Summertime Gladness [Closed JT]

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

(OOC: Using a 50% Social Bonus from Uneasy Hearts Weigh The Most)

With a chipper smile, Yui found herself smiling wide. After both her and Ailene made their hasty exit from Regina, she couldn't help but beam with a smile across her face. Today had been such a wonderful day for her! She felt as though absolutely nothing could stop her! After having just been hired to work for a place that had been in her sight for quite a while, and having made friends with her new employer, things could not have gone better!

"I know this wonderful little sushi place down the street~!" She said cheerfully, walking at a heightened, though reasonable pace down the streets of Karakura, "though if you're not a fan I'm more than willing to accommodate however you'd like~! Is there any kinds of food you'd like to get~? If you don't have a preference that's perfectly okay too~!"

Practically skipping at this point, Yui allowed her excitement to carry her forward. If nothing else, she was really looking forward to being able to spend the afternoon alongside Ailene! "Gods, I'm so excited~!" She cheered, completely and utterly oblivious to the fact that the two of them had almost immediately been trailed by someone - or something - in the shadows.

[Ailene Haschiro]

Following alonside, Yui, the barista had a bit of a smile on her face not unlike the Shinigami. After all, Rēgīna had a new member added to the family. In some ways, Yui would be everything that Ailene wanted. She was sweet, personable and energetic. She had a charisma to her that just made her pleasant to be around. In time, she would bring her own flair to Rēgīna, spicing up the atmosphere. Ailene felt herself to be adequate company, but there was something different with Yui. She seemed so much more... innocent. Whether it was her bubbly personality or upbringing, the woman had no way of really knowing. It really made Ailene question how old Yui really was.

The girl had admitted to seeing the atrocities against the Rukongai by Shinigami. She wanted to change the system from the inside. To affect the status quo. They were noble goals... and yet Ailene felt that they could be chalked up to a children's dream. Ailene had her fair share of dealings with Soul Society. She understood something about its chain of command. The Gotei Thirteen was a military organization, first and foremost. In some ways, they were just as bad as the Vandenreich. While the Vandenreich worshipped some Emperor, Shinigami clung to the Soul Cycle. Like any zealot, they would commit atrocities as long as it could be in defense of that Soul Cycle. It made them rigid and strict. There were a few members that Ailene respected as individuals, but she found the organization as a whole, flawed. 

Ailene sighed softly, shaking her head. She always got into her own head, focusing on the bad. This was a time to celebrate! To honor the girl beside her on becoming an employee at Rēgīna. Thankfully, Yui would help with that. "I know this wonderful little sushi place down the street~!" Ailene smiled brightly. The pink-haired Shinigami had invited her out to lunch. Not only would this offer them an opportunity to bond, but it gave Ailene an excuse to leave the house. Despite her gentle nature and eager to please attitude, Ailene preferred the confines of Rēgīna. It was rare for someone rude to come into Rēgīna. She didn't have to worry about someone or something causing trouble. This, however, would be a nice change of pace.

Yui spoke once more. "though if you're not a fan I'm more than willing to accommodate however you'd like~! Is there any kinds of food you'd like to get~? If you don't have a preference that's perfectly okay too~!" Ailene chuckled softly. This girl clearly cared to make sure that anyone around her was comfortable. This was even greater confirmation that Ailene had made the right choice in hiring this girl. She laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "Sushi? T-that sounds great! I have to admit... I um. I-I've never really had sushi..." Her voice trailed off for a moment. It was a moment of embarrassment for Ailene.

As an Arrancar, Ailene rarely ate. Sure, she indulged in tea and the occasional baked goods, but a hearty meal? It had been decades... perhaps even centuries since Ailene ate like that. Spiritual beings were not free from hunger or thirst. Use of reiatsu could quickly starve out any Shinigami or even an Arrancar. Fights could be especially draining. Ailene, however, was a pacifist among the Espada. She did not buy into the might makes right philosophy of hollowkind. She cared far more for diplomacy. She could absolutely defend herself if it came down to it, but the fact of the matter was that it was a last resort for the Arrancar. Now, however, the situation had changed.

The beauty of Ailene's current predicament is that she actually needed food to survive. She would eventually die of starvation or thirst if she did not keep up with these needs. It was so surreal to Ailene. She effectively had to relearn what it meant to have her humanity. Thus far she had lived on tea, pastries and instant cup ramen. She did not have a diverse nor refined palate. As such, she would be more than happy to go along with Yui. It would give her a chance to try new things. For being a Shinigami... Yui understood this human gig far better than Ailene ever could at the moment. As usual, Yui would be very hyper. "Gods, I'm so excited~!"

Ailene chuckled softly as she followed along. The barista grinned before a moment of shock hit her. She, for a brief moment, looked around her. She scanned the environment for a second or so. She could not explain it, but she got a chill up her spine. It truly was as if her body froze for a moment. In nature, animals developed an instinct for detecting danger. A subtle nudge towards fear and dread. This very instinct is what kept animals, notably prey, alive. In the three realms there was no race more animalistic or primal than a Hollow. Decades, sometimes of centuries, of living on the razor edge did wonders for developing a sense for danger. It was one that Ailene had not unlearned. Yet as she took a peek around... there was nothing.

It was so strange. There was the feeling that they were being watched. That a silent predator was stalking them. Despite this subtle urge though, Ailene eyes had not deceived her. She didn't see anything from her brief skim. She also didn't want to concern Yui for the moment. Not until she was absolutely sure that a danger was present. The nagging feeling passed for the moment as a drop of sweat rolled down her brow. While happy on the outside, she silently cursed herself. "Great... the one damn time I choose not to go around armed... Ugh. For once, I hope it's just paranoia..." The barista would continue accompanying Yui as she did her best to keep her cool.

