swing again, with a good shout!"

She was very clearly invested in this. It showed in every single one of her interactions thus far. She was so willing to actually teach Ailene how to properly use her sword that she was completely ignoring both the fact that the Arrancar's sword appeared to possess malevolent energy and that... well, the fact that the Arrancar was an Arrancar to begin with. Many officers of the Gotei 13 would believe her to be absolutely insane in the moment. Some may even go as far as to refer to her as a traitor to the Soul Society. However, none of those thoughts even so much as crossed her mind. All that mattered in the moment for her was Ailene's performance, and that was it. In a way, that was quite the admirable quality. With someone like that at the helm of a dojo, it really was no wonder that so many people apparently visited her dojo on the regular and eventually found themselves referring to its location as the Capital of Swordsmanship.

[Ailene Haschiro]

Following Kimiko's movements, Ailene did her best to not stray from the form. It was truly a strange sensation. She had never really considered using her Zanpakutō unless absolutely necesarry. Even then, it was typically to utilize her Resurrección. An Arrancar like Ailene; one who actively feared their Resurrección and turned their back on the life of an Arrancar, had no need for such skills. Even when she did choose to fight, Ailene had an expertise with Cero that was only rivaled by few others. She had learned many variations of the destructive beam of reaitsu and her skill in using each and every one of them likely rivaled Kimiko's own skill with the blade.

Even when utilizing her Resurrección, knowledge of how to use a blade would once again be utterly worthless. Forsaking the use of a blade, Ailene's body would change into that of a dragon. Her talons were spears, her tail was a whip, her teeth were daggers. Using her Resurrección gave her a ferocity that was completely unlike how she acted in everyday situations. Her bloodlust would be unmatched, and it was in those rare moments that she truly took on the title of the Septima Espada. It was her greatest shame. It was for these reasons that she felt uneasy while wielding her Zanpakutō. When combined with her lack of any formal training, her stance became pathetic.

Committing to several more strikes, Ailene could not even tell what was wrong with her form. Raising her hands prepared to deliver another strike, Ailene noticed Kimiko's movements out of the corner of her eye. Her hand came up as if to stop her and the Shinigami's command matched it. "Stay like that," Ailene stopped although it would be clear that she was about to commit to another hit. As the Shinigami approached her, Ailene was wondering what the holdup was. Was there a mistake in her form? She had been doing everything as intended right? Her sword came up and swung down. What more was there? The Arrancar would soon learn that there would be many intricacies to this.

"You're doing alright so far! There's just a few things that need to be handled a bit better." The Septima Espada chuckled lightheartedly. As Kimiko tapped parts of Ailene's body, subtly shifting them. It was strange, but she instinctively shifted her weight ever so slightly as her hip and leg moved. She felt slightly more balanced. The tap of her arm straightened out her blade. Ailene may not have had much experience in sword fighting, but she had a keen eye. She could pick up on those little shifts. Upon manipulating her pose, the Shinigami took a few steps back and Ailene noted the smile on her face. The Arrancar could tell that she took pride in this. It pleased her to tutor someone with little experience. 

"Alright, now do the swing again, with a good shout!" The Espada blinked for a moment. Her voice carried with it some confusion. "A.. a shout?" After a few moments, she looked back in front of her. She'd take a deep breath and steel herself. "Take... this!" Her voice boomed just below the sound of a yell. At the same time, she'd dropped her blade, slicing downward at nothing but air. Thanks to Kimiko's subtle corrections, the slash would carry more force with it. It was nowhere near perfect. In fact, it wasn't even all that impressive to a season veteran. It was, however, far better than the earlier slashes that Ailene had shown off.

Shortly after, the Arrancar blushed and went silent as she held her Zanpakutō next to her. She was clearly a little embarrassed after giving a soft yell. After all, she was not the type to usually do so even when finding herself in a fight. In fact, the entire idea of a yell seemed crazy to her. Wouldn't you want to be as silent as possible to avoid any reaction from the opponent? For all of her curiosity with swordplay, it was the one thing she did not understand. Regardless, she had given a somewhat decent slash and looked at Kimiko, a little more shyly than usual. "So um... how was that?" She did not give much effort to keep up the stance, immediately relaxing her body afterwards.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

The teacher observed the stance of the temporary student attentively after she had made her corrections. What she had accomplished was minor at best. She had changed the position of a few of her limbs to force her body to better distribute the blade's weight all across her body, and she had lightly moved her fingers so that she would be holding the sword with a tighter grip. It was nothing too complicated, and in some capacity, she could have perhaps done more to correct the Arrancar's stance even further. However, the reason why she hadn't actually gone further to replicate a master's absolute perfect stance was because she wanted Ailene to have a modicum of control over her position, and eventually, how she would use her sword altogether. It was an imperfection in every sense of the word, and the teacher should have ideally striven to eliminate it, but leaving these small and almost imperceptible things untouched is what the off-duty officer believed made the unique styles that came out of her dojo.

For now, however, the corrections would be sufficient enough for Ailene to deliver the two-handed slash more efficiently than the prior slashes. It wasn't exactly how Kimiko wanted it to look like, but it was very clear that there was a great difference between this particular slash and the first few she had executed. Those particular slashes were imprecise and simply just dangerous for Ailene. Again, with the way she was previously handling her sword, the hilt of the sword could have slipped out of her hands and she would have potentially cut herself quite severely during a certain maneuver. Yes, she could heal herself to the point that it barely seemed as though she was even hurt to begin with, that much the Shinigami could remember from their encounter with that brat of a Fullbringer, but that didn't mean she should allow herself to be so reckless. It wasn't an excuse for Kimiko, and it shouldn't be an excuse for the Arrancar either.

The rectified slash itself wasn't the only thing that impressed the Third Seat. The shouting had also struck her. For something that came from someone who had by far proven herself to be quite the quiet person, it was quite the shout. It wasn't quite a yell; if anything, it was a tad softer than a truer one that would usually come out of one of her permanent students. Nevertheless, it was something that was pretty loud, which was frankly enough to bring a smile to Kimiko's face. She wasn't really quite sure if Ailene felt it in the moment, but from the way she stood there sword after delivering that slash, it was clear to the teacher that the Arrancar had felt the power that she could potentially wield with her weapon. It was perhaps an unconscious realization, and it would take time for her to fully realize the potential she had when it came to the bladed art, yet that was fine for Kimiko. So long as she could wield a sword and not use it as a prop to use with her laser beams, the Shinigami would be satisfied in this moment.

Naturally, after the woman shouted, she would begin to appear embarrassed by it. This was normal to the scarlet-eyed woman, and she did not feel bothered by this. It was something that she often saw even from her students back at the dojo, especially from those who were not at all used to it all. However, the fact that Ailene had even shouted to begin with was something that Kimiko greatly appreciated. "It was nice! It doesn't look like much, but if you keep at it, you're gonna be a lot better handling the sword before the end of the day," she would tell her with genuine honesty before she approached the Arrancar once more. Unsurprisingly, she had noticed that the barista had began to relax her stance, causing her to almost drop it completely. It was to be expected. Most beginners tend to not realize that it is very easy to drop, then completely forget a pose once you start practicing it the first time. "Raise your sword again. I'll show you what I did to correct your stance."

Should Ailene accept her words, Kimiko would perform the same readjustments, then place herself in front of her friend once again. As she did so, she made sure to maintain an eye on the temporary student so as to confirm her corrected stance had not been dropped, then eventually raised her sword once more above her head. "Let's continue what we were doing earlier. Remember, after each hit, let out a shout!" She would tell the barista before then executing a swing of her own at Ailene's maximum speed of 75 to give her an idea of what she wanted from the Arrancar. The way she executed the swing was no different than Ailene's way; after all, it wasn't like she was doing anything revolutionary here. Despite this, the difference in execution would be immediately noticed. Hers felt completely natural, as though her sword was a true extension of her arm. It was truly the work of somebody who had done the swing more than dozens of thousands of times over the course of multiple decades of experience.

What's more, the shout that she let out as she swung her sword was shocking. Although it was very brief, perhaps not even a few seconds long, it was a cry that possessed quite a fair bit of power. No... perhaps not just a "fair bit". It was like it had been expressed from an almighty commander ready to lead their troops to war. It was loud enough to slightly echo throughout the area, and within it was contained might and energy unlike no other that would both spread into Ailene. Perhaps she may not feel them as intensely as some of Kimiko's other students may have done as they followed her lessons, but she would most certainly at the very least feel slightly more spirited than before. Was this a technique? Or was it Kimiko's philosophy of expression coming to life right then and there? If it was, the Third Seat had not noticed its effects on Ailene right away. All she wanted here was for her to follow her lessons as much as she could.

These lessons would go on for a time. At first focusing on the two-handed overhead swings, they would then go on to do other variations of what was more or less the exact same attack. Side swings, upper swings, horizontal swings. For each and every one of them, Kimiko would allow Ailene to first follow her swings through replication, then correct her stance and allow her to form her own version of the swing before then repeating it. It was a very subtle process that was not explained outright, but it would allow the Arrancar to potentially develop a sense for her sword, a new perspective of sorts. She would be subtly told of her weapon's weight and of its influence over her body during her attacks, as well as the efforts required to swing it to begin with. Within this delivered information would also be included her weapon's range, which could allow her to be made aware of the area surrounding her from which her blade could attack from within.

After an hour and a half of these sets would pass, the Third Seat would let out one final shout before then quietly exhaling the air from her lungs. She would take a deep breath, spin her blade flawlessly around her hand before expertly sliding it against its scabbard until its tip would reach its top. Once done, she would sheath the blade and straighten herself. "Alright, let's take a few minutes to rest. Fifteen minutes should be good," she would tell the Arrancar before then giving her a friendly smile. "So, how do you feel so far? I know what we did wasn't special or anything like that, but they're super important, so we really needed to get those down right away." The words were caring and motivated, the kind to expect from a teacher who was excited to teach her. Speaking of which, by then, Ailene should still be able to feel the effects of the Shinigami's burning will within her. Its flame was still bright, filling her with the Third Seat's energy in an almost infectious way.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Technique Used}

Technique Name: Akuma no Ishi (剃るかんめき, "Demon's Will")

Technique Type: Other | Strength of Will Buff

Technique Element: None

Usable by: All races

Class: 3

Technique Reiatsu Cost: N/A

Technique Description and Effects

The projection of one's own will to empower the hearts of others. The user channels the strength of their very soul within themselves before shouting it out, most typically either in a short inspirational speech or a motivational war cry. By accomplishing this, the user is capable of bringing forth the Strength of Will skill of all of their surrounding allies by one point for the next three posts, inspiring them to go further beyond towards victory even if such a thing may cost their lives. A master of this skill is said to have such a powerful will that they are able to instead bring the aforementioned skill of their allies up by two points.


Drawbacks & Weaknesses

As saddening as this may be to those who may be interested in learning this technique, not everyone is born with a powerful will. That is simply a natural, uncontested fact that cannot be refuted even by the greatest minds there is in this world. In so doing, it is not difficult to imagine that this technique will not always show any kind of positive effect onto the people surrounding them, especially if they are used by naturally-uninspiring individuals. In order to guarantee this technique's proper success, the user must possess a 2 in at least one of the following skills: Acting, Charisma, or Strength of Will. This technique can be executed by those who have a lesser version of these skills if they so will it; however, upon execution, there will be a 50% chance of this skill failing to provide any kind of inspiration to allies altogether.


Made by: Nakajima Kimiko

Reserved? : No

[Ailene Haschiro]

As she executed her improved strike, Ailene could feel the increase in power. It was not much, but the slash felt somewhat different. Her voice soared through clearing as she gave a rather soft shout. She was still far too reserved. Regardless, it was a start. Her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment as she looked at Kimiko. Her expression would further betray her awkwardness as she meagerly asked the Shinigami how that attempt was. It was nothing impressive though for the Arrancar who had never really used her Zanpakutō in any meaningful way, it would seem to be a respectful gesture. After all, she had done as Kimiko wanted. 

It seemed that the Third Seat appreciated the effort. "It was nice! It doesn't look like much, but if you keep at it, you're gonna be a lot better handling the sword before the end of the day," Once more, Ailene smiled shyly. She could sense no dishonesty from the Shinigami and her body language didn't suggest it either. This was a genuine compliment and encouragement. It was certainly a new sensation for the Arrancar. The Espada were not the encouraging type. Most demanded loyalty and respect simply due to feats of strength. Ailene knew some Fracción whose relationship with their Espada was more akin to that between a Captain and their subordinates. 

Ailene did not even notice her stance drop. After all, she was still a beginner. Unlike a blade, her mastery of Cero allowed her to attack at a moment's notice. She had no need to physically raise her guard. Unsurprisingly, Kimiko commented on this. "Raise your sword again. I'll show you what I did to correct your stance." Ailene blinked and nodded, raising her Zanpakutō above her head once more. As expected, her form was off again. Her weight was off again, and her blade tilted to the side. At least her grip was tighter though. Kimiko made subtle adjustments to her own stance and Ailene kept her eye on the Shinigami. She silently took note of all the little changes doing her best to mimic them. It would certainly improve her own stance. It would not be perfect, but it would be fairly close. 

As she prepared to drop her blade again, Ailene would watch Kimiko. Maintaining her stance, she simply wanted to take note of a proper reference. Little did she know that she would get so much more. "Let's continue what we were doing earlier. Remember, after each hit, let out a shout!" Ailene's eyes widened as Kimiko performed the slash. It would not be faster than Ailene's own, but the form was clearly practiced. As her blade moved, it seemed as though it was an extension of her very body. She would be utterly in sync with her blade. Ailene was certainly impressed. Accompanying the slash would be a powerful shout. The yell shocked Ailene's system for a moment. 

She felt it as if it tore through her very body. Not only did her enhance the power of the slash, but the energy leapt towards Ailene. She could not explain why, but she felt far more invigorated. She felt sure of herself and her own abilities. It was as if Kimiko's own passion and courage reflected onto her. She felt full of energy. Ready to leap and take on the world. Right after Kimiko, the Arrancar committed to the slash. The slash wouldn't be anything too impressive again. A good base to work off of. Her yell would certainly be different. Unlike the meager yell, this was a shout. "HAAH!" There would be genuine passion behind the strike. For what it lacked in raw skill, Ailene made up for in raw excitement and effort. 