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

"I have to admit... I um. I-I've never really had sushi..." While not quite enough to stop the girl in her tracks, Ailene's words did catch Yui off-guard. "Wait, for real?" She asked, "that's... actually quite surprising to hear." With a slight chuckle, Yui wasn't exactly going to lie to her new friend. Such did seem like a bit of an oddity to her, all things considered.

Not having sushi of any kind frequently wouldn't have been a surprise to her; it wasn't exactly the cheapest, and even when she was alive it wasn't something that Yui herself had the opportunity to eat very often. But, to not have had it at all? When there were so many restaurants that served it? That felt... rather bewildering to the girl. "So, I've gotta ask then; why is that~? Is it just a general disinterest in fish? Not a fan of going out to eat~?" With a soft smile, Yui asked away. Truthfully, she was incredibly curious to see what she had to say.

If nothing else, she wouldn't've been surprised with a lack of interest in going out to eat. Truthfully Yui wasn't exactly the biggest fan of it either; she'd much rather simply stay at home to dine when given the opportunity. But, on occasions like this, there was a certain 'necessity' to spoil herself and her friends. Maybe not extravagantly, but enough to push herself to leave her apartment every once in a while. If nothing else, she was incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to share such an occasion with Ailene!

Though, as she found herself lost in thought, she noticed that Ailene had turned her head back rather quickly. With a confused, yet concerned look on her face, Yui turned to her friend. "Ailene?" she asked, "is everything ok?" Truthfully she feared something might've happened. Perhaps she forgot to Lock Rēgīna up? No, that couldn't've been it; she watched her do that! Maybe left something she shouldn't've plugged in? That was certainly a possibility, especially given Yui felt she might've caught the woman off-guard with the impromptu interview.

"Did you want to head back really quick~?" She asked, "just make sure everything's all fit to leave?" If nothing else, Yui wanted to make sure that Ailene had no problems with actually leaving Rēgīna behind for a little while. She already felt bad enough pulling her away from the place for an hour; last thing she wanted was to be the cause of a fire or something.

As Ailene turned back around, Yui gave her a soft, friendly smile. Assuming she did want to turn around, there was no problem in Yui's eyes doing so! If nothing else, that was absolutely deserved, given the situation at hand. If she didn't, that wasn't a problem either way. Yui was just happy to accommodate however she could, given the circumstances.

"All ready to go~?" She'd ask softly, assuming anything that might've been taken care of had been fixed, "because I don't know about you, but lord am I-" She threw her head back behind her. Staring into the street for a little while, before turning back a little less than a minute later, a seemingly confused and disappointed look painted across her tiny face, Yui huffed in frustration.

"That's... Really odd," she started, placing one palm across her chest and onto her arm, as to close her stance a bit, "I could've sworn I just heard someone call my name..."

[Ailene Haschiro]

Needless to say, the fact that Ailene admitted to never having had sushi before surprised Yui. "Wait, for real?" Ailene simply nodded her head in response. "That's... actually quite surprising to hear." The barista chuckled nervously, bringing her hand behind her head, her fingers deftly moving through her purple-tinted hair. Ailene was not the type to eat extravagantly. Nor did she truly vary her meals. Regardless, Ailene could understand how this would come off as bizarre. After all, she appeared to be a thirty-year old woman who lived and worked in Japan. There must've been a point where she at least had to try sushi. Whether for a friends' birthday or even a spontaneous invitation to lunch.

Yui continued, pressing the matter. "So, I've gotta ask then; why is that~? Is it just a general disinterest in fish? Not a fan of going out to eat~?" Ailene had found her way out, pouncing on the opportunity like a stray beast. "Y-yes! That.." She took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. "Well, I was born and raised in Germany. Sushi is, unfortunately, not as common a meal there." In a way, she had not been lying. After all, she was crafted from the souls of Kazuna and Eleana. Sure, she had her own identity, but the siblings lived albeit short lives in Germany. It was her heritage. She did not feel bad about claiming it as her own just as she had once claimed the title of Noveno Espada. "However, I am more than happy to... try something new." She smiled brightly.

It was around this time, however, that the smile would fade. The feeling of dread had washed over her. The feeling of being watched. The shiver that ran up of her spine. Whatever you wanted to call it, she sensed something. As her eyes quickly skimmed the environment, she did her best to identify the threat... or if there even was a threat at all. For now? It would appear to be her mind playing tricks on her. She had not taken notice of anything. No Shinigami, Quincy or even Hollows. Unfortunately, her efforts to keep it on the downlow would not be successful as Yui had taken notice of her sudden concern. "Ailene?" The girls voice lit up. "Is everything ok?" She prodded once more.

The barista had been ripped from her thoughts back to reality. Once more, Yui continued asking her question after question. "Did you want to head back really quick~?" The question initially caught Ailene off guard. She was hesitant. Would it really be right for her to leave the Shinigami alone? Especially now that she felt there was a danger looming about. The barista wasn't sure. "Just make sure everything's all fit to leave?" Before the girl had a chance to move... before she even had a chance to speak, she heard a voice. As if a detached voice wasn't ominous enough, this one was totally different. It didn't sound like herself. "G̷̛̺̺̹̤̈́̌̚ě̴̢̥̲̮̓́t̷͌ͅͅ.̶̤̮̙́.̸̖̲̓͠.̴̤͎̘͍͊̐ ̶̨͖̺͕̏̇̓W̶̨͚͈̑̈͝ȅ̷̳̱͙̉a̸̰͉̙͇͗͘͠p̶̨̲͚̣͝o̴̬͈̝̿͜n̴̨̩̩͑̇̽͠ͅ.̸͋͠ͅ.̶̨̝͉̟͗̍̑̄.̴̧̙͚̅͋ ̵̡͚̗̱̉͗́͠Ņ̷̣̈́ö̷̦̲̜́̕̚ŵ̷̧̦͔͇." They were clearly words intended to be words, but it was so distorted. 