This passion would not fade over the course of the lesson. As Kimiko took Ailene through variations of the same slashes, she'd tackle each and every one with the same determination and excitement. Each attempt would require minor adjustments to her form. The improvements, however, came to her Zanpakutō. Her grip tightened more consistently, and she became more keenly aware of its weight. She'd understand better how to shift her body to get an effective slash. All the while, she'd continue letting out a loud roar. Whether she was improving or not didn't matter anymore. She was having a great time! It was more than that though. For once, Ailene was guiding her Zanpakutō. She was in control of it for once. Not the other way around. It felt... freeing!

Time would pass swiftly with their continued practice. Ailene's own inadequacies would catch up with her as she felt herself become more fatigued. Regardless, she pushed through. After one final heartfelt shout with her teacher, Ailene sighed, her physical form deteriorating slightly. She took short, labored breaths. It seemed that Kimiko would take note of this as the Shinigami stylishly sheathed her blade and declared, "Alright, let's take a few minutes to rest. Fifteen minutes should be good," Ailene wanted to go on. Kimiko had burned a light in her soul, but she needed to compose herself. She nodded silently and began to fall backward, closing her eyes. About a second later, Ailene focused her reiatsu, guiding it. Almost instantly, she'd stop falling as a platform of reishi formed against her back, leveling out. Soon she'd be laying on her back, suspending a few feet above the ground. A wide grin on her face. She would appear almost completely different from when they had started.

As he was laying there for a moment, she listened quietly to the Shinigami. "So, how do you feel so far? I know what we did wasn't special or anything like that, but they're super important, so we really needed to get those down right away." The Arrancar gave a relaxed sigh before rising and sitting atop the platform of reaitsu. "I feel great! For once I feel... in control." She smiled brightly. Ailene was not completely aware of the changes that Kimiko's energy had imposed upon her. To her, it felt as though she always had this confidence, this determination, inside of her. It was only now allowed to blossom thanks to the tutoring. 

As she sat upon her platform of reiatsu, the Arrancar suddenly felt a presence form behind her. The darkness of the Zanpakutō manifested. Naturally, this draconian apparition could only be sensed by Ailene. The Arrancar sighed for a moment. A voice sprang to life with a soft growl. "Always the naïve one, Ailene." The Arrancar paid her little mind at the moment. "Won't acknowledge me? Then how about you just listen~" Her voiced carried a malevolence with it. "This one may treat you differently now, but just wait." She'd chuckle softly. "Albin attacked us without provocation. Do you really think that this one is any different? She may be okay with you now, but I bet that if it came down to it, she'll attack you for the same reason as anyone else. We are hollows. You can't expect to be the exception." As usual, the apparition was trying to make its point. For Ailene to embrace being a Hollow. In any other circumstance, Ailene would have sat in silence. She'd simply ignore the soul that resided within her Zanpakutō. 

This time, however, would be different. She'd turn her head towards the apparition. The fire that had been lit in her soul burned brightly as she muttered softly. "I can't. Your right..." She'd turn a little more, now facing the draconian phantom. As she spoke, it would appear as if she was talking to herself while looking a the forest, but if Kimiko paid attention, her words would have purpose. They'd be directed at someone... or something. "I've been holding this off for far too long. It's time that I make my choice.." She sighed briefly. Ever since she had attained the means to discard her powers, she always held back. She was waiting for the right time to unleash it. She never took into account her own motivations. This would all change now!

[Nakajima Kimiko]

The Shinigami smiled brightly as she heard Ailene's second shout. Unlike the one that preceded it, this one was loud and powerful, fierce and passionate. It carried a strength that was once not there, able to bring her to swing her sword with better strength and precision that both were desperately needed to improve her swordsmanship. Some would have believed this woman to be absolutely incapable of expressing such a raw emotion all-so-suddenly. Even Kimiko had a modicum of a doubt when they first began this little class. She simply appeared too quiet to even so much as consider the idea of releasing such energy, too modest, too shy. It was why the off-duty officer was so happy to hear it all come out of her. It proved that, once again, her line of thought when it came to teaching the quieter apprentices worked. In so doing, she would lead the Arrancar throughout her lessons with as much as passion before as before, guiding her forward as powerfully as she could.

Much like any physical exercise, the totality of the lessons were both demanding and grueling. They challenged the flesh and bone of every limb, demanding that they remain strong and steady in order to achieve both proper swing strength and placement amidst the grassy grounds. The spinal cord of both women was also tested, as it instead was required to remain straight in opportune times and bent forward in others. As such, this could have been quite difficult for Ailene; hell, long ago, it was difficult for Kimiko. Despite having accomplished Kendo training before she passed on to the Soul Society, and thus having achieved similar swings many times before with a wooden sword, they had proven to be harder for her to accomplish with a real blade, and so she had needed some time to get used to it. But here, in this particular moment, the Third Seat did not see this in Ailene. Instead, she saw her will burn almost as brightly as hers, pushing her onward evermore. It was nothing short of exhilarating.

Shout after shout was released as the two women continued. What was once something that felt alien to Ailene had visibly turned into something motivational and powerful, pushing her further and further onward towards limitless swordsmanship. Her grip tightened, allowing her to have a better control over where her blade would be directed, and her stance was progressively becoming better and better as she understood her blade's weight. Of course, there was still a long way to go before she achieved a perfect handling of the blade. There were still a few minor corrections that needed to be appropriately understood here and there, and there were still times in which the sword would perhaps be mishandled during a swing. However, that did not matter. What mattered instead was the sheer amount of potential that Ailene was showing to Kimiko in this moment, and that was more than enough for the Third Seat to thoroughly enjoy her time here.

Unsurprisingly, though, this time would not last forever. Though Kimiko was not tired in the slightest and could have perhaps gone for even longer, it was starting to become clearer by the minute that a break was slowly beginning to be needed. The barista's breathing was becoming rougher, more labored, and sweat would become visible. Moreover, now that fatigue was starting to kick in, so would a few pains in the arms and legs. They would become stiffer and most likely a bit painful, causing the imperfections of the sword swings to ultimately become more prevalent. They could have perhaps gone on a little bit further, but the Shinigami knew that doing so would cause more problems than anything else. This was only exacerbated once she witnessed Ailene fall back after their work was accomplished and generate a small platform of spiritual energy to rest on. The poor girl would have probably collapsed by the time they reached two full hours of training.

But this exhaustion was not a negative thing. Far from it. Despite the fact that she required this creation of hers to not fall flat onto the ground below, Ailene looked more radiant than ever. The teacher noticed this right away. The grin, the way she handled herself on the small platform, the general mood that radiated from her... It was clear that her will was almost burning as brightly as Kimiko's now that they had both fully immersed themselves in this training of theirs. Both witnessing and feeling these two things made the Shinigami feel incredibly happy. It was the same feeling she had felt back when she had trained Wynne, Emile, and then the many others that have come to learn from her at the dojo. "I'm really glad to hear that," she would tell the Arrancar in response to her words, giving her a smile as bright as her friend's as she spoke. Shortly after, though, she would look on towards the sky almost absentmindedly before humming: "There's really nothing in this world that better allows you to become the truest warrior you could ever dream to be than the blade."

For as shockingly eloquent as these words may have been in the moment, they were rather simple in hindsight. If anything, many would have claimed them to be false, as there were many ways for one to become a warrior. Even so, Ailene would be able to tell from the way Kimiko told these words that the Shinigami was fully opening herself to her. That was the way she thought, and that was how she believed every warrior should think. Since she was a Shinigami, she of course has used plenty of spiritual powers during her career. She was a master of the art of quickening, and she had achieved some form of control when it came to her ridiculous spiritual pressure, even if it was sometimes difficult for her to maintain it at a reasonable level. Yet in a world where spiritual beings often take advantage of their spirituality to fight from a distance, it was nothing short of impressive to see someone with such a strong mentality for the blade not only remain untouched, but also seemingly reach such great heights of power.

Kimiko hoped that Ailene understood what she truly meant when she said that. She did not want her to misunderstand and then proceed to make a whole fuss about it, seeing as it unsurprisingly has happened a few times before. As such, she awaited a sort of response from after she spoke her words. However, as her gaze would slowly go back down from the sky to the Arrancar, she would witness something strange. For some reason, the girl was... talking to the air. "Uh..." The Third Seat would let out quietly as she watched the scene unfold, not quite sure if she wanted to interrupt whatever was going. At first, the Arrancar had merely only turned her head towards the air and muttered a few words to it, but then, she suddenly turned her whole body towards it and began speaking of a choice. Needless to say, it was a bit unsettling. Upon noticing this, the Shinigami would simply stare in confusion, unsure as to what was happening here. "Ailene? You okay?"

The further the scene went on, the more cautious Kimiko started to become. She was not quite sure of who her friend was talking to, but the Third Seat could not see it, which was enough to make her frown. Did something who had the power to become invisible suddenly enter the clearing, and only Ailene could see it? No, that didn't sound right, else this conversation would not happen all so suddenly. Was she communicating with someone who was contacting her from a distance? If so, who? Whoever it may be, the officer wasn't quite sure if she liked the subject of the aforementioned conversation. "Ailene?" She would ask again in an attempt to get the Arrancar's attention. For now, there would be no attempt from her to reach for her blades, but there was a part of her that felt something bad was going to happen all of a sudden. Why this suddenly decided to happen now, she could not say... but hopefully, this won't suddenly become a typical fight between Shinigami and Hollow.

[Ailene Haschiro]

"There's really nothing in this world that better allows you to become the truest warrior you could ever dream to be than the blade." Something about this made Ailene chuckle. She knew that many of her fellow Espada would disagree with the statement. Someone like the Quinta Espada, who became a large three-headed canine in his Resurrecciòn, would likely place more faith in his physical qualities. Others like Arcadus clearly placed great value in their spiritual abilities. In their duel, the Tercera Espada had shown impressive physical strength, but also a competency with Cero that rivaled even Ailene's own. Both of these examples clearly made good use of their abilities without a blade. Hell, even Ailene before this lesson rarely used her own Zanpakutō. 

Regardless, one could not deny the woman's passion for the style. She truly had a love for the art of swordplay that very few could match. Her opening of a Dojo would make it far more accessible to the common person. It was a noble thing. To want to share such a gift. She had much respect for the Shinigami, and she chuckled ever so softly as Kimiko hummed. Ailene sighed softly as she tried to recover from the fatigue. She had pushed herself. Nearly two hours of training did much wear down the Espada. For as much as her newfound determination pushed her, it could not combat the cry of her muscles. They were aching. 

As Ailene listened to the image of her Resurrecciòn and gave her retort, she'd pay little mind to the questioning Shinigami behind her. After all, her mind was so fixated upon the apparition. This soul had given her much trouble across its existence. It always appeared to her, trying to tell her how the world worked. Trying to tell her how she should act. How she should think. She was rather good at tuning it out much like any other conversation that she knew would incense her. This time was different. She finally had the confidence, the will to choose her own fate. To make a decision that would irrevocably change her entire life. Whether it was out of spite or not didn't matter to her.

As Kimiko stood there, concerned, Ailene loud enough for her to hear her. "I don't want you to be alarmed Kimiko..." She'd pause for a moment, understanding how crazy it must look since she began seemingly talking to nobody visible. "I'm going to do something reckless. Something that, while I cant imagine why, I may even come to regret in the future." She sighed briefly, seemingly staring into the distance, past the trees. "I don't know what you did... whether it was your lesson or just your presence..." She turned towards the Shinigami, briefly smiling as she closed her eyes. "...but I thank you for giving me the strength to do this..." Sounding ominous but understanding her own change in behavior ever since the beginning of their lesson, Ailene allowed her reiatsu to flare after taking a few steps forward to create distance between herself and the Shinigami. 

The flickering embers of human reiatsu rose from her body. It would start out small but rose to the limits f her sealed state. It would not be anything impressive, not even above the level of perhaps a Fourth Seat, but it would be something. With a soft sigh, Ailene looked upon the stunned apparition who had scrambled to her feet, watching Ailene. For once, she could sense the fear in it. For once, she had power of it. She wouldn't stop here. No. She'd take it further. She'd take a deep breath in. As she exhaled, her reiatsu suddenly leapt forth. She held her Zanpakutō at her side as her reiatsu changed. Thick purple tendrils of reiatsu suddenly wrapped around her, enveloping her in an orb.

Her reiatsu leapt forth into the sky, filling the clearing with a dark purple reiatsu. Unlike earlier, it would reek of Hollow reiatsu, rosing to new unimaginable heights for a few moments. The very depth of her reiatsu would inspire fear in even the most hardened of warriors. The flaring of her reiatsu tore up the ground and split the clouds in the sky. Then suddenly... it all came crashing down. The light dove down from the sky, tearing up the ground around her. Tees would become uprooted; the ground would shake; dust and dirt would rise up from the ground. As the energies collapsed on Ailene her reiatsu settled or perhaps more accurately a strange lack of reiatsu.

The dust would obscure vision for a moment, however, once it cleared and Ailene was visible, the result would be nothing less than shocking. The Arrancar who once stood nearly half a foot shorter than the Shinigami was now slightly taller than her. Her Mask Fragment had grown becoming much more like a crown. These were not the strangest features, however. Ailene's body had turned a sickly grey. Her skin appeared rotten, maggots and other insects clinging to various parts of her body. Her face and body bled with pustules. She was truly a putrid and hideous shell of the Espada. The clean robes she once wore were now tattered, a relic of a bygone age. Along with the robes, ancient jewelry adorned the Espada's body. 

Her Zanpakutō had morphed as well. No longer a blade, it now became an incense burner that a priestess would carry. The burner was affixed to a chain which Ailene held. Actually, upon closer inspection. the chain wrapped around her arm and extended along its length. Her other arm also seemed to be wrapped in the same chain, digging into her seemingly rotten flesh. Despite its appearance, a soothing mist rose from it that smelt like burnt roses and carnations. As the Espada opened her eye, it would appear a lifeless grey. As she took a breath, a purple miasma rose from her mouth. Among all of this, the most eerie thing would be the lack of any spiritual pressure. Her Human reiatsu which for a mere moment had felt like an insurmountable amount of Hollow reiatsu had completely vanished, leaving a literal walking corpse of a woman.

SPOILER: Click to show

{New SP Total}

SP Total: 3987

Strength: 1500
Speed: 1000
Reiatsu Strength: ∞
Spiritual Pressure: ∞
Instinct: 600
Senses: 200
Energy Sensory: 287
Healing Expertise: 400

SPOILER: Click to show

{Saigo No Houmen Stage 1: Necrotic Nova}

Upon activating Saigo no Houmen, Ailene's form merges the Arrancar with the monster within to create her nightmarish new form. Much like her Resurrecciòn, Ailene grows in height, becoming 6'5". Taking on a rather slender, almost malnourished appearance, Ailene skin takes on an almost sickly grey appearance. Her eyes lose their purple coloration, instead becoming entirely grey. To most, Ailene would likely appear to be a walking corpse, but it is the festering rot within her, marring her features that truly makes her absolutely hideous to look upon. Fitting for the carrier of the plague.