The woman turned around. Once more, there was nobody. If Ailene didn't appear unnerved, she sure did now. It was not the first time that she had encountered such a phenomenon. As an Arrancar, her Zanpakutō harbored something. A darker half. It could appear like a vision to the Arrancar and often tried to convince her to abandon her morals. To embrace what it meant to be a Hollow. However... Ailene believed this soul to be destroyed. It had been cast away along with her Hollow reiryoku and her shattered Zanpakutō. Then again... she began developing spiritual abilities again? Was it so out of the question? The barista dared not consider the possibilities if that wicked spirit truly did survive.

Regardless of the strange words she heard, Ailene sighed softly. She needed to compose herself. A smile formed on her face. "No. I'm sure I locked up. I just... I think the stress has been getting to me lately. Constantly working. Day in and day out. Perhaps I'm just hungry!" She chuckled briefly. The last two minutes seemed borderline paranormal, but there was nothing really, they could do. Perhaps it was just some strange spiritual phenomena. Perhaps it truly was her mind playing tricks on her. Regardless of what the true culprit was, Ailene wanted to try and forget it as quickly as possible. It seemed that Yui believed her reassurances. 

"All ready to go~?" Once more she'd nod her head in assurance. "Because I don't know about you, but lord am I-" Just like that, Yui paused not unlike how Ailene did not more than two minutes ago. It was almost eerie. The girl turned her head and looked down the length of the street. One second would pass. Then two. Next, a dozen.  Finally, nearly an entire minute of silence filled the air. Ailene gulped for a moment as Yui turned her head back, a pout now written all over her face. "That's... Really odd," Ailene sighed, her mind racing. "Ugh... tell me about it. The last few minutes have b-" Ailene's thoughts were interrupted by Yui's next comment. "I could've sworn I just heard someone call my name..."

Panic filled Ailene's heart. Another bead of sweat rolled down her brow. Perhaps she was less delusional than she had been lead to believe. Ailene slowly began walking back along the length of the street. Only a few steps at a time. Karakura had an almost grid like feeling to it. At least in the residential district. Neighborhoods would be divided by large streets. Occasionally, alleyways formed between houses as well. Just a couple of meters down the road they had walked up and to the left was a darkened road that was obscured by some foliage and the shade from the nearby houses. It was a little reckless... to so brazenly approach after the mysterious experiences by both parties. Ailene was on high alert. Part of her hoped... no, wished that these happenings were merely brought about by hunger or even just the heat of the summer day. 

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

As Yui finished speaking, she made distinct note of Ailene's own panicked expressions. Is she all right? Yui thought to herself, maybe she's experiencing the same phenomena? That would certainly explain a lot... "Hey," she started, walking alongside Ailene all the while, "You... seem a little distressed. I'm sure everything's going to be okay~!" It wouldn't be hard to figure out for really anybody that Yui had likely been talking out of her ass on that one.

In truth, she found herself somewhat scared as well. The whispers of her name - which, had happened once more - in combination with Ailene's own reactions weren't exactly sitting well with her at this point. Quite the opposite, actually; it was beginning to result in a similar feeling of panic within Yui; one that she couldn't quite explain, but so very desperately would've rather dealt without.

"Why don't we just take the opportunity to-" There it was again. In a state of both frustration and fright, Yui pulled a singular string from the wrapped weapon on her back, causing it to immediately unfurl and reveal the sword itself. Wasting no time to rip the blade from its saya, Yui immediately assumed a rather improvised and simplistic stance. Her breath grew immediately ragged.

If she wasn't already starting to sweat, she absolutely was now. She made absolutely no effort to hide her emotions thus far, and even actively felt like she was going to end up in tears shortly. The stress of the situation had quickly been getting to her. Was there something there? Was it just her imagination? It'd been hard to tell, but she didn't think she was imagining things. If not for Ailene's being there, she might've thought that way, but because of the girl also having gone through similar feelings of concern, she was sure that what was happening was very, very real.

"U-Um..." she started, shaking violently in place, "I think we might be in a bit of a dangerous situation..." Truthfully, she wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Things added up far too perfectly, all things considered. They were absolutely being watched by something. The question was though, what? Was it a Hollow? She couldn't quite figure it out, but lord if it didn't sit well with her to begin with. Yui kept her eyes peeled, glancing around every corner she could manage to in order to make sure they didn't get caught off-guard.

As she did though, the girl was made keenly and eerily aware of a feeling she quite easily never wanted to feel again; in front of the two of them, a very faint visual disturbance made itself apparent, like that of looking through a glass of water without a glass. As this disturbance quickly approached Yui, far faster than she could react to, it traced along her face, raking directly up from her chin and flicking off of the poor girl's forehead. With a scream, the girl swung her sword as fast as she could, and trying to take a few steps back.

Shivering and shaking, Yui did everything in her power to stay as calm as she could manage; everything she could to simply remain standing on two feet. She was trying so very hard to simply stay up, and avoid a breakdown. This wasn't how she was envisioning the day was going to go, and she detested that experience just now. Quickly taking the opportunity to wipe her face with her sleeves, holding tightly on her sword with the other hand, when she finished she noticed that her sleeve was very evidently water-stained.

From the distortion in front of the two girls, a deep voice bellowed, an almost cacophonous laughter sounding from seemingly nothing. Slowly appearing toward the center of the distortion, two beady, gold-and-purple eyelike orbs opened up in midair. Both remained skittering about, shifting every half second in order to perceive more information with each passing moment. Similarly from nothing, a mouth opened up, very much akin to what one would expect from the jaw of a hollow mask. It began to speak.