Most of Ailene's body is covered in maggots and blood. In fact, the right half of Ailene's face is entirely decayed and covered only by a mask of maggots to hide the rotten half of her nightmarish visage. Her Espada robes lose their pristine look and instead become mere rags, stained and torn, unable to withstand the test of time. These rags create a dress of sorts that lowers to her waist in the front and descend to her ankles in the back. Besides this, a thin cloth drapes over her shoulders and torso. Numerous cuts and bruises cover much of the uncovered portions of her body, purulent discharge oozing from the wounds. This alone would be enough to make anyone's stomach churn with disgust. To add to this, her very breath lets out a purple haze.

If her decayed features and clothing weren't a clear indication that she is effectively a walking corpse, Ailene's body is decorated with jewelry and headgear reminiscent of the Babylonian Empire. Her fingers adorned with golden claws, bracelets and other rings cover her legs and arms and a necklace of golden twisted chains surrounds her neck. Alongside all of this, Ailene's head is adorned with headgear that could only be described as a crown. All of the jewelry that adorns her is clearly withered and rusted, losing some of its golden shine in the process. Regardless, they detract from some of the more unsightly features.

Finally, Ailene's Zanpakutou becomes an extension of her body. What was once a blade, becomes an ancient incense burner. Bonelike in appearance, golden markings adorn the outer shell, it still radiates a haze of burnt roses and carnations that surprisingly largely overwhelm the sickening stench of Ailene's putrid form. The incense burner is attached to a chain that hangs off and is wrapped around Ailene's right arm. The chains continue to extend around her entire upper body which makes it incredibly hard to tell where the chains begin... even for Ailene. The chain hanging off her right arm is about 6 meters in length, able to retract or loosen almost magically at a moment's notice. This allows Ailene to hold the burner herself or allow it to dangle on the chain which gives her the option to use it not unlike a meteor hammer.

Saigo No Houmen: 1/6

[Nakajima Kimiko]

From the Shinigami's perspective, the situation was becoming progressively harder for her to understand. As stated before, she still had no idea of who - or maybe even what - the Arrancar was talking to. There was still visually nothing that stood in front of the barista, and for as hard as the off-duty officer attempted to detect whatever was there, she could not even so much as sense it. For all intents and purposes, what was standing there simply could not be seen by Kimiko in any capacity. At first, she had believed that the entity who was communicating with Ailene in one way or another was an outside party of sorts, something that was related to Las Noches or perhaps even another group altogether. In other words, she thought that this was some sort of conversation held between two beings through some sort of spiritual phone. However, as it continued to go on, the Shinigami began to understand that this was not that. It truly could not be.

In a moment's notice, this shy Arrancar who happened to want nothing more than to own a tea shop in the middle of Karakura Town, this exception to the norm established by the beasts of Hueco Mundo, suddenly began talking about doing something that appeared as though it was going to be incredibly reckless. Kimiko was not sure of what that something was even going to be, but she felt as though the words the Arrancar gave to her was already quite ominous. Usually, when someone tells another to not be alarmed and then proceed to quite literally tell them that they are going to do something impetuous, it means that there is a chance that whatever is going to happen next is most likely going to cause a great amount of trouble. It did not help that, on top of it all, she thanked Kimiko as well for giving her strength to do whatever she wanted to do. It was enough to cause the Shinigami to almost wish to act against what was going to happen.

Unfortunately, it would be too late for her to do anything of the sort. Before she could decide on what to do, the Third Seat watched as a great deal of spiritual energy began to rise from the Espada's body. At first, it appeared as though the evolved Hollow was releasing her weapon, or at the very least the energy that she had contained within herself. It was not an impressive amount of energy, as Kimiko's own energy could simply push it away without any needed effort, but it was just powerful enough that it was affecting the clearing. The grass began to sway wildly as though it was affected by heavy winds alongside the leaves of the nearby trees, and the pond of water located just nearby started to ripple intensely from the force. Birds and squirrels that were previously watching the training unfold would also begin to flee away from the area. All of these elements were warnings, and the fact that the Third Seat was witnessing them all occur so quickly was keeping her on edge.

The warnings did not come to an end just yet. Shortly after the first came, there were a few more that began to appear. The spiritual energy that Ailene was releasing began to form an orb around her being, and what remained became so powerful that it tore up the grounds around her, causing many cracks to appear in the earth. Moreover, it shot towards the sky, causing the few clouds above to be pushed away and the sun to be partially blocked by a dark purple light. It was like a pillar of light had suddenly been erected in the middle of the clearing, and all Kimiko could do in this instance and simply watch it all unfold. She wanted to say that she was feeling awe in this instance, but that wasn't quite right. If anything, it was closer to worry. None of the Humans would be able to notice this great light shoot out towards the heavens, but everything else would definitely be able to do so... and that was not going to be a good thing.

By that point, the Shinigami believed that the pillar was all there would be to this show. However, as she looked up towards the sky, she would notice something strange. The light that was previously reaching for the heavens had begun to descend from them, and was now heading back towards the clearing. This wouldn't be a bad thing in circumstances within which one's energy returns to them after having been unleashed, but there was a clear difference between those and the one Kimiko was facing now. That difference was the returning energy's speed. When one releases energy, then progressively take control over it, it tends to be a slower process. This allows the energy to return to the user as safely as possible all the while causing minimal damage to their surroundings. In comparison, Ailene's energy in this moment was falling a pace the officer had never seen before. It was like it was not returning to her, but rather simply crashing down into the earth.

The Shinigami has had tons of experience with the effects of excessive spiritual energy; after all, she was probably one of the best examples of someone whose soul clearly had too much of it. She knew what happened when that energy was not controlled properly, what its effects were on what it surrounded. In so doing, when she saw Ailene's energy come down in such a way, she could already guess what was going to happen. That energy was going to shatter this whole clearing, and turn it into rubble. As such, with clenched teeth, the officer decided to move. She may have loads of spiritual energy at her disposal, but there was no way she was going to allow herself to just stand there and take the hit by having it collide with the Arrancar's. She would quickly go upward, using the fact that they were in the Living World to kick the air several times over and effectively escape the blast. Just as she found herself sufficiently high enough to be two times higher than the trees below, she saw the energy pass by her, then finally collide with the ground.

Instantly, the beautiful piece of nature that had formed away from Karakura Town's urbanization was turned into something akin to a warzone. The earth was shattered into a crater by the shockwave alone, taking with it the grass and some of the nearby trees, and what was once in the pond had been splashed away. The air, once so pure and joyful, was immediately filled with dust and dirt that both erupted from the ground, and for all intents and purposes, it would become quite clear that this place was not going to be returned to what it was only but an hour ago any time soon. Kimiko would watch from above in shock as she was cruelly reminded of what happened when she first released her Bankai. There was a chance this place was going to be reborn after a time... but what it once was had been erased. This only worsened once she landed back down onto the earth after the dust cleared. It was frightening. Yet what was perhaps more frightening of all was what now stood in the middle of this mess.

Ailene was gone. Or at least, what Ailene once was had vanished. Instead, what now stood in her place was something else entirely. A rotten, putrid thing that could barely be deemed as alive remained now. She resembled a priestess of sorts, someone who appeared to have once been part of some religious sect. However, there was nothing holy about what this thing was. For all intents and purposes, she resembled a living corpse, a being who could only be classified as an undead. Kimiko did not understand what this thing was or if it was even Ailene, but it took every ounce of her being not to immediately try to eliminate it. It was not that she feared the being. Rather, it was because she did not know what it was. It did not feel like a Hollow, a Hellion, or even a Human. In fact, though her ability to sense spirits was meager... she felt absolutely nothing from the being. It was like whatever was there was not even meant to exist, and it felt wrong.

She would continue to analyze this creature in silence for a moment in an attempt to further understand it. Was this really Ailene? If so, she did not look like her. Not only was she rotten all over, but she was also taller than her, something which did not previously fit the Arrancar. Then, was it the invisible being she was talking to? All of those things were possible. Either way, she would eventually decide to raise her voice. "Hey!" The intonation came out of the scarlet-eyed woman was careful, yet ready. She was ready to interfere with whatever ritual was currently ongoing if needed. Her sharp gaze said as much. "What the hell did you do to Ailene? Tell me!" Her emotional energy would boom across the area once again. She was ultimately ignorant in this context, but the Arrancar - or what was left of her - would be able to tell that she wasn't being confrontational out of spite or a need to fulfill a duty. Rather, it was out of worry for her well-being.

[Ailene Haschiro]

Surrounded by so much potent reiatsu for a few moments left Ailene inspired. She could sense her form fading and morphing as the reiatsu changed her. It would not be unlike a Resurrecciòn, but it was completely different scale. For a moment Ailene felt the power to level forests, crush mountains and even tame seas. It was a power unlike any she ever felt before. She felt herself grow taller. Her clothing changed. Jewelry adorned her body. Even her Zanpakutō morphed into a completely foreign sight. Becoming an incense burner affied to a chain, it wrapped around her arm, extending across her torso and limbs. It was almost as if her Zanpakutō had become a natural part of her being.

Even as the surge of reiatsu collapsed upon Ailene, she merely created another platform to stand upon as it cratered the ground beneath her. Grass turned to ash; animals fled given the chance and trees tore themselves from the ground. The cataclysmic display of power utterly ravaged the land. While Kimiko would quickly get to safety, the landscape, once beautiful, would change into a barren wasteland. As Ailene felt the reiatsu collapse further, she felt her physical attributes improve. Despite having the appearance of a meager corpse, she felt durable. She felt as though she could take on an army, take numerous hits and emerged unscathed. 

Suddenly, the reiatsu faded. It was as if the potent Hollow reaitsu just... vanished. Even Ailene was baffled by this. She felt like a hollow shell that lacked a spirit. In some ways, it fit her appearance. She seemed like a corpse, animated and given unholy life. As the dust cleared, Ailene opened her eyes. She looked downward, looking upon the crater that was left in the wake of her transformation. It truly was tragic. To desecrate such a special spot. For a moment, she felt melancholy. Then, for just a moment, she felt little remorse for the surroundings. Finally, she'd be left with a feeling of emptiness as she was left conflicted. Each shift in emotion would be the most logical extreme. 

Soon would gently lower herself. The platforms of reiatsu that she stood upon would sink, falling to the ground with her on top of them. She'd rest at the epicenter of the crater, looking down at her hands. The incense burner burned a soothing mist that smelt of flowers. She had finally done it. She had committed to using her Saigo! Now, however, was not the time for celebrations as the Espada heard a voice call out to her. "Hey!" She slowly turned towards the direction of the voice, tilting her head. "What the hell did you do to Ailene? Tell me!" Ailene would be silent for a moment. She simply stared at the Shinigami, every breath letting out another cloud of purple miasma. 

A slight grin appeared on Ailene's face. The maggots that covered her face writhed far more vigorously for a moment. It all added to her nightmarish look. Then... she began to approach Kimiko. It would be a slow stride. Surprisingly graceful despite her appearance. She gripped the chain, the burner gently swinging back and forth, still giving off a pleasant aura. If Kimiko let her get close, Ailene would approach until there was not more than two feet distance between them. The grin would have faded at this point and the Espada looked down at the Shinigami with lifeless eyes. The air between would be silent again as Ailene studied the Shinigami.

She certainly appeared tense, but it was less out of anger. It seemed more out of concern. In fact, her previous question all, but confirmed this to the analytical Arrancar. She'd politely bow her head before speaking. Her voice would sound very coarse. "What did we do to Ailene?" The corpse paused for a moment, taking another labored breath. It sounded diseased. "We did nothing to the Septima Espada. This is entirely her doing and we are the being borne out of that choice..." She narrowed her eyes for a moment, her voice raising for a moment ever so slightly above her coarse tone. "All we ask is that you don't raise your weapon against us. After all... if we meant you harm, we wouldn't be talking." There was a brutal honesty to the statement. There was no attempt at deception, but it seemed less like a request. Instead, it seemed more like the being was urging Kimiko not to raise her hand against the woman. 

Saigo No Houmen: 2/6

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Long ago, Kimiko did not pay any mind to nature. She always found it to be nothing more than a cosmetic thing. Grass, trees, even the sky... All of those things were pretty, but she believed that their necessity to the world was ultimately incredibly limited. Not only that, but they also simply could not exist in a world where Humanity would one day turn everything into a realm of cement and concrete. Those were blasphemous things, of course, the kinds that could only be conjured by a city girl whose sole motivator was the concept of arcades. However, it was difficult to deny the truth in her words; after all, science had already began to expand to such a ridiculous level that feats that were once considered fantastical were becoming reality. Meat was being more and more developed in laboratories without requiring the slaughter of animals, chemicals that are necessary for life were being produced by expert scientists. Even wood, something that unsurprisingly the cutting of trees, was being manufactured.

Yet after she passed on and was introduced to the realm of spirits, her opinions changed. She was taught the concept of reishi, the very matter from which Souls are constructed from, and therefore the source of all spiritual energy in each world there is. She was also taught about how this particular thing was born from places closest to nature, and how there were theories that thus explained the attractions Humans had with nature. Of course, many of these theories were somewhat unfounded. There were even a few who were apparently considered heretical, as they were apparently to the Quincy and how they themselves used reishi to accomplish their own sordid deeds. Even so, it was upon fully understanding this concept that Kimiko began to progressively grow an appreciation for nature and its beauty, and why - after having sorted out the subterfuge of her Zanpakuto spirits regarding her Inner Hollow - she began to train a bit more in natural areas.

This was why the sight of the demolished clearing affected her so much. With the earth broken and the trees annihilated, the amount of reishi in the area has most certainly drastically lessened. Again, what was there had not been completely erased from this world unlike what had happened to that clearing after her Bankai was activated against it, and so it could be restored over the course of time. But how long was that going to take without the direct involvement of Humans? Ten years? Fifty? Hell, it could even maybe take a whole century before it returns to semblance of what it was. Not to mention, if Humans somehow get involved, they will most likely think that they place needs to be urbanized after all, and once that's done... then they will erase nature and turn the area into something else entirely. Sure, all will be made of bricks and concrete, which are themselves made of stone, but it will not be the same. It never will be, unless the place is eventually abandoned.