"Bahahaha! It's been quite a while since I've tasted something that wasn't Human! And such a unique taste for a Soul, almost... uncharacteristically spicy! The two of you will make a fine treat!"

SPOILER: Click to show

{Yui's Stats & Skills}
Type: Soldier, Version 2

Stats & Skills:

Strength: 40 [28]
Speed: 40 [40]
Reiatsu Strength: 40 [60]
Spiritual Pressure: 40 [40]
Instinct: 40 [40]
Senses: 40 [40]
Energy Sensory: 40 [40]
Healing Expertise: 0 [0]

Light Aura: 100
Dark Aura: 0

----------

Weapons - Swords: 1
Kido: 1
Mental Incantations: 1
Cold Tolerance: 1
Battle Analysis: 1
Crafting: 1
Pain Tolerance: 1

SPOILER: Click to show

{Sombría's Stats & Skills}
Type: Strategist

Stats & Skills:

Strength: 50 [38]
Speed: 50 [38]
Reiatsu Strength: 75 [75]
Spiritual Pressure: 75 [75]
Instinct: 50 [75]
Senses: 100 [150]
Energy Sensory: 100 [150]
Healing Expertise: 0 [0]

Light Aura: 50
Dark Aura: 50

----------

Weapons - Tongue: 1
Stealth: 1
Analyzing: 1
Battle Analysis: 1
Disguise: 1
Strength of Will: 1
Pain Tolerance: 1

SPOILER: Click to show

{Hollow Technique - Sabor a Muerte}
Sombría's bread and butter technique, Sabor a Muerte serves a number of purposes in combat. For starters, this technique allows for the weaponization of their tongue for standard combat. Instead of utilizing Strength, Sombría's tongue will simply utilize their Offensive Stat for the purpose of dealing physical damage. If Strength is not used, then shockwaves cannot be generated.

Aside from this though, Sabor a Muerte serves another purpose; that is to apply Sombría's saliva to those that come in contact with it. When applied to the skin of Sombría's prey, it will remain dormant for a short period of time - precisely, for three posts before the effects start to kick in, with an additional post of dormancy per Rank of Poison Tolerance a victim has. During this time, if the victim is aware of the poisonous Saliva - which requires either 100 Healing Expertise, or 300 Senses - they can spend 100 reiatsu to purge the poison from their body. If unable to do so, they're forced to suffer the effects of this toxin.

When the toxin is activated, the areas that came in contact with Sombría's saliva are immediately numbed to an extreme extent. Utilization of the affected area will result in a 10% debuff to Instinct toward the areas that made contact; while certainly nice when applied to an arm or a leg, this poison shines exponentially when applied to the face, or other sensory organs.

[Ailene Haschiro]

Ailene continued to cautiously approach the darkened alleyway. The covering of foliage along with the darkness that extended from the neighboring houses made this a precarious situation. She had some memories left from Kazuna's time as a hollow. There were also Eleana's. Both resorted to attacking isolated targets. Plucking children from their beds at night. Ambushing Shinigami at night or in dark areas if during broad daylight. It was an effective strategy. Surprised prey would find it much more difficult to defend themselves. Despite her apprehension, Ailene was not alone thankfully. She had Yui nearby. The girl was a Shinigami! She had some training. Ailene could rely on her... right?

The girl would remain close as Ailene walked. "Hey," For a moment, Ailene turned her head towards the Shinigami. Was something wrong? Did she need help? Had she seen something? Anything would prove useful in this situation. Yui would have no intel, but instead offered the one thing that she knew she could do well. Emotional support. "You... seem a little distressed. I'm sure everything's going to be okay~!" Some may have found it to be false hope. A promise that couldn't be kept. Ailene smiled in response. It was endearing and the barista appreciated how despite the girls' own fear... she could remain calm and optimistic. 

Ailene's vision would become clearer as she approached the darkened route. A small hedge formed a barrier on the right. The path seemed to lead to the backyard at the nearby house. Flowers and other foliage decorated the dirt that sat beside the path. Ailene still couldn't see anything. No sign of danger had revealed itself. No form, physical or spiritual, hid in the darkness. In fact, Ailene felt as though she was effectively trespassing. Her cheeks took on an embarrassed rose-colored tint as she retreated from the path. She'd look at Yui with a smile. "Well.. the coast is clear. Perhaps it was just our imagination after all.." She chuckled, still embarrassed by her previous concern. 

She hoped that this was enough to calm Yui down as well. In fact, it seemed as though the girl would take a moment to comment. "Why don't we just take the opportunity to-" The next movement would be nothing short of surprising. The Shinigami tugged on the linen cloth briefly. It would come loose without much effort. Pulling the blade from the protective covering, Ailene took a step back, her eyes widening in shock. To make such a preemptive motion was so out of character for the Shinigami. She shook in fear. "U-Um..." Ailene looked around. She had no idea what the hell was going on, but this was beyond natural. Ailene kept trying to keep her eye out for well... anything of note.

"I think we might be in a bit of a dangerous situation..." Ailene gritted her teeth for a moment. Her thoughts raced. "Clear knack for stating the obvious don't you Yui?" This sensation she felt. The tactics of fear. This had the stench of a Hollow written all over it. Yet... it didn't feel raw enough. This was not mere primal instinct. This was calculated. As the distortion formed, Ailene would be too slow in to take note of it. It moved towards Yui, attacking the Shinigami. As one would expect, a sudden scream roared to life. The Shinigami was clearly terrified now. Ailene looked over at the Shinigami as she swung her sword at the distortion. As Ailene looked over, it was as though she was looking through water. The buildings and grass behind the distortion simply seemed hazy, as if they were swimming.

As the shifting purple-gold eyes formed, eerily twisting about and a mouth materialized from nothingness. The laugh was spine-chilling. It had no harmony to it. Suddenly, the mouth moved. This hollow spoke. "Bahahaha! It's been quite a while since I've tasted something that wasn't Human! And such a unique taste for a Soul, almost... uncharacteristically spicy! The two of you will make a fine treat!" Ailene's eyes narrowed. She had never seen something like this before. Many Hollows were capable of something known as Ulcera. They could temporarily flicker in and out of reality, to the Valley of Screams, to move at impressive speeds. It was not unlike a Sonido or Shunpo in its overall effect. This Hollows' form... if it even was a Hollow, almost resembled the otherworldly appearance of such a technique.

Regardless of her former place among hollowkind, this one clearly meant them harm. It had attacked and shocked Yui. As a member of Rēgīna, no matter how new, Ailene had to act. She had to retaliate. Bringing her hands underneath her kimono, she quickly instinctively grabbed for weapons. She patted her waist before a moment of shock hit her. "Oh.. yeah. I left them at Rēgīna..." She stared down the Hollow. Normally, the woman would simply crush the Hollow using gravitational pressure. However, even despite her recovering wound left upon her spirit by the Saigo, she did not feel as though this was a viable option. After all, it took several centuries even as an Arrancar before she could effectively grow to a level where she could outright crush Hollows.

With no weapons and no other spiritual options... Ailene quickly looked around. They could always run, but... this Hollow seemed crafty. There was no proof that it didn't have a trick to catch up with them. She had run from a Hollow once before and had to be saved by a Shinigami. Yui, despite being one, seemed largely inexperienced. She had to stand her ground. Ailene gritted her teeth. Taking a few steps backward, she looked down and grabbed a... branch? She groaned and quickly grabbed the lid of a trash can. Taking a step out of the darkness, she stood with her tools. They weren't too far off from a sword and shield. Right? 

It's not like she had any better tools at her disposal. She had to make do with what she had. She charged at the beast. Despite her newly found humanity, Ailene would show some impressive agility. Running at the Hollow at a speed of 100, about the speed of a well-conditioned runner. As she approached, an internalized voice roared to life again. "Strike f̸͍͗a̵͙͐ṡ̷̙t̸̲̾ ̷̻̄ȃ̷̢n̸̯̈́d̶̫̑ ̸͚͘h̵̯͘a̵̺͐r̷̹͊d̵̬͂"̸̩̃" There was still some distortion to it, as if listening through an old radio. Aileen could make out one word. "Strike." So, she would do her best. With branch in hand, she did her best to bring it down upon one of its eyes. Using her other hand, she attempted to slam the lid into its ethereal form. Would this work? Ailene had no idea. She couldn't just stand around and do nothing. So, with her lackluster tools and pitiful physical strength, she'd still try her best!

SPOILER: Click to show

{Ailene's Stats n' Skills}
Type: Fractured

Ailene's Stats & Skills:

Strength: 50 [38]
Speed: 100 [135]
Spiritual Pressure: 100 [150]
Reiatsu Strength: 50 [35]
Instinct: [100]
Senses: [50]
Energy Sensory: [50]
Healing Expertise: [0]

Light Aura - 50
Dark Aura - 50

---------

Pain Tolerance [1]
Battle Analysis [1]
Weapon: Curved Daggers [1]
Shadow Magicks [1]
Strength of Will [1]
Stepping: Movement [1]

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

As Ailene took a few steps back in order to gather her 'weapons', Yui did what she could to hold her ground. Still doing her best to try to keep up any semblance of an offensive against this monster, She did what she could to steel herself. Shaking right before a fight began - right before she needed to act, was going to prove a death sentence if she couldn't calm her nerves. And, given the situation at hand, calming her nerves was going to be a necessity.

As her grip around her sword tightened, she took a deep breath, and she glared down the Hollow, Yui felt herself enter an almost trancelike calm. Not quite a 'change', but more so a willful suppression of all of her hounding, negative thoughts, the girl did what she could in order to prepare herself to make a plan of attack against this hollow. And, as she did, it seemed that Ailene was prepared for an opportunity of her own.

Watching as her friend broke into a sprint, turning her angle of approach as to aim for one of the Hollow's eyes, Yui decided to make a bit of a decisive action herself. Utilizing her proficiency with Shunpo, a skill which she picked up in Shinō Academy, she blurred from sight to those nearby, accelerating at a speed of 400 toward Sombría. The goal however wasn't to stop before the Hollow, but rather above. She needed to make Ailene's movements count more than anything else; after all, she wasn't very confident in her own combative prowess at the moment.

Residing just above where the distortion stopped, and falling quickly atop the Hollow, the girl wasted no time in dropping the point of her blade into the beast's back. Given the speed at which she'd moved, even the Hollow was going to have trouble keeping up with her location; let alone accurately tracking someone directly atop her back. As her blade broke the beast's skin, she'd keep a soft smile upon her lips. Seems her attack had worked.

And, as planned, a solid opening was given to Ailene. Given the Hollow's sensory capabilities otherwise, seeing such an attack coming wasn't going to be the most difficult thing. Though, quickly ending up distracted from a sword to the back was easily enough to give Ailene the opening she needed, jamming the stick into the beast's eye and slamming the lid into the beast's body. With a pained shout, Sombría immediately began to try to shake Yui off and flailed about, swinging their tongue violently around them.

If Ailene didn't have a way to quickly get out of range, or the know-how to avoid a 38 speed flail, she was going to be in for a nasty surprise down the line; something Yui was also going to be fated to eventually deal with, all things considered. If Sombría was quick enough, they'd look to get a good grip with their tongue around Ailene's body in an attempt to throw her as far as they could manage against the concrete.