And all of this... was the fault of the being that now stood in the place of Ailene. This filthy, soiled creature who resembled a reanimated long-dead servant of some unknown god. She barely seemed fazed by what had just done to the clearing as she stood there on that platform of spiritual energy. The Third Seat, naturally, was angered by this lacking emotional response. She had expected her to at least feel remorse for her destruction, her vandalism, but no. Perhaps that was simply too much to ask to this thing. Eventually, though, the Shinigami would calm down and try to ignore the state of the clearing for the time being. There was something that she needed to focus on, and it was not the clearing itself; rather, it was the existence of this new being who still had yet to exhume any kind of spiritual energy. It was thus with this burning will in her heart that she asked her question to the rotting creature, exclaiming so powerfully that she wanted answers there and then.

The off-duty officer received no answer. Not yet. Instead, the priestess approached her. She did so slowly, gracefully, intently. Kimiko remained quiet then, unsure if doing nothing was wise, though she would stand her ground. The fear of death was not there, but fear itself was there, bundled into her left hand as it gripped Shizukakane's scabbard ever-so-tightly. This fear was only raised when the creature progressively closed the distance to her. The Third Seat was already disgusted by her appearance from afar, but now, she found it more abominable than anything she has seen just yet. The dead skin and the maggots coursing underneath it, the lifeless eyes, the blood... This was clearly the body of a corpse, and it was repulsive.  Ugh...  her thoughts could mumble in sheer disgust of it all. At the very least, the smell of the dead of the dead wasn't there; if anything, for something so rotten, she smelled nice. That was the only thing that kept her from expressing her repulsion.

Eventually, the creature would finally speak to her. It was a voice that was coarse and very unlike Ailene, one that sounded as though it came from vocal cords that were on the verge of collapsing from the rot... but it was not one that harbored any will to harm. She spoke of Ailene and how her manifestation was the Arrancar's doing, all the while also telling the Shinigami that she didn't want to hurt her, else she already would have. The way she presented all of those things confused the officer, especially given that it was oddly done in the third-person instead of the first-person, and so she would find herself looking over the corpse once again to see if she was somehow lying to her. As disgusting as her face and the maggots that ran underneath it both were, it did not seem as though she was telling her anything that could be considered as false. So then... if Ailene somehow became this being, was this fusion of her being with another? And if it was a fusion, why did she do it?

A very brief moment would pass as she found herself pondering on this matter, but eventually, something would click. In her quarters were many books that described the history of the Soul Society, and more often than not, she tends to at least read some of them whenever she can. The times in which she could do so were rare, but it allowed her to expand her knowledge about the world she lived in. There was one particular work that she had began to read just a few years ago. Its name? Our Soul Society: A General History. Within it was contained many stories, many of which described events from times long gone, but there was one that specifically caught her eye: the tale of Manako Arashi. Apparently, this man was once a full-blown hero who defeated the creator of the Arrancar who was deemed invincible. To achieve this, the man had used a technique that supposedly granted him such a great amount of power that the aforementioned creator was defeated in mere minutes, but this technique ultimately deprived him of all of his powers, rendering him Human. Historians were not really sure of how to call it, but one name has stuck since the event has occurred. That name was...

"... Saigo no Houmen..." The words left the Shinigami's mouth quietly. "This... is what this is, isn't it?" Where was once shock, then confusion had turned into stunned disbelief. She wasn't sure if this was really what was happening here, and she wasn't even sure of how it really worked in the end of it all, but she had a hunch that this strange form was something akin to Manako Arashi's. It made sense. In order to remain in the Living World without ever being bothered by anyone as she tends to her business, she ultimately has to remain Human. Like that, she avoids the attention of the Gotei 13, and she also becomes an uninteresting target for Hollows. If she has learned how to do this technique solely for that occasion, then she must have been thinking about doing it for months, maybe even years on end. Then, this meant that the one person who had pushed her to finally accomplish what she has been wishing to become all along was the Third Seat.

The officer wanted to say something here. She wanted to tell that what she had done was indeed stupidly reckless and that she shouldn't have done so, as there was nothing that ultimately guaranteed she and her tea shop would safe as she remains Human. Hell, it was not even clear of what was going to happen to her should she die after this. Was she going to become a Plus and eventually be sent to the Soul Society? Was she going to be discarded from the cycle of souls for having supposedly broken it? The lack of answers was, in the end, what quietened Kimiko and prevented her from saying anything in the moment. That is, until she suddenly heard a voice coming from the remaining greenery that surrounded the new wasteland. "Madam! Oh, madam! Oh... dear." Instantly, the officer's seriousness melted into a comical face of utter embarrassment before the rotten corpse as she then slowly looked on towards the source of the voice. There was her gigai coming right towards them. Unsurprisingly, it appeared to be stunned by the Arrancar's new appearance and once again unsure of what to do. After a time, it would seemingly forgo this part of its innate programming before growing closer. "Oh, madam, it is truly, truly terrible, wan! There is an immense amount of Hollows coming towards this picnic! There were so many, madam, wan! I could not even count them!"

Still horribly taken aback by this thing speaking in such a posh tone with her voice, the Third Seat would simply let out a sigh before then looking towards the skies over the rest of Karakura Town. Indeed, there appeared to be a literal black wall of Hollows coming their way. From the looks of it, the sheer amount of spiritual energy that was released was enough to garner the attention of practically every single corrupted being that was once remaining within Karakura Town. The most of them looked like Strays, but there were a few who oddly looked more powerful than the others. It was probably because they came from various portals that appeared within the crowd. Most likely, they had sensed the spiritual energy, and they now were heading this way to devour it as quickly as possible before it vanishes completely. The only problem with this sentiment was that they were now most likely not attracted to Ailene's energy: they were probably instead heading towards Kimiko's.

The sight would have excited Kimiko tremendously in normal circumstances, yet she was admittedly conflicted at this present moment, notably because of what Ailene did. She knew that this was not going to be a normal fight. Whatever the Arrancar had become with that technique of hers, she was now much stronger and was most likely going to be a hassle to fight with. Nevertheless, they needed to get rid of those corrupted beings. There were far too many, and Karakura Town really didn't need to have them wander around at this time of the year. They already have enough disasters on a weekly basis as is. "It looks like Hueco Mundo is not going to let you go that easily..." she would remark as she looked on to the skies for a moment. Eventually, she took a deep breath, then turned her head towards the Hollow. "This forest is big. Let's give them your final goodbyes!" Once again, her words were spoken with power and motivation.

If this was Ailene's last few minutes as an Arrancar, than they might as well make them exciting.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Technique Used}
Technique Name: Akuma no Ishi (剃るかんめき, "Demon's Will")

Technique Type: Other | Strength of Will Buff

Technique Element: None

Usable by: All races

Class: 3

Technique Reiatsu Cost: N/A

Technique Description and Effects

The projection of one's own will to empower the hearts of others. The user channels the strength of their very soul within themselves before shouting it out, most typically either in a short inspirational speech or a motivational war cry. By accomplishing this, the user is capable of bringing forth the Strength of Will skill of all of their surrounding allies by one point for the next three posts, inspiring them to go further beyond towards victory even if such a thing may cost their lives. A master of this skill is said to have such a powerful will that they are able to instead bring the aforementioned skill of their allies up by two points.


Drawbacks & Weaknesses

As saddening as this may be to those who may be interested in learning this technique, not everyone is born with a powerful will. That is simply a natural, uncontested fact that cannot be refuted even by the greatest minds there is in this world. In so doing, it is not difficult to imagine that this technique will not always show any kind of positive effect onto the people surrounding them, especially if they are used by naturally-uninspiring individuals. In order to guarantee this technique's proper success, the user must possess a 2 in at least one of the following skills: Acting, Charisma, or Strength of Will. This technique can be executed by those who have a lesser version of these skills if they so will it; however, upon execution, there will be a 50% chance of this skill failing to provide any kind of inspiration to allies altogether.


Made by: Nakajima Kimiko

Reserved? : No

[Ailene Haschiro]

Aside from her personality, Ailene was unique even among her fellow Espada. An Arrancars' Zanpakutō was nothing more than a vessel to carry their release which was known as a Resurrección. It was an Arrancars' way of calling upon the power of their form as a Hollow. Unlike others though, Ailene trapped much of her original power within the Zanpakutō. Eventually this came to create another soul. One that actually resided within the blade and came to the surface during Resurrección. It was this beast that had merged with Ailene to create this single form. Not only physically, but also in personality. It carried the best and worst parts of both, balancing one another out. At one moment, it could show great remorse and be absolutely bloodthirsty in the next. 

Thankfully it was Ailene's pacifism that bled through upon making first contact with the Shinigami. If it came down to it, the being would show little remorse and tried to make that clear as she communicated with the Shinigami. She stared at the woman in that moment of silence. How would she react to this? Would they come to blows? Ailene was not sure. At the end of the day, she was still an Arrancar and Kimiko was a Shinigami. The merged personality understood this and yet still tried to pick the path of least resistance. After all, soon it would be all over. Soon this form would burn away and from the burning ashes, a new Ailene would arise. 

After identifying herself and cautioning Kimiko, the silence between the two women grew. It was in that moment that Kimiko would show how perceptive she could be. Out of the mutter, the Arrancar could only make out one thing. "... Saigo..." It was rather soft spoken. The woman's eyes narrowed for a moment as Kimiko prodded further. "This... is what this is, isn't it?" The walking corpse would stare into her eyes for just a moment before nodding her head. "A form that surpasses our Resurrecciòn and will eventually extinguish our flame." After she finished speaking, the woman let out a loud, dry cough. She gave the chain a gentle swing as more pleasant smoke rose up. She'd take a deep breath in, the purple haze continuing to sink from her bleeding lips.

It seemed Kimiko had been pacified, at least for the moment. She could relax for the moment. This, however, would change when a voice called out. It was elegant and sounded not unlike Kimiko's. "Madam! Oh, madam! Oh... dear." She looked closely at the artificial soul that had inhabited Kimiko's gigai. For a moment, as their eyes met, it seemed utterly stunned by Ailene's appearance. The Espada's brow furrowed for a moment. As they continued to stare at one another, Ailene's aura changed for a moment. It felt chilling. A true killing instinct that felt as though it could freeze the very air around her. This was at least until the artificial soul, overcoming its own fear. "Oh, madam, it is truly, truly terrible, wan! There is an immense amount of Hollows coming towards this picnic! There were so many, madam, wan! I could not even count them!"

The instinct suddenly faded and the air around Ailene warmed up again. She sighed briefly, clearly attempting to calm herself down. If nothing else, she had shown in that moment that she could be temperamental. She could be spiteful. Her very soul could radiate darkness, a trait common among the truly wicked and despicable. Thankfully it seemed that they'd have bigger problems on their hands. Ailene turned her head to look upon the wave of Hollows that were surging in. At the moment of her Saigo, Ailene had let out an incredible amount of spiritual pressure. Hollows were natural hunters, attracted to souls. It only made sense that such a large force would be attracted to such power.

"It looks like Hueco Mundo is not going to let you go that easily..." The comment from Kimiko would be somewhat surprising to Ailene in that moment. Her head turned to look at the Shinigami, raising an eyebrow for a moment. Ailene simply shook her head for a moment, swinging the chain a little more vigorously. As Kimiko continued, Ailene just listened. "This forest is big. Let's give them your final goodbyes!" Yet another proclamation that carried an energy with it. Ailene's will, formerly already ignited, grew for a moment. This time, however, it would be something else to capitalize on it. After all, combat was never Ailene's forte. It was always her darker half that strived to fight. 

The Arrancar simply nodded in that moment. As she spoke, that same killer instinct arose. It was not direct at Kimiko nor the artificial soul though. It was clear that whatever was acting through Ailene was fine with assaulting the Hollows. "We can work with this. This once... We will not kill for hunger nor in self-defense. We shall kill for sport!" The corpses lips curled into a bloodthirsty grin. Her aura drifted off of her. Her callous nature came to the surface, clearly taking pleasure in the prospect of killing her former brethren. Something had overcome Ailene. The bloodlust of her darker half had taken hold of her. With that, she utilized a Sonido.

Rocketing forth, her very movement created a powerful torrent of air as she vanished with the distinct static of a Sonido. Traveling at an impressive speed of 13000, she raced towards the large group of Hollows who moved between the trees of the forest. The strays roared at her as she appeared. Ailene spoke loudly, proclaiming to the horde that likely couldn't understand her, "Those of you who die were never worthy of ascension in the first place!" Suddenly, the Arrancar swung her arm. As if through magic, the chain lengthened. It moved around like a meteor hammer, extending to a length of 5 meters. It would mercilessly crash into one of the Hollows, tearing through it effortlessly. It continued through Hollow after Hollow. Using her own body as a counterweight, she quickly whipped it around and over, crashing into the ground as a mighty shockwave rose, slicing into any nearby Hollow while the one it hit cracked beneath the force of metal incense burner. It would become rather clear that Ailene was gifted with the weapon. After all, it was a literal extension of her body. "Who else dares stand against the might of an ascended Hollow? Who else dares face the Scourge of Hueco Mundo?!"

Saigo No Houmen: 3/6

[Nakajima Kimiko]

So this was indeed what Kimiko had guessed it was all about. Somehow, this fusion was Ailene's own version of Saigo no Houmen, a form that far surpassed the Arrancar's Resurrecciòn ability and will evidently eventually disappear into nothingness. Why this form had to look like something straight of some horror game you could find on the Internet, the Shinigami simply could not explain, but at that point, she did not need much more to be convinced of its power. If she had even a semblance of Manako Arashi's power, then she was more powerful than the Third Seat and probably a whole bunch of the other people combined. She doubted that even the strongest people of the Gotei 13 would be able to rival her altogether. In a way, it would even be able to explain why she could not sense any spiritual energy from her: it would be because she had grown so absurdly powerful that her energy was simply too high to be detected anymore.

But this power... For as awe-inspiring as it seems to be at a first glance, it would progressively become less impressive to the Shinigami as she considered it, and instead more and more tragic. She had an inkling that Ailene wasn't really a fighter; after all, out of all the things she wanted to do in her life, she wanted to be the owner of a quiet little shop. There was probably not much else that could be considered as being more peaceful in comparison. In so doing, it was doubtful that the Arrancar would have actually trained extensively in order to refine her powers to a higher degree than what they were at now. However, if she had actually decided at one point to do such a thing, perhaps it would have been possible for her to achieve such power permanently. She would not have had to sacrifice all that she has accomplished thus far to become what she is now, and she could have then accomplished so much more with the power she would have possessed now.