After a few short moments, Sombría cloak began to kick in once more, as they seemingly vanished. Along with this, Yui dropped down to the ground, her and her sword hitting the pavement with a 'clang' and a pained "Oww..." as she tried to stand back up. Unfortunately the girl wasn't very physically durable, so this was something that was going to take a short moment. Regardless, she eventually found her footing as she turned to her friend. "Ailene!" she called out, "Are you ok?!"

Waiting for a response from her friend, Yui looked around, doing what she could to analyze the area as best she could. To her own eyes, it seemed the Hollow... disappeared again. Ugh, she thought, this is going to be frustrating, isn't it? Her words were all but confirmed as the Hollow seemed to slowly reappear, this time revealing its true body as it stood stuck to the side of a building.

In front of the two girls, a large but rather unintimidating beast stared back at them with beady, perpetually shifting eyes. Looking almost rocky in texture thanks to its scales, and with a rather large horn protruding from the front of its head, the beast didn't look like anything immediately recognizable. From its back, two wings protruded, resting neatly against its spine. A large tail rested half-curled behind it, seemingly primed for an attack at any moment. As they rested, panting softly, their tongue flicked in rather fast motions across their eye and back; the areas where they'd been hit.

"Tch, such insolence! Though, if nothing else, I'm working up quite the appetite! Bahahaha!"

SPOILER: Click to show

{Yui's Reiatsu Pool}
Reiatsu: 350/400
-50 Reiatsu for Shunpo.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Hollow Technique - Ulcera camuflaje}
Through combination of Sombría's Ulcera capabilities, and their natural chameleon-esque physiology, they are able to combine the two in order to perform a rather interesting combative tool. By cloaking their own body in an Ulcera-like distortion, placing themselves partially within a Valley of Screams and remaining partially in the world they inhabit, Sombría is able to give themselves both a passive and active camouflage.

While distorting the senses, this passive camouflage is very easily pinged by Energy Sensory. In order to see through this passive camo, an individual needs either 100 points in Senses or 50 in Energy Sensory, increased by 100 in each for every point in Stealth Sombría possesses, and reduced by 50/125 in both for every Rank in Battle Analysis those affected have. Active Camouflage, however, requires double these values in order to see through, with Stealth benefits doubling and Battle Analysis remaining the same. When used in combination with Ulcera, this provides for quite the getaway opportunity when necessary. While the active portion of this technique costs no Reiatsu to use, it can only be used once every four posts, reduced by one post for every Rank of Stealth Sombría possesses. When used alongside Ulcera, the step-technique costs no reiatsu.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Hollow Technique - Saliva Curativa}
Another technique that utilizes Sombría's tongue, Saliva Curativa allows the hollow the opportunity provide in-combat healing to themself. By rubbing their tongue against injured areas and thoroughly applying their own spit to their wounds, they'll allow their wounds to slowly begin to patch up. One post of exposure is required in order to patch up smaller flesh-wounds, three posts of exposure is needed in order to patch up burns and lesions, and five total posts is required in order to stabilize lost limbs and appendages. While lesser wounds will be healed, larger wounds will simply be stabilized; they won't close, limbs won't regenerate, et cetera. Due to the strenuous application times, this technique costs no reiatsu.

[Ailene Haschiro]

Weapons in hand and a renewed will to fight, Ailene brazenly charged the Hollow. She had little formal weapon training outside of daggers and frankly, the branch certainly wouldn't have been her first selection if she had the foresight to bring her blades. Given the circumstances though, what other choice did she really have? Under normal circumstances, her strategy would be seen a mile away. There would be a predictability to her movements despite her agility. Thankfully, Yui decided to intervene as well. By utilizing a Shunpo, she'd find herself above the Hollow. With her Asauchi drawn, she be able to make her move as she got the drop on the Hollow.

Descending upon him like a vulture and digging her blade into its back, the Hollow howled in pain. Distracting it, Ailene had the opening she needed. With ferocity, she'd strike at the Hollows' eye with the branch as she slammed the lid of the trash can into its distorted form. This elicited a cry of pain from the Hollow. These were pathetic substitutes for weapons, but they were tools, nonetheless. Just like any tool, it could serve a purpose. Sombría began to struggle. Shaking back and forth, the Hollow flailed around violently like a wild ox. The movements of the Hollow were largely random. Unpredictable. This included its bulbous tongue which soared through the air.

Perhaps, in the past, Ailene would have been able to find some pattern in its movements. As an Espada, even despite her pacifism, Ailene understood the value of honing her mind and other skills. After all, a glance from a Shinigami could result in a fight. Arrancar arriving to fight her for her position. This, and more, kept her mind sharp. Months of focusing on Rēgīna had dulled her senses. Her mind had become far slower. Despite her impressive display of agility for a mere human, Ailene would feel the tongue slam into her. Not only that but with all the dexterity on a prehensile tail, she felt herself be grabbed by the Hollow. 

Pounding on the slimy tongue, struggling proved no avail as it actually tightened for a moment. It stole her breath away as she gasped for a moment. The next thing that Ailene felt was the pavement as she slammed into it. Thrown by the Hollow, the rush of air filled her ears, and she couldn't orient herself no matter how much she tried. As she hit the pavement, the woman bounced, a small crack forming at the point of impact. She'd bounce once more, slowly coming to a halt as she skidded along the ground. As she came to a halt, she groaned in pain. She felt sore from that single throw. Her entire body ached. Even as Sombría vanished, knocking Yui to the ground, the barista could only focus on the pain.

She had gotten tossed around before, but this felt different from all those other times. She had the wind knocked out of her. With a pained groan, she struggled to all fours, her breath heaving with every movement. A spiritual body seemed to afford her greater durability. She wasn't built for combat anymore. She couldn't truly take hits like she used to. The impact and sliding had shredded some of her clothing. Her shoulder, parts of her back and bits of her waist were exposed. The skin on her shoulder and legs were somewhat sheared. Large purple bruises had formed all over her body. As she coughed, she even spat up a small amount of blood, staining the ground beneath her. 

Yui's words of concern sounded deafening for a brief moment. "Ailene!" She looked up, her vision clearing up. The Hollow was nowhere to be found at the moment. Yui continued to yell. "Are you ok?!" At a glance, it wouldn't be hard to tell that the barista was in rough shape. She'd definitely need a moment. After a dozen or so more seconds, she'd attempt to rise to her feet. It was shaky to say the least. Lethargic. It was as if it took all of her energy just to stand. Before this would have never been a concern. She was one of few Arrancar that had a heightened metabolism. High Speed Regeneration. Rare among Arrancar, she was used to simply being able to recover such wounds. Now? She'd have no such luck.

By now, the Hollow had become visible. Its large form clung to the side of a nearby building. Its beady eyes stared at the two women as its large tongue frantically danced along its wounds. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to resemble a chameleon. Ailene clicked her tongue. She stumbled forward towards Yui, attempting to regain her bearing. She couldn't be knocked down from such a blow. She wouldn't! She was not naive though. She understood that there was no way she could take such a blow again and be left standing afterwards. She broke into a light jog, moving at a speed of 50. The lid had been bent out of shape and the branch had been snapped in half. She'd pick up the branch before looking at the Hollow. 

Ailene had not noticed it, but the clothing that was sheared off... it revealed part a tattoo on her body. On her waist, part of the top half of the 7 that marked her body become visible. A smidgeon of the bottom half was there for the world to see as well. Whether the Hollow could see it or whether it meant anything to it was yet to be seen. The same went for Yui. As she continued to stare at the Hollow licking its wounds feverishly, Ailene heard an internalized voice come to life again. The same one she had been hearing recently. The barista decided to give it her brief attention. After all, whatever it was... it had some knowledge of the current events.

The voice would be a little distorted again. Parts of it had become clearer. "Focus A̶͉͕͋i̵͚̚͝ḻ̶̋͋ẻ̷̝n̴̜̈͝e̶̤̒... can feel ó̷̳͆w̴͚̚ǹ̴͍ ̷̝̀͑ș̷̌t̷͖̻̃͠r̶͓͠ë̸͔ṇ̵̜͊͊g̵̣̮̓ẗ̴̰̜́h̵̺̟̽͝ growing. D̷͙̑̓ǒ̶̧͜ṇ̵̌'̸̭̎t̷͍̘͑͝ ̵̫̎̈ h̶̛̦̳o̶̧̝͊̚l̸̹̻̐̈d̷̢͈̆ back. Tug and Pull." Ailene blinked for a second. She looked down at the branch. It had become somewhat broken, but it still had its uses. The barista focused on the stick. "Don't hold back...? Hmm... Maybe I can use that skill I've been practicing..." After the strange occurrences of dishes breaking spontaneously and an encounter with the feline Hollow, Ailene had been unknowingly using Soul Command. Everything had a soul, no matter how small. Fullbringers could tap into it, manipulating objects by pulling on their souls. This is exactly what Ailene would do. As she spoke, she clearly addressed the Shinigami. "Please cover me, Yui. As best as you can. This may take a minute..." 

For the first time since her encounter with Yui, Ailene would actually output some reiatsu. She flexed it, applying it to the branch. Tugging at the soul of the wood. She'd begin molding the branch, sharpening it into a single point. Every several seconds that passed, Ailene made it sharper. After half a minute, it would appear far closer to a spear. All the while, she hoped that the Shinigami could cover her. Overall, the act of peeling the wood repeatedly from the branch would slightly tax her amassed reiryoku. If the Hollow focused on Ailene, it could likely tell that the amount that was being expended or even Ailene's pool of spiritual energy was not much better than that of itself. If given the chance, Ailene would finally finish after a minute or two, molding the branch into a much pointier stabbing weapon.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Ailene's Reiatsu Pool}
Reiatsu: 700/750

Soul Command - 50

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

Watching as her friend found herself bombarded backward from the chameleon hollow, Yui couldn't help but feel her nerves grow more intense. The last thing she wanted to see was her friend take such a heavy hit like that; was she going to be all right? As such, Yui called out to ask. Not getting a response immediately pushed the girl into a state of almost immediate worry, however; something she felt that would only grow with time as the silence continued. There wasn't any way she was dead... was there?

As the same turn of events continued to carry itself out, with Sombría propping themselves up on a nearby building, Yui gripped her blade ever tighter. She knew more than anyone else that something needed to be done. Something that this Hollow wasn't going to expect. Something in order to get revenge for the damage her friend was just forced to sustain! "Y-You'll pay for that!" Yui shouted, an amount of pain behind her words, "I'm not going to let you get away with hurting my f-friend like that!"

As she finished speaking, Sombría chuckled once more, his voice scraping along the air like nails on a chalkboard. "Is that so, little Shinigami?" Slowly starting to walk down the side of the building, the Hollow continued to speak to Yui. "For someone so concerned about their friends, you seem to realize so little how detrimental that is; after all, you're more of a danger to that girl than I am!" Once again cackling, after having read into Yui's soul for a short period of time, Sombría stopped moving the moment they hit the concrete once more.

Taking multiple steps back, trying to put some distance between herself and the Hollow, Yui continued to tremble. More of a danger? She asked herself, n-no, there's no way that can be true! I'm... not a danger to her! I would never hurt Ailene! Doing what she could in order to reassure herself, Yui eventually stumbled back toward her friend, now standing fully on her feet. Turning her attention to Ailene, she noticed very quickly just how beat up her friend had been. She didn't seem to have taken a fall like that very lightly.