Should she have been in her place, the off-duty officer was not sure she would have actually used this technique. Even though she felt as though much of her career was characterized by an unnatural growth in power that was unprecedented compared to the careers of the entirety of the Gotei 13's roster, she did not think she would have ever conceded her current strength even if she was forced by circumstances beyond her control to do so. Doing such a thing would require her to erase every bit of hard work and effort she has dedicated to herself, and to therefore either have to start the whole process all over again or give up altogether in order to reach an entirely different goal. She did not feel like she was strong enough to commit herself to such a decision. It was too much. Perhaps, in the end, though she has granted Ailene the power to actually commit to this decision, she ended up being more powerful than the Shinigami.

In any case, in this moment, she really was more powerful in every sense of the word, and considering the threat that was about to be unleashed upon them, perhaps it was better this way. The sheer number of Hollows coming their way was astounding, and it even kept progressively growing ever-so-bigger. It was as though the expanse of energy Ailene released was so big that it had not only been seen by every Hollow in Karakura Town, but also a few of the creatures who resided within Hueco Mundo. Such an occurrence - as unexplainable as it may be - would be a valid reason as to why there were so many who had suddenly begun to appear like this. Either that or some of the more lucid Hollows that resided in the city were able to contact their friends, which was probably what really happened. Whatever the aforementioned reason was, they at the very least were able to bring these Hollows away from the people of the city by being in the forest.

As Kimiko prepared herself to fight, she would look onward towards the Hollows, prepared. She was excited, of course. It wasn't often that she got to fight so many enemies at once, and every time she did, she often felt exhilarated. However, she did not want to show this beastly excitement to Ailene. When the both of them searched for Walker back then, the quieter girl had shown a sort of compassion for her fellow Hollow. Well, it wasn't exactly compassion, but it could be said that she cared about the rest of her kind to a certain degree. In so doing, she didn't want to show to her that she actually enjoyed hunting down the creatures. She felt like, if she actually showed such excitement, the girl would be a bit angry at her, something which was quite risky considering the state she was in at this very moment. For all she knows, just a modicum of hype would be enough to cause the girl to just turn around and smack her across the head with that-

"Wait, for sport?"

That was the only thing the Third Seat could say in the moment once her mind finally remembered what the rotting creature just said. The one thing that she thought Ailene would never do was actually kill her own kind like Kimiko did... and yet, that was exactly what the creature said. It took the Shinigami aback, and before she could add anything more to the conversation, the Hollow vanished from sight at such a great speed that it created a torrential wind in the area. The wind was powerful enough to push Kimiko and her gigai onto the ground. Though the Third Seat was surprised and found herself letting out a brief cry as she was sent onto the ground, she was far more worried by the longer cry she heard from her gigai, and so immediately raised herself from the ground before rushing towards it. "Shit! You okay?!" She would quickly let out as she analyzed the gigai's body. The last thing she needed on her conscience right now was a broken false body!

"Argh! The left arm! I believe that it is broken!" The artificial soul within the gigai would cry out as it remained on the ground while the Shinigami remained over it. It did sound like it had actually received some damage to the arm, as noted by how it fell after it got hit by the blast of wind, but its voice suggested made it seem as though the pain wasn't as severe as it should be. It seemed as though it should have been... more agonous?

Noticing this, Kimiko's eyes would briefly narrow before she would look at the gigai's arm. She has had her arms broken before. In fact, she couldn't even count how many times she broken them and other parts of her body while she fought. Most of the time, these instances hurt like Hell, and she immediately needed Shizukakane to heal them before the pain got any worse. As such, to see the artificial soul just lie there on the ground seemingly without really seeming more hurt than it should be caused her to have her doubts. In response to this, she would thus raise a finger and start poking at his arm. There was no response, which caused her to stare at her gigai's face before giving him a deadpanned stare. "Dude, it's not even a sprain," she would just tell it, appearing incredibly discouraged by the fact that the artificial soul still existed. The gigai did not reply to this, instead merely staring at her with what could only be considered as puppy eyes. What it thought Kimiko gave to her in that moment was mercy. In reality, the only reason she had not outright slapped it for being such a weakling was because it was in her gigai. 

In any case, it was fine, and so her attention would return to Ailene. The rotten creature seemingly was having the time of her life butchering the Hollows that were coming towards her position. None of the creatures could even reach her before they would get smacked around by the incense burner. The speed at which she eliminated the beings of Hueco Mundo was nothing short of intimidating. They would all be hit by the incense burner eventually, causing them to be blasted across the forest with such strength that all was left behind their disintegrating body was ruined flesh and bones. The sight of it all was enough to cause the Shinigami to clench her teeth. Just a few minutes ago, she had thought she could have at the very least participate in the fight. However, upon seeing that chain fly about everywhere across the forest, it didn't seem as though she was going to get anywhere near the Hollows that were close to her. To do so would be only lead to a plain suicide.

Eventually, it would seem that some of the Hollows would understand that fighting Ailene was a lost cause. Whatever that being was, not only was she absolutely annihilating them, but she also carried no scent. As such, they would turn towards the one being who did have a scent: Kimiko. Soon, more and more Hollows would begin to descend towards the ruined clearing where Kimiko stood. It was like a wave of black coming straight down. Upon witnessing the wave, the Shinigami's eyes widened. This was... a much larger amount of Hollows than she expected. It was almost too much. Upon realizing this, she began to feel a slight pain behind her forehead as though she was suddenly hit by a headache. Nevertheless, she would stand strong in front of the gigai. With a deep breath, she would look over her shoulder towards the artificial soul and huff: "Run! Get lost! Only come back here once the fight is done!" It was a direct order, one that she was sorely hoping that this weak thing was going to follow. It fortunately did not need to be told twice, as soon enough, it would raise itself from the ground and dash away. She was not sure if she was going to see it again, but if worse comes to shove, she'll ask the Gotei 13 for another gigai.

It was roughly a few seconds after it began to run that the first Hollows of the great wave landed on the ground. The lot of them were Arrancars. Kimiko could somewhat tell. They were big and small, with their signature Hollow holes placed here and there on their bodies. One of them, the bulkiest of them all, stood above her. It sported what appeared to be the toned physique of a great buffalo, with fur and horns. "Huh... What do you know...? Nezumi was right..." its low voice boomed loudly across the clearing. Its intonation was so low, in fact, that it appeared to force it to speak slowly. "You smell good... Once we eat you... we're all gonna become stronger..." The Hollows around it would begin to laugh, almost as though they were speaking to one another as though they were friends at a local bar. Despite this, there was no reaction from Kimiko. Instead, she appeared to be dazed, which she found to be odd. Her head felt like it was splitting open, and she was not sure of why that was. Was it the stress? She could not say, and neither could the Hollows. The buffalo was the most taken aback of them all. "Oh, what's wrong, Shinigami...? Can't handle it...? It's alright... We'll make this slow... You'll have plenty of time to get used to it..." 

The headache was growing more powerful by the second. It tremendously hurt Kimiko, enough so for her vision to become blurrier and blurrier, and at one point, she even almost keeled over. At a certain point, she began to understand where this pain was coming from. "Oh... you... bitch...!" She would pant as she tried to resist the headache, even though more and more Hollows were beginning to land all around her. When she first truly conversed with Celes about their Inner Hollows, she was told about how her own could "take over" her senses and control her body. There was no telling when it could happen, but apparently, there were more chances for such a thing to occur whenever she faced danger or when she was experiencing a very intense emotional reaction. She supposed that the stress she felt from everything that was going on coupled with the immense amount of Adjuchas currently standing in front of was what did it. Still, she had hoped after all these years of experiencing less nightmares than usual would have allowed her more time to prepare for it.

Unsurprisingly, the Hollows around her did not understand. How could they? They most likely did not know what she was or what an Inner Hollow was, so they could not discern the signs of a takeover. So, once she saw her suffer more and more from that headache of hers, they only laughed further, mocking her. This mockery, however, would end once the headache became too much and the light in Kimiko's eyes vanished. In that moment, her upper body slumped forward... and her spiritual energy started to rise. It was nothing at first, or at least nothing the Adjuchas couldn't handle it. However, the more it went on, the more it grew. It began to crack the earth and cause even the semblance of an earthquake to occur in the area. The tree that the gigai had barreled into began to crack several times over before it collapsed into the ground. Some of the unlucky Stray Hollows that happened to be nearby were subjected to an identical fate as they screamed in pain from the invisible force.

The Adjuchas, at this point, began to become concerned. Though they were hungry, they were not fools. They knew that something was wrong here and that they should have perhaps acted quicker. Some even took a few steps back to distance themselves from Kimiko. However, the buffalo-looking one remained. The reason? He could not move. He was frightened. His beady eyes looked down towards the smaller being in fear as something started to form on the left side of the woman's neck and face. It was formed of a white material, and it went upward in an angle that allowed it to form what appeared to be a snout lined with many sharp teeth. Eventually, it became clear that this white material was forming the demonic face of a wild feline dragon. Upon noticing this, the Adjuchas' eyes would widen as much as they could, and his low voice would resonate once again: "What...? You're not a Shinigami... Are you... a Hollo-...?"

In the instant that followed, Kimiko's body suddenly vanished and appeared over body of the Adjuchas. It took a moment for the other Adjuchas to realize that she had even moved, and it took another to then realize that the head of their comrade was gone as she stood onto the top of its revealed spinal cord. The being looked down upon the Hollows that filled the clearing, with silver eyes beaming brightly in a sea of darkness. After a time, she would let out a calm snicker before letting out a soft hum. "Now, this is quite the audience~! I'm very sorry, Kimiko-chan, but I really had to see this one for myself." Though her voice was almost serene, the spiritual pressure that surrounded her being betrayed her murderous excitement. It was exceptionally dark and oppressive, so much so that it further destroyed the remains of the clearing, all the while poor Adjuchas attempted to resist it. After a time, the Adjuchas would raise a finger, and would then begin to point in several directions towards the infested clearing. "How about we play a game, you guys and I? After all, you boys look like the kind who like to play~. Here I go! Eeenie... Minnie... Miney...  M O ."

From that point onward, another massacre began, and the powerless Hollows could do nothing but suffer the wrath of two demons hellbent on their destruction.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills  ( Inner Hollow Takeover (1/3) )}

Statistics

Physical	Spiritual		Sensory	Miscellaneous
Strength: 204 [ (135-33) * 2] Speed: 1200 [ { (400+200) * 2}]	Reiatsu Strength: 60 [ (40-10) * 2] Spiritual Pressure: 1200 [ (400+200) * 2]		Instincts: 500 (250*2) Senses: 300 (150*2) Energy Sensory: 50 (25*2)	Light Aura: 0 Dark Aura: 100 Healing Expertise: 0

Skills

Mental	Battle		Body	Utility
Analyzing: 3 Strength of Will: 2       Learning: 1	Iaijutsu: 3 Martial Art - Hohō: 3 Battle Analysis: 3 Martial Art - Hakuda: 1 Battle Focus: 1		N/A	N/A

[Ailene Haschiro]

The Arrancar wasted little time with her assault. Part of her was absolutely ecstatic to get into the thick of things. To relish the death and destruction of her brethren. For as much as Ailene tried to hide it, there lived a darkness within her. A drive that made her much more like her fellow Espada. The drive to dominate those around her. Possessing a passion for destruction. Feeding upon and devouring anyone in her way. These were all traits of her darker half. The soul that bled through upon utilizing her Resurrección. If Ailene was the lady, then this other side of her would undoubtedly be the beast. The beast that she did her best to keep locked inside at all costs.

In recent memory, there was only one time that Ailene freely made the decision to unleash her Resurrección. In a situation much like this, before attaining her Saigo No Houmen, the Espada traveled to the Menos Forest to do the one thing she could never bring herself to do. To embrace what it meant to be a Hollow. It was the one thing holding her back from gaining the power that was shrouded in myth and legend. Ailene had chosen to unleash her Resurrección and together they went on a slaughtering spree throughout Hueco Mundo. They devoured countless Hollows together and only stopped once their bloodlust was satiated. It was the one time... the closest moment that Ailene ever felt to being a true Hollow since becoming an Arrancar. 

Even now, as she unleashed her Saigo, Ailene was not free from its influence. The two souls had merged, taking on a personality that possessed traits of both souls. The compassion, understanding and calm demeanor of Ailene matched with the ferocity, bloodlust and domination of her darker side. In a way, this was Ailene's truest self. A being capable of both compassion and sadism. Wreathed in both shadow and light. Ther was no desire to cloak the bad behind good deeds. No. This iteration of the Septima Espada would act according to her instincts. To truly shed her life as an Espada, Ailene had to succumb to the base desires of a Hollow one last time. She would not kill for any noble cause. She would not kill to in self-defense. She would kill and maim because it was simply in a Hollows' nature.

It was with this in mind that Ailene executed her movements with impressive precision. Her merged Zanpakutō could act a flail or extend at any point to act like a meteor hammer. The Arrancar could, at any point, control the immediate area around her. She'd use this to great effect as she slammed Hollows with her weapon. It would be clear that her strength rivaled even the toughest Captains and Espada. These Hollows were nothing compared to her. Each hit crushed bone nearly instantly. She was taking lives by the dozen. The rate grew as Ailene became more and more used to the way her weapon handled. She'd become more in sync with her body. In a way, she had been doing exactly what Kimiko had desired. It wasn't a sword, but the results couldn't be denied.

With her other hand, Ailene instinctively tried to focus her reiatsu. She would allow it to coalesce into the familiar beam of destructive energy feared among the Three Worlds. A Cero. Yet as she tried, she would be left wanting. No searing orb of reiatsu would form. Ailene couldn't even sense her own reiatsu surge. There was nothing. It was in that moment that it dawned on her. Nobody could sense her reiatsu for one simple reason. She had no reiatsu. The Arrancar had effectively discarded every ounce of her reiatsu, consolidating it into her form and empowering her physical traits. Her physical traits such as her physical strength, durability, agility, eyesight and so on. All of it was on a completely different level from anything she could hope to conjure from her Resurrección.

She gently clicked her tongue in annoyance as more Hollows poured in. Many of her abilities would simply stop working and with that in mind, the Arrancar silenced her Hierro. There was little point in maintaining the armor-like shroud of reiatsu. For a moment she coughed intensively. The haze continued to emerge from her and the maggots and other insects that covered her skin writhed vigorously. Seemingly a moment of weakness, some Hollows took it as the chance to attack. However, unlike how she appeared, the Espada was in peak physical condition. She quickly whipped around the chain that clung to her arm and stepping out of the way. 

Her newfound speed would be greater than anything that these Hollows could hope to muster. With the chains around the pouncing Hollow, Ailene gave them a tug. In what felt like an instant to the Hollow, the chains would suddenly collapse upon it. It was immobilized. The Arrancar slowly approached the whimpering Hollow as it struggled. As more miasma rose from Ailene, she spoke softly, placing her hand upon the Hollow. "A wise hunter sizes up its prey. It stalks and discovers any weaknesses to exploit. You, fledgling hunter, lack instinct." With little warning, the Espada pulled so that the chains tightened. With a sickening crack, its bones broke, and its body went limp. The Espada undid the chains and coughed once more. 

Suddenly there was an eruption of spiritual energy. It was a little farther away, but Ailene could sense it clearly. She recognized the scent anywhere. It was the pervasive feeling of Hollow reaitsu. The Hollows near her suddenly shifted their attention to the nearby energy and made their way over. Ailene would make sure to deliver several more blows to annihilate dozens upon dozens of the tainted souls with fearsome brutality. The Espada focused herself and extended her consciousness. It was a technique known to many Arrancar. Pesquis. With her improved energy sensory capabilities, Ailene could now sense souls within a 5-mile radius. Their signature and individual strengths became known to Ailene. 

She could suddenly sense the countless number of Hollow that swarmed the area. Among the Hollow reaitsu though, one stood out above the rest. A solemn reiatsu surrounded by others. There was something odd though. The individual reiatsu did not simply feel like that of a Hollow. There was a smaller mix of Shinigami reiatsu. The Arrancar raised her brow for a moment. She muttered softly, "Could it be?" Utilizing another Sonido, the Arrancar soared along the ground towards the strange mesh of reiatsu. They had felt this before. Long ago in a fight with Camila. The Shinigami, once a member of the Thirteenth Division, had unleashed a torrent of Hollow reiatsu. 

Even if it moved, barring a Shunpo, Ailene could track the signature clearly. Even if a Shunpo was used, Ailene could regain her sense of the signature after it stopped moving at such high speeds. Regardless, she'd continue just out of pure curiosity alone. If she came across Kimiko, the Arrancar watched as she presumably tore through countless Adjuchas with incredible precision. All the while, an ominous mask covering the Shinigami's face. As more Hollows approached their position, Ailene used her chain to smash into them as well, turning them into a disintegrating mess on the floor. With lifeless eyes, Ailene continued to watch Yume work. As she did though, she could easily sense the number of Hollows. It was a swarm that could blot out the very sky if they chose to. At the same time, Ailene felt her form deteriorating. She was not sure exactly how much longer, but she could feel it coming to a close soon. Worse than that, it could likely take some time to kill these Hollows. Time that they simply did not have as she knew the detrimental and draining effects that a Shinigami who could become possessed by an Inner Hollow suffered after its short-lived effects. 

Saigo No Houmen: 4/6

[Nakajima Kimiko]

It took a moment for Kimiko to properly recall what had happened in the last few minutes. At first, she could not recall anything. Her head had almost been emptied of thought, of consciousness, and even of life as her soul drifted from a realm to another. She could not think, could not see, and could not breath, as though the only purpose that had been bestowed onto her all-so-suddenly was to drift in a void beyond her comprehension. But as time proceeded, her wandering soul would begin to remember. Step-by-step, it would learn once again how to be and how to feel. It recalled the name of its owner, the occupation of her owner, and her past predicaments. Eventually, the remembering would reach the present, and it would be able to recall the last few moments. It remembered Kimiko training Ailene, an Arrancar of Hueco Mundo, and her witnessing of the woman's sacrificial form. It remembered the many Hollows that then came, and the way they exclaimed their will to consume not Ailene, but instead the Third Seat.

But what came after that was unclear. It could not recall. It was blurry, foggy. Every time it attempted to remember what happened then, it would be met with a blank. Confusion was the initial reaction that came from Kimiko's reconstructing consciousness. Why could she not remember that? Something had to come after that; after all, if nothing happened, then she would still be in front of the Hollows. Had those Hollows consumed her, and now, she was drifting amidst a sea of souls as a single entity? It was possible, and for the briefest moment, she always accepted that fate. If that's what happened, then so be it, her soul would first proclaim... but as soon as that conclusion was reached, the acceptance became denial, then rage. No, she could not be here. She was not going to accept this fate, for it was not what happened. She did not believe she could have fallen so easily just because she had to fight a bunch of Adjuchas all at once.

With this anger, an arm pushed onward towards the foggy memories. She could not recognize the arm as her own, but that was fine: she was going to use it for the time being. Enraged, she would drive the arm to pull the fog away, and thus clear the path ahead. These actions beckoned her soul to remember further. It would recall the Shinigami telling her gigai to run away, her suddenly beginning to experience painful headaches, and then the spiritual energy that had started to come out of her. The more she recalled the details of the memories, the more this aforementioned headache would return to her. It was agony, like her head was being split open by an axe. It would be enough to cause the inhuman arm to remain stunned for a brief moment as it battled the pain. However, she did not stop. If anything, this pain beckoned her to go even further. So, the arm continued with greater strength and speed, further grasping and pulling the fog away... until it reached a surface.

As it breached this surface, Kimiko's face would eventually rise from it too. Taking a deep breath, she would feel her lungs with as much air as possible as her other arm around would also reach the surface. At that precise moment, her memories returned entirely, and she began to recall who and what she was. In an attempt to forever remember these memories, the Shinigami would battle what her body was submerged into. She did not look at what she was fighting in particular nor did she even try to understand what she was fighting; rather, all she cared about was fighting the enemy and winning. So, she fought. Her arms would battle this invisible enemy as they over and under the surface multiple times over. This cruel event would feel as though it lasted for several minutes on end, even though it only lasted for one. Eventually, in what could be considered as a miraculous twist, the right arm would reach hit another surface as it was flailed above, something that it could grab. The Shinigami, without hesitation, grabbed this surface with both hands and pulled herself up.

Unlike the previous battle, the pulling only lasted a few seconds, and so she was very quickly allowed to ascend from the former surface. Her body crumbled back-first onto the new surface almost immediately. It sounded as though she had landed on grass. Recovering from both the pain she felt and the effort that she used to battle it, she would pant quietly, resting ever-so-briefly before she would eventually open her eyes. However, what she saw then did not satisfy her. There was no sky, or any hints of it. Instead, there was only white. Not the white that one would expect from a sea of clouds, no, but rather simply the color itself. It was as though something had erected a ceiling above the world. Understanding that this was no normal occurrence, the scarlet-eyed warrior would slowly frown, then find the strength to push herself upward in order to sit down onto the grassy grounds that she had found for herself. Once she saw what remained underneath this celestial ceiling, she realized that she was no longer in the Living World.

What stood before her was a great sea of endless white. It stretched on and on, reaching for horizons that had become as dark as night. Its bright content, not quite water yet not quite gas, shimmered with enough power to make sure that anyone who found themselves wandering above it would be able to see what remained above it, which included the sky. It trembled and waved like any body of tumultuous water would. Here and there would stand what appeared to be small patches of green, but they could barely be called islands. They were simply too small, and every once in a while, it appeared as though the waves would swallow them at any given moment. Kimiko was currently sitting on top of one of these miniature lands. Fortunately, in what appeared to be a form of divine luck, the waves appeared unable to reach even her feet. Needless to say, after having just pulled herself out of that terrible ocean, she was glad to see that it would be unable to take her back for the time being.

Unfortunately, though she was liberated from the ocean, it did not seem as though there were any ways for her to escape it. All there was around the land she stood on was the terrible ocean that appeared to be clouding her mind, and some very few patches of land that were much too far for her to reach through natural means. In other words, she was stuck. It was a sordid realization, and it made her feel angry once again. In her anger, she attempted to further understand her predicament. She was not sure of how she had been brought into this place, but it was clear that it had something to do with the headaches she had begun to experience during her encounter with the Adjuchas. Again, she began to think that the Hollows were somehow responsible for the making of this world, and so she observed the area in hopes of somehow finding a way out. There had to be a way out of there, and a hint that would lead her to it.

However, almost as though the world itself replied to her frustrations, the waters around the small island would suddenly begin to shimmer further before her. The fog that emanated from them would then rise further and further until it formed a blanket that covered the eastern side of the island. Kimiko would quickly stand back upon witnessing this, unsure of what this literal wall of white was supposed to be and why it appeared. Soon, though, this wall would show its purpose. What was once only but white would instead progressively start to show colors. They were initially blurry, but eventually, they became clearer and clearer until the Shinigami would be fully able to witness the birth of an animation. It was like she was watching a recording of sorts, a video that was taken by a camera. The only difference was that the output was not electrical, but rather clearly spiritual in nature. Within this moving image, she appeared to see through the eyes of another being. It was facing Hollows in a clearing. It was when Kimiko heard its voice that she felt her body freeze.

"You gotta be shitting me," she found herself muttering as her mind began to put the pieces together. She was not standing in an unknown world created by unknown beings that she had never interacted with before. No, she was standing in a space that was very familiar to her. In fact, now that she had a grasp as to what this ocean did to her, she had a feeling that she has been here several times before. This was her Inner World... or rather where her Inner Hollow resided. It took over her body and senses, and now that Kimiko had found the strength to herself of those foggy waters, it was proudly displaying what she would now do with her body on the closest thing to a TV screen you could find in this place. The bastard, in a way, was literally live streaming the deeds that she was going to commit. The purpose of this act was unclear, but ultimately, it was irrelevant to the Third Seat. What was more important was the fact she was taken over by this thing to begin with.

She could only hope that Ailene was not going to face it in combat.

---

Meanwhile, the Hollows that had mistakenly believed themselves to have gotten the chance for a quick snack that would grant them further power for themselves were being subjected to unmitigated violence on two fronts.

Above, the beasts were being crushed to death in many ways. Their bodies would find themselves resonating sickeningly throughout the area with vicious cracking and the noises of flesh bursting from the rise of internal pressure induced by chains. Some would somehow survive the first few hits they received, but their pain would be so great that they would find themselves groaning and moaning in confusion from the fact huge chunk of their bodies were now missing thanks to Ailene's incense burner. Among them were even a few who were miraculously capable of surviving the hits despite having lost almost half of their heads, which caused them to act mindlessly after the fact. Unsurprisingly, given the circumstances, these survivors would not survive the hits that followed. There was no way they could against such an almighty foe, not even with the most resilient of Hollow hides. Fortunately for them, their deaths came so quickly that the pain they felt was short-lived. Intense, yes, but nevertheless minimal.

Below, the creatures were not offered such mercy. Or they were. It was hard to tell, for it would seem Yume was having the time of her life making those under her care question whether or not they would be able to suffer a slow or a quick death. Though she was most definitely not as destructive as the last embers of the Hollow who brought destruction to those in the heavens, her acts could only be considered as viciously playful as a being of Hell. She would appear in different places across the clearing to enjoy herself with the beasts, sometimes swiftly ending their lives by causing parts of their bodies to be cut apart with such speed that it would seem as though they had been disintegrated, and at other times proceeding at a slower pace to morbidly mock the beasts. These mockings would always differ from one another, but they would most often take the Hollows completely off-guard, leaving them open for their annihilation.

There was no way any of the Hollows could win this battle. Many knew this, and so - in what appeared to be a brief moment of logical realization - a few began to flee by escaping towards the confines of Hueco Mundo via Garganta. In their mind, there was no reason for them to remain, for at this point, they were most likely better off consuming other things in order to survive. There was no point in staying here for a chance at consuming something that which will be surpassed in time. Yet, the grand majority of them remained. Even though even the most mindless of them all knew that they were soon going to suffer a most sordid fate of mutilation and then death, their infinite hunger continued to beckon them towards Yume. In their desperate or mindless heads, they did not see this as a guaranteed march towards death itself. Rather, they only saw this as a rapid mean to evolve. It was but the sliver of a chance... but it was there, and that's all that mattered to them.

Yume knew this. Oh, she knew. It was becoming clearer and clearer as she whimsically continued her calculated slaughter. The longer this literal rain of Hollows proceeded, the happier she became. "Oh, Kimiko-chan, this is wonderful! Did you bring these people here just for me~?" She would snicker as she would swing her blades in strange and puzzling ways, proceeding in an almost-acrobatic fashion that did not appear to make much sense. There was no rhythm to her maneuvers nor was there any attempt to follow any sort of rules. She was acting beyond the confines of swordsmanship, or even any martial art, for that matter. She was truly a wild beast. The way the officers of the heavenly realm fight already confused the majority of the Hollows, so to see one of these officers outright ignore all of it altogether while also still using that weapon was nothing short of frantic. "It's so kind of you! We should do this more often, you know? Convince people to throw their powers in the trash, that is~."

The being continued to act indiscriminately and seemingly without a clear purpose, slaughtering more and more Hollows as she went on. She would cut off the limbs of a few before throwing said limbs with great speed towards their allies, separate the eyes of one of the beast from its skull through the sockets of its mask before forcefully feeding them to another being, and even decapitate one of the Hollows before swiftly kicking it straight into the mouth of one of the larger creatures. These monsters of Hueco Mundo were very clearly not at all threats to her well-being, and it didn't even seem as though it believed them to be threats to Kimiko either. In her eyes, they were toys, playthings. That was all they were, and that was the only kind of attention they deserved from her. Perhaps that was why she had not even bothered to release either of her swords just yet. These pathetic things were so weak in her eyes that she didn't even think she needed to become more powerful to play with them.

It was right of her to think in such a way, for it would indeed be surprising if the Hollows even so much as scratched her half-mask now. She had already eliminated several dozens of Hollows, and none of them had even so much as landed a single attack onto her body. That fact was true even though she was sometimes beckoning them to attack her by standing right in front of their teeth, or putting herself in what would usually be harm's way. Then again, it was hard for them to even reach her in the first place, for at times, she would suddenly unleash her ridiculous spiritual pressure to such an extent that any of the creature that dared stand near her would immediately feel their heads collapse into their upper chest. It was a total mockery of Hueco Mundo and the beings that resided within it, an attempt to turn one of the most fearsome enemies of Humanity into a complete laughing stock. Either that, or it was an attempt to convince them that their pursuit of power was meaningless so long as she remained.

At a certain point while Yume moved, she would realize that Ailene had suddenly moved towards her battlefield. Noticing this, she would find herself disintegrating the head of another large Hollow before crouching on top of its shoulders. She would look towards where Arrancar had landed with her hand above her eyes, almost as if she wanted to focus her eyes onto a distant figure before she snickered and utilized Shunpo to immediately appear in front of the evolved Hollow. Once she did, the barista would get a full view of the Shinigami's form. Due to the carnage she had caused, she was covered in blood. Her fearsome mask appeared stuck to her half her face and neck now, and seemingly had begun forming some kind of mane on the back of her head. "Oh, I like the Halloween costume~. Who is that again? Sadako-chan, right?"  she would comment lightheartedly, almost maybe even a tad childishly. "Hm, no, you don't look like you can come out of a TV..."

Meanwhile, as she spoke, one of the largest Hollows would take this chance to immediately begin rushing towards the girl's right side. Yume seemingly paid no attention to this at a first glance, but right as the beast's pounced towards her direction, Ailene would be able to see that several sword swings had been dealt to the creature. Well, not just several: it almost seem as though a hundred different cuts had been done to the beast. The damage was so great that its entire head and torso were both disintegrated, leaving nothing behind by the arms and legs of the creatures. These two things would pass right in front and behind the possessed Shinigami before they would land on the ground and eventually begin to dissipate into reishi. It did not even seem as though Yume had ever unsheathed her blade. After the deed was done, she would simply give the Arrancar a calm smirk. "Don't worry. If I meant you any harm, we wouldn't be talking~," it first said, mimicking the way Ailene previously reassured Kimiko as a light steam came out of her lips. Eventually, she would cross her arms and bring one of her hands under her chin in an almost casual fashion. "Would you mind doing me a favor? If any Gillians start showing up, or there's too many Hollows around before you fade away... kill them all for me."

It didn't seem like much, but the tone of her voice appeared to be surprisingly serious. On one hand, it could be interpreted as an order, but on the other hand, it didn't quite feel like one. It felt like a genuine request, almost as though she didn't actually want to do it herself.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills  ( Inner Hollow Takeover (2/3) )}

Statistics

Physical	Spiritual		Sensory	Miscellaneous
Strength: 204 [ (135-33) * 2] Speed: 1200 [ { (400+200) * 2}]	Reiatsu Strength: 60 [ (40-10) * 2] Spiritual Pressure: 1200 [ (400+200) * 2]		Instincts: 500 (250*2) Senses: 300 (150*2) Energy Sensory: 50 (25*2)	Light Aura: 0 Dark Aura: 100 Healing Expertise: 0

Skills

Mental	Battle		Body	Utility
Analyzing: 3 Strength of Will: 2       Learning: 1	Iaijutsu: 3 Martial Art - Hohō: 3 Battle Analysis: 3 Martial Art - Hakuda: 1 Battle Focus: 1		N/A	N/A

[Ailene Haschiro]

With the aid of her Pesquis, Ailene would be able to close in on the reiatsu signature rather quickly. It was so potent that those with even a modicum of proficiency in sensing reiatsu could feel the overwhelming force that had erupted from the Shinigami. Her Sonido had become so quick that it rivaled even the Hollowfied Shinigami. As she drew closer and closer, the Espada slowed down until she approached the reiatsu signature. The corpse ominously loomed behind a tree, watching the carnage unfold. To call it a battle would be a disservice to the Shinigami after all. It was a slaughter and rightfully so. Ailene had encountered this phenomenon before, and the Rogue Shinigami had become callous and violent while possessed. This one was no different.

As Yume proceeded to slash at another Hollow, separating its head cleanly from its shoulders, the Inner Hollow seemed to take note of the observer. Perching atop the disintegrating Hollow, Yume looked towards the Espada and suddenly vanished. In what felt like an instant Yume appeared before Ailene, leaving the Arrancar face-to-face with the Hollow. She briefly studied the Shinigami before her. The most distinct feature besides the unmistakable Hollow reiatsu was that clung to her face. It was dragon-like, teeth-like bones protruding from the bottom. Additionally, the Shinigami seemed to develop a mane. For all intents and purposes, she appeared as a beast.

Finally, after moments of silence, the Shinigami spoke in a tone so sickeningly sweet and youthful. "Oh, I like the Halloween costume~. Who is that again? Sadako-chan, right?" The Arrancar peered down at her. A hint of confusion present on her face. She had no idea who this... Sadako-chan was, but she briefly decided to ignore it. As Yume continued, Ailene still looked down upon her with those same cold lifeless grey eyes. "Hm, no, you don't look like you can come out of a TV..." This one seemed almost childishly cruel. Camila's Inner Hollow was certainly more vulgar, but this one carried a grace about her. Ailene could see it in the way she carried herself. She was certainly a dangerous one...

Suddenly, a Hollow appeared, rushing the woman's side in her moment of conversation. As it drew closer, Ailene readied her chain. However, before she could act, it seemed that Yume was already one step ahead of her. The Hollow screeched in pain. Before her very eyes, numerous gashes had been dealt to the pouncing Hollow. In fact, the beasts' body and head faded so quickly that by the time it landed, only the limbs skidded across the ground before fading into the ambient reishi. The Arrancar narrowed her eyes. The Shinigami's Zanpakutō rested within her sheath. It was as if she had never drawn it in the first place. One thing was for sure. She was capable to great speed. Perhaps even greater than anything that Ailene could command. 

Finally, Yume spoke once more. "Don't worry. If I meant you any harm, we wouldn't be talking~," This itself would garner no reaction from the Espada. At least not immediately. Her expression remained neutral as ever, shortening her chain once more. It would now swing back and forth gently, continuing to fill the air with the soothing aroma of charred flowers. "Thank you for your concern, but we never suspected ourselves to be in any true danger." It was a blunt response, but one that rang with assuredness despite the coarseness of her voice. The merged personality realized that Yume's initial comment was almost mocking. As such, the Espada decided to respond in kind. 

It was the next comment, however, that was most interesting to Ailene. "Would you mind doing me a favor? If any Gillians start showing up, or there's too many Hollows around before you fade away... kill them all for me." The Arrancar's eyes narrowed for a moment. Under normal circumstances, Ailene was a good judge of character. She could divine intentions and motivations through casual conversation. This one, however, was different. Whether due to the merging of her soul or the fickle nature of Yume, Ailene had a hard time reading the woman. It was almost as if the Hollow was unwilling to do contribute besides playing with her food. 

Ailene was certainly intrigued, but for a moment, she'd turn to look towards the coming horde. Her Pesquis allowed her to accurately sense anything with a spiritual signature in a radius of five miles. She felt the forces of Hueco Mundo pouring in. If they weren't fighting amongst themselves then they were proceeding to the present location of the Arrancar and Shinigami. Despite Yume's unwillingness, the Arrancar felt that taking out this force would be in her best interests. Not only to satiate her bloodlust, but also to ensure her own safety when her flame expired. The horde was great and ravenous, but Ailene had one last trick left. Something that could likely deal a crippling blow to the horde.

The Espada turned towards Yume. "We can deal the coup de grâce. A maneuver that will extinguish our flame." With these words, the Arrancar turned away from Yume. After taking a few steps, she stopped and spoke loudly so that the Inner Hollow could hear her. "We issue this warning once. Return to Karakura and do not come near here till the smoke clears. Heed it or not, it's your choice." It truly was less of a threat and more a warning. With a quick Sonido, Ailene vanished from sight once more. Using Pesquis, the woman drew closer to the center of the horde. She would go into the lion's den. Her goal? To eradicate the force from the inside. 

Upon stopping, Ailene would find herself in a sea of black and white. Countless Hollows roamed around her. She sighed. It was time to end this. She focused upon her form for a moment. Breathing in and out with labored breaths, the woman focused upon her dormant reiatsu. The pathetic flame within her suddenly flared. It grew slowly, but then it began to surge forth. Reiatsu leapt from her rotten flesh and maggot-covered clothing. Despite the tendrils of reiatsu that erupted from her, it could still not be felt. This would be the true form of Saigo as the reiatsu suddenly overtook her form. The incense burner vanished as her form began to change. 

In a few moments, Ailene's body began to change form. Talons began to arise along her fingers. From her coccyx, a tail sprouted and quicky grew in size. She felt onto all fours as she continued to change. Reiatsu continued to surge violently all around as Hollows, small and large alike, watched in both shock and awe at the transformation before them. Ailene continued to grow and grow until she began to grow several stories in length. Wings sprouted from her back, extending along the gargantuan body. After those few moments of her body changing, the transformation would be complete. Before the Hollows, in the middle of the crowd, stood a 40 ft dragon who towered even above the tallest trees.

A sickly grey skin that matched the first stage gave her an undead look. A strange moss clung to parts of her body, emitting an odorless grey mist. Raising her head, Ailene unfurled her wings whose membranes appeared tattered and weak. Despite that, it would be clear that there would be strength behind the imposing form. The very sight of the beast paralyzed the enormous horde. She had truly become monstrous. As she spread out her wings, the Espada reared her head back and let out a powerful roar. It shaped the very air around her. Clouds split, trees fell and Hollows stumbled in accordance with her will. 

The Arrancar would not speak. No. The time for talking was over. Those Hollows who could move attempted to rush her, but Ailene didn't care. She had become too big for them to fell. Any injuries that they were lucky to inflict upon her were quickly healed by her heightened metabolism. She'd slowly bring her wings close to her body. Her head resided close to her gargantuan form and her tail curled around her base. She began to focus the incredible amount of reiatsu that surged within her. The moss around her began to let out spores far more violently, seemingly moving around the Arrancar. Every breath she took was colored by the ominous purple mist from before. The haze and spores that were created by the moss swiftly drew towards Ailene's form. Both enveloped her body as she growled softly.

This was the only indication that the Hollows got to indicate her incoming maneuver. Her potent reiatsu mixed with the mass of spores. After a few seconds, this combination was expelled. Rearing back her head and unfurling her wings, a massive wave of reiatsu and mist shot outward from Ailene in every direction. It raced outward at a blinding speed of 10000. Within mere moments, a 1 mile radius was suddenly covered in this dense mist that nobody could really see through. Strangely enough, nothing was hurt by the mist. Trees rustled softly; Hollows were gently blown back. Nothing would occur immediately. That was until a few moments had passed. Suddenly each and every creature that was struck by this sudden wave of reaitsu would feel the horror of Ailene's Saigo, Necrotic Nova.

First came the plant life. Turning grey in mere moments, they withered almost immediately and died off. Grass and flowers disappeared with a gentle breeze, seemingly reduced to nothingness. Trees and other larger plant life took a few moments, but they would also wither and die. Animals caught in the blast dropped dead by the dozen. Flesh and bone alike simply melting away. The Hollows were not safe either. Many of them cried out in agony as their spiritual flesh began to wither away. Even a touch would offer them no reprieve as within seconds, their flesh was devoured whole. The unfortunate, occasional Plus or Human who happened to be enjoying a soothing walk in the forest wouldn't be safe either. They agonizingly melted away, only their clothes and other inorganic material left to remember them by.

The most terrifying thing about Necrotic Nova was not its size or speed. No. It was its ability to destroy the very spirit of those it struck. Hollows, animals and human souls alike would not only have their flesh devoured, but also their very spirit. Their soul was quickly overtaken by the burst of necrotic reiatsu and ravenous bacteria that plagued the air. These unfortunate victims wouldn't reform into a Plus upon death. Much like a Quincy arrow, they would be utterly and completely eradicated form existence. There would be no afterlife waiting for them. No solace in even the deepest pit of Hell. Each and every one of their lives would be quickly snuffed out. Necrotic Nova was an indiscriminate killer. 

Having let out the sudden surge of reaitsu, Ailene sensed the integrity of her form melting away. Moving at incredible speeds while she still had strength left, the draconic form leapt out of the sphere of necrotic energy which seemed to linger. Whenever it would fade, and it would take a few minutes to do so, the 1-mile radius where Ailene once stood would be utterly devoid of life. Only a chilling silence filled the air as no sign of organic or spiritual life would exist. It would be a cruel and devastating blow to the ecosystem and to the Soul Cycle as Ailene had likely snuffed out hundreds of souls in mere seconds. At the cost of that power, however, Ailene would have to pay a serious cost.

Her form deteriorated. She'd began to limp through the forest as her draconic form began to melt away. The soothing evening light could be seen at the opening to the forest as the Arrancar continued to limp weakly towards it. Her willful flame had not yet extinguished. She muttered to herself. "I.. I can make it. I can..." Her voice drifted off as the form of the dragon collapsed. It would weakly fall to the ground, its maw opening. From within the dreadful maw of the beast, Ailene would crawl out. She'd use every ounce of strength to drag her aching body if she had to. As she did so, her very form began to change. It certainly didn't help as it merely added to the intense pain and fatigue that she was feeling.

The traces of her spiritual flame began to flicker. They'd weaken rather quickly. The Hollow Hole that sat in her gut began to stitch itself closed. This was perhaps the most painful sensation; even more painful that anything she had experienced when utilizing Regresión Primigenia. The Mask Fragment that sat upon her head broke from a crown back into the familiar headband. However even this would fade as it shattered too, leaving the Arrancar with a pounding headache. All the while, she kept dragging herself towards the opening to the forest. Then suddenly, everything went black. Her weakened body would give out as her unconscious form could be seen at the mouth to the forest. Most, if not all her Hollow reiatsu had faded from her. Her Mask Fragment lay broken on the floor before fading away into gimmers of reishi. No Hollow Hole resided upon her body. She would be at the mercy of anyone who would come across her as vicious reiatsu burns clung to her body.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Saigo No Houmen Stage 2 SP Pool}

Strength: 1000
Speed: 1000
Reiatsu Strength: 3987
Spiritual Pressure: 1000
Instinct: 1000
Senses: 1000
Energy Sensory: 1000
Healing Expertise: 1000

SPOILER: Click to show

{Saigo No Houmen Stage 2: Necrotic Nova}

While Ailene's Stage 1 Saigo appeared humanoid in nature, albeit terrible to look upon, Ailene's Stage 2 Saigo is much more monstrous by comparison. To begin with, Ailene becomes massive, growing to a 40 ft tall dragon. With razor-sharp claws extending from her hands, an impressive 15 ft long tail, and an imposing wingspan of 64 ft, Ailene appears as ready as ever to unleash her powerful Saigo. Much like before, her skin tone in Stage 2 takes on a similar sickly grey appearance. On top of this, there is a thick, almost pollen-like mist constantly erupting outward from her body. These themself are not lethal, but the thick cloud can make her seem even more imposing.

Similar to Stage 1, Ailene's body seems largely withered. Her wings are tattered and torn, the thin membrane missing in large quantities. Despite this, the dragon is very much capable of flight, even one flap of her wings creating a powerful shockwave-like gust. Parts of her flesh are equally as withered yet no longer bleeding as only the thick grey haze emerges from the wounds where blood and flesh would normally be found. In fact, if Ailene were to be cut open, her organs and other internal viscera would appear to be blackened and withered as if she had been dead for several centuries.

Probably the most striking feature of this Stage is the thick clusters of a fungus-like material that cover her entire body. The texture of these clusters is fairly fluffy, giving it an almost fur-like feeling. These clusters cover her entire body including her wings and face though she seems fairly unimpeded by the material that clings to her skin. In fact, Ailene can see quite clearly through the cluster of material that adorns her face. At this point, the sweet and pleasant aroma that covered her body is entirely gone. Instead, she gives off a rotten, almost decaying stench that threatens to overwhelm even the most resolute.

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{Necrotic Nova}

Necrotic Nova is functionally extremely similar to one of Ailene's Resurrecciòn abilities, Yersinia Burst. It similarly makes use of the virulent plague that has been festering within Ailene. Due to being a product of a Saigo, however, Necrotic Nova is on a completely different scale. To begin with, Ailene draws all of the haze that she has produced within her. This includes the constantly producing haze that is formed within her and expelled rapidly. This process takes about two seconds, being the first and only indication that they have of the impending attack.

Upon collecting all of the haze within her, Ailene releases it all in an incredible blast of reiatsu and bacteria that encompasses a radius of about 1 mile, moving at a speed of 10000. This makes it incredibly difficult to evade since Ailene can merely readjust the epicenter by simply moving next to her target. Additionally, even after the detonation, the air remains lethal as a lingering cloud as large as the initial detonation remains for 2 posts, effectively rendering the space a biohazard. It should be stressed that the OS of the explosion is only considered for the purposes of breaking through defenses for it is not the detonation itself that is lethal. Instead, the mixture of necrotic reiatsu and bacteria wreaks havoc on anyone that it touches for even an instant of contact spells certain death for anyone.

Anyone caught within the detonation, barring Ailene, has both their physical body and their soul instantly infected by the mixture of reiatsu and bacteria. It is this vicious combination that results in a carnivorous pathogen that quickly devours all organic and spiritual matter. Victims with anything less than 3x the OS of Necrotic Nova will find their body and soul completely and utterly devoured within seconds as they writhe in absolute agony. It is because of this that anybody killed by Necrotic Nova simply ceases to exist as no soul is left to return to the Soul Cycle. All that is left in remembrance are the clothes and personal items of the victim as they are left perfectly intact.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Yume was not offended by the way the Arrancar behave, or at the very least, it did not seem as though she was offended. At first, her bright silver eyes would merely look over the evolved Hollow a little bit further, almost as if she was trying to find a retort to the words that were told to her. However, from the way she eventually settled down and merely gave the undead warrior a quiet snicker, it would seem as though she had eventually decided to not pursue that particular goal. "I figured as much~," she would merely say in response to the first words that were told her. Though she was unpredictable, it was clear that this unpredictability did not come from foolishness. Should the corpse have been offended any further in one way or another, it was doubtful it would have bothered to care about the fact that she was possessing Kimiko. If anything, it most likely would have attacked her just so that she could further experience the great amount of blood lust that was being emanated from her.

Unfortunately, it would seem that her unpredictability had been noticed by the Arrancar, and so for a moment, the corpse would appear hesitant to grant her her request. The Inner Hollow was able to notice this particular fact rather rapidly, namely by taking into account the frown of confusion that had suddenly appeared on her face. Nevertheless, she did nothing during that time that would appear any more suspicious than what was said and done. She did not have any reasons to act in a way that would prevent this request of hers from being granted. Perhaps this was, in a way, the reason why Ailene appeared to be so confused and maybe even a little bit hesitant; after all, the possessing spirit had only really hunted down weaker beings who ultimately stood no chance against her. Of course, she had an ulterior motive, one that was much more important in comparison, but the Arrancar did not need to know this. Not at the time being, at the very least.

Evidently, though, Yume wouldn't need to do any kind of verbal convincing in order to get what she wanted out of the Hollow, for about a few seconds after her request was delivered, more creatures from Hueco Mundo would begin to appear above them. They came from a larger Garganta that was beginning to spread open further and further into the sky, vomiting down a great sea of black sporting many masks of white. There was probably a couple of dozens, if not a couple of hundreds of Hollow in this sea. The most of them were fortunately Strays, but unsurprisingly, there were also Arrancars in there as well, many of which appearing to sport a respectable amount of power. A few Menos could even be seen beyond the Garganta, looking down towards the ravaged clearing with a gaze that could only be described as starving. It was as though those who had escaped the Inner Hollow's playful massacre had contacted their friends and brought them here for revenge.

Ailene would immediately go on to tell Yume that she was going to unleash her final attack. From the way she described it, it seemed as though it was going to be a powerful one that was most likely going to kill every single Hollow in the area. This would include Yume, should she decide to stay. The possessing spirit did not need to be warned twice. "Well then, it was fun while it lasted~," she would tell the Arrancar with another one of her snickers. The moment was short-lived after all, but she appeared to have indeed enjoyed herself for the duration it lasted. With all that been said, though, she visibly wanted to see what Ailene was going to do, and so, as the evolved Hollow vanished towards the skies above, she would merely stay there for a moment and watch with a smirk. The majority of the beasts that were still on the ground would turn their heads upward as well to witness Ailene's next move. Those who did not attempted to attack Yume again to devour her, and failed once again.

 

What happened then was enough to completely stun every single Hollow that remained in the clearing. In a moment's notice, Ailene suddenly began to transform. It was not just a simple modification that only gave our minor physical changes like the appearance of horns or impossible hair growth. No, that would have been too common for something like this. Instead, this sickly thing turned into a dragon. It was a disgusting monster, one that stood far above every single beast that were currently in the surrounding area. At a first glance, it almost appeared as though it was so toxic that it was melting from the inside. The Strays let out bestial screeches and roars alongside the Gillian, while the Arrancar shouted and spoke to one another. Yume, however... she merely laughed. "Hahahahaha! It's a Kaiju! Incredible~!" She would cheer all the while clapping her hands. This was not mockery: it was an actual compliment. She appeared to be absolutely enamored by the dragon, or at the very least astonished by the fact Ailene transformed into one. More Hollows would attempt to Yume in response to her cheering, and they would fail once more.

Then, she vanished. Right as the Hollows were about to force themselves to focus onto Yume yet again, she had decided to leave the area with Shunpo, leaving them all alone with Ailene. There was no more childishness to be found, no more playful banter to be heard, no more disintegrations via one's use of the blade to be seen. Confused, some of the creatures on the ground would attempt to quickly find the possessed Shinigami once again. However, in their confusion, they would have all made the fatal mistake of ignoring the great dragon's next attack. Horrified, some would realize that the dragon was about to unleash some kind of grand-scale attack that was going to wipe them out. Unfortunately for them, by the time this realization was made, it was much too late for them to move away from the blast zone. A few seconds later, they would all begin to scream in unison as their flesh started to melt from the toxic gust that was released upon them and their surroundings.

One jump, two jumps, three jumps. The possessing spirit brought Kimiko's body to its limits as she fled the scene. Obviously, she was no fool. Even if she may have been one huge fan of the toxic dragon look, that did not mean she wanted to see what its abilities looked like first-hand. Just looking at it was enough to give her an idea as to how it was going to look like. As such, she ran as fast as she could towards the direction of Karakura Town. Fortunately, given her innate speed, it was relatively easy for Yume to escape the mile-long radius that the Arrancar had produced with her ability, and no sooner than a few seconds later after she began her escape, she would find herself running over the trees before landing inside of the cemetery that Kimiko and Ailene previously passed by two hours prior. Upon landing onto the top of one of the larger graves, the maned she-beast's head quickly turned towards the forest once again to see if there was any smoke coming her way. Fortunately for her, there wasn't.

Now that she was out of danger, the possessed Shinigami would simply stare at the forest. Though the smoke hadn't reached the cemetery, it easily rose high up in the air above the trees, enough so that it could be seen from where she stood. It was truly the work of a powerful beast, one that the Inner Hollow would visibly admire. She would find herself slowly straightening herself onto the grave, letting out a quiet coo as she did so before she then simply smirked widely. "A poison dragon who can fart toxic radiation! Now that is what I call entertainment~," she commented almost whimsically as she began walking down the cemetery, seemingly satisfied. She would walk down the path with that smirk for a time before eventually reaching the entrance of the area. Once there, she would herself chuckling before letting herself fall onto the paved road. "There you go, Kimiko-chan~. We look unconscious now! There is no way that idiot is going to miss us here." Her tone remained playful and unpredictable all the way through. "I know that I can't take away your memories anymore... so I'll let you remember this one. Think of it as a gift... Buh-bye~."

Before Kimiko herself could do anything in response to this while she remained in the Inner World, the great half mask that covered Yume's face and neck would crumble into a thousand pieces, and slowly scatter into the wind. Once this was done, the both of them fell unconscious, and remained sprawled onto the path towards the cemetery.

---

When Kimiko awakened from her slumber, it was approximately twenty-six hours following the day before. She was in her apartment with her soul inhabiting her gigai in what appeared to be the dead of night. At first, she had believed herself to be alone, and so had attempted to move out of her bed. However, after she exited the bedroom, she realized that several officers of the Gotei 13 actually occupied her apartment. It was the whole nine yards: there were people of the Fourth Division, of the Sixth, of the Seventh... even one or two from the Ninth Division. Surprisingly, even Binita was here. Yes, her comrade from the Eleventh. Apparently, she had decided to come here because she had been worried sick about what happened to her. Seeing her in particular was enough to make the Third Seat quite happy, but frankly, there were so many people that she believed that such a crowd in her apartment was a bit excessive.

Those of the Fourth who were shocked that she was even standing, as her whole body apparently bore the signs of excessive spiritual energy pressed onto it over an extensive amount of time, though it was clear to Kimiko that the reasoning behind the presence of the officers aside from Binita was not because of her well-being. Naturally, they wanted to know about what happened at the forest located near the cemetery. They had detected great amounts of Hollow reiatsu suddenly being released in the forest, and they wanted to know what had happened there in order to better understand the meaning of it all. Kimiko could not blame them; after all, even she still was recovering from it all. So much happened so quickly, and that was not even mentioning the fact that her Inner Hollow had taken over her body. They deserved to know about what happened. Well, not about the Inner Hollow, but they definitely needed to know about the rest.

She told them everything. She talked about her meeting Ailene in the forest, about how the Septima Espada suddenly began to fight her, and how the great release of energy attracted several Hollows from all over the area. For the purpose of keeping Ailene safe from the attention of these officers, she would omit the need to mention the fact she used Saigo no Houmen, instead telling the officers that she activated one last attack before her death that compelled her to flee the scene before she would get caught in the blast. Naturally, the officers were downright taken aback by the fact that Kimiko had even survived all of that. Even Binita was shocked. "So, like, you killed her...? That bitch Espada, I mean?" The Third Seat would remember her friend asking her at that moment. Due to the way she had phrased Ailene's "demise", she did not really think that coining it as such was something that she felt proud of... but again, for the safety of the Arrancar, she would simply confirm that she had indeed killed her. 

The investigation by the people of the Seventh and the Ninth that followed Kimiko's claim of having killed the Septima Espada did not find anything that would appear as a contradiction of sorts. For all intents and purposes, she indeed appeared as though she had fought the Arrancar in the forest, judging by the absolute carnage left there. Oddly enough, there was no trace of Hollow reiatsu anywhere within the forest itself, but rather only in the areas surrounding the forest, which included the nearby cemetery. However, the only thing that could be deduced from that particular observation was that it confirmed many Hollows had actually decided to join the fight as a response to Ailene's stupendous release of energy. Whatever technique the Espada had used against Kimiko, it was powerful enough to completely eliminate any trace of living matter, including the plants, nearby animals and water. The clothes of Humans were found in the area, which all but confirmed that they were somehow eliminated by the Arrancar, but thankfully, the casualties noticed on that front were at the very least meager. A Human woman had been found in a coma near the entrance of the forest. She appeared to be the only survivor, and so, she was treated by the members of the Fourth before being sent to the nearest clinic. It was for the best that she remained there.

It was needless to say that this whole event was enough to convince every officer present in the Living World alongside Kimiko that the Third Seat was not just a normal officer anymore. None of them were aware that she had achieved Bankai, not even Binita, and so the most of them believed that someone who could not quite be considered at the level of a Captain had been able to take out someone who more or less could be classified as such. It was a notable achievement in their eyes, and they wanted to report it as such. They also wanted the Third Seat to consequently take a longer vacation. At first, the officer appeared annoyed as she wasn't really very keen on having to take an even longer break from her work; after all, she had only agreed to be gone for two weeks, and catastrophes like this one was something that she had admittedly gotten accustomed to witnessing. However, Binita promised her that she was going to take care of her dojo in the meanwhile. Upon hearing this, the Shinigami begrudgingly agreed, and so, she was granted a whole additional month of vacation on top of her two weeks.

Though returning to a peaceful setting was a bit of a shock to Kimiko after all that's happened, she had to admit that these days of relaxation were relaxing after all. She would spend her time away from technology, wandering around Karakura Town from time to time and taking her time to meditate with her Zanpakuto spirits whenever she felt like she needed to. What the Inner Hollow had done definitely troubled them the both of them, and so they found themselves talking about her quite extensively with the Third Seat showing her worries for Shizukakane's life once again in front of the older spirit. Fortunately, though she was still incredibly worried about what this may entail for the near future, her will allowed her to keep her focus elsewhere. She was not going to allow this being to conquer her, no matter what. As such, she would instead focus on Ailene and her well-being. Every now and then, she would visit the clinic where she was held, and then go to Régina in order to hear about the latest updates to her health from Amber. She would do so until, a month later, the girl would finally be able to leave.

It was thus how she, a month later, found herself yet again sitting at a table within the quaint little tea shop on a Sunday again. By then, her look had not changed extensively, with the only major difference being her shirt now displaying the logo of a a video game in big white letters surrounded by a multitude of silhouettes of various stylish characters. It was quite bold; in other words, the kind of style that the girl has been steadily accepting more and more within her life. She had ordered the same things she had ordered when she first came to the place: a cup of saemidori tea alongside a plate of cheesecake. After her order was completed, she then began towards the window, waiting.