Still, though, she seemed apt enough to power through her own movements. If nothing else, that in and of itself was a relief to hear. As she picked up the stick that had previously been snapped in half, Yui couldn't help but smile. Seemed Ailene still felt the drive to fight; the drive to put this Hollow in his place! Yui very heavily respected that; she didn't feel the desire to run away, or give up, or anything of the like. No, she still seemed to want to fight. And, if that was her decision, then Yui had no problem standing beside her while they did exactly that.

"What's this?" Sombría spoke up, "seems as though both girls aren't what they seem! Ailene, was it? Tell me; does your friend here know about the significance behind that number of yours? Bahaha! I thought I'd recognized you from somewhere, and that all but confirms it! I can't wait to be able to take a bite out of the former Septima Espada!" Licking his lips, Sombría continued to poke at the two of them verbally, looking to bait them on.

Unfortunately for them, Yui seemed to take the bait. Her eyes widened as she turned toward Ailene. "S-Septima Espada..?" She asked nervously, "w-what's he talking about, Ailene?" She'd give her the time to explain, but after a bit she'd turn her head back toward Sombría; even if she'd allied with someone as frightening as the Septima Espada, she couldn't afford to take her eyes from the fight at hand. That would very quickly mean that the two of them would find themselves inside of the Hollow in record time.

"N-no matter," Yui spoke, her voice still a little shaky, "regardless of who you are, or might've been, you're still my friend! And that takes priority!" Giving Ailene a quick sincere smile, Yui wanted to make sure the girl knew her stance on the matter. She didn't have any ill will toward Ailene for being the Septima previously; hell, she didn't have ill will toward the woman at all! She'd deeply considered Ailene a friend already, and that wasn't going to change from some Hollow's words if she could help it!

"Please cover me, Yui. As best as you can. This may take a minute..." Yui's eyes widened. It seemed her friend needed a bit of help. Well, who was she to turn that down? With a nod, and a soft "Mhm~!" Yui took a deep breath. Gripping her blade ever tighter, she prepared to tackle the Hollow on her own for a bit. If that was what Ailene needed, then that's what Ailene was going to get! She wouldn't have it any other way!

Slowly taking a few steps forward toward Sombría, Yui continued to stare him down with intent. Not quite with a desire for violence, but more so a desire for upholding her own determination; the desire to continue fighting in order to keep both her and Ailene safe. "I'm not scared of you, Hollow," she spoke, allowing her voice to almost confidently carry through the air, "and, for the sake of myself, Ailene, and Rēgīna, you will be purified here today!" Exhaling slowly, doing everything she could to calm her nerves, she prepared for anything that the Hollow might've rebutted with.

Interestingly enough, however, there was no rebuttal. Instead, a simple vanishing from Sombría as they once again went invisible. It seemed they were almost making a habit out of doing that; something that was only going to grow ever more frustrating as time went on. With a soft huff, Yui began to run toward Sombría's last visible location. Keeping her guard up the whole time, she wasn't going to allow herself to get caught off-guard. Quite the opposite, actually; she needed to prepare something special for this beast.

---

One Year Prior

"And, that's how it's done," the Shinigami woman said, standing with her feet planted firm in the grass. As her hand lowered down toward her side, residual Reiryoku still fluttering from her fingertips as the target not twenty yards away crackled with residual electricity, she spoke once more. "Ultimately, it's not a very difficult spell, Yui. It just takes a little bit of practice, is all! I'm sure you'll get the hang of it this time!" Smiling toward Yui, the woman chuckled softly.

"I-I'm not sure..." she spoke softly, as timid as ever, "I haven't really been able to get it yet... What makes you so sure?" Pouting and placing her arms over her chest, Yui looked back toward her instructor with defeated eyes. She felt.. sorrowful over the fact that it didn't seem to be coming naturally to her, like the rest of the other students had been able to pick up on. As she did, her instructor lowered herself down to Yui's height, with a soft smile on her face.

"That's easy," she spoke, "because unlike everyone else that I've seen in your shoes, you haven't quit. You haven't said 'oh, I can't get this, I guess Kidō's just not for me;' quite the opposite! It's because of your tenacity, Yui! I don't think I've seen you give up yet, despite how hard something might seem. That kind of perseverance is what keeps people alive and fighting, girl! So, I do think you'll get it! If not? We can call it for the day. I'd like you to try one more time, though."

With a beaming smile, Yui nodded her head. "Y-Yes ma'am!" She said, very evidently enthused from hearing the woman's words. She'd need to try it just once more. And, if nothing else, she was going to give it her damnedest. Facing the target, and pointing two fingers out in front of her, Yui held a stable stance. With a deep breath, she decided it was time to make her move. "Arise god of thunder! Awake mother of storms! Unleash the lighting on the sinners..."

---

Present Day

"...Hadō #4: Byakurai!" As the girl spoke the incantation to the spell she aimed to cast, Yui pointed her right index and middle finger to the now-manifesting Hollow looking to strike in front of her. She wasn't going to give up. She was going to remain strong; she was going to push forward for herself and her newfound friend! As her words finished, her own Reiryoku roared to life, circulating around her fingertips and immediately taking shape after being crafted by the girl in such a short time.

Almost as quickly as it had formed, a bolt of white-hot electricity surged from her fingertips, dancing through the air directly forward and primed toward the Hollow. As quickly as it had fired, the incanted Byakurai flew through the Hollow's shoulder, piercing easily through their less-than-durable flesh and flying out the other side with a tremendous "BOOM" as it collided with a building. Not nearly enough to threaten the integrity of the building, but enough to leave a noticeable thunderclap from the force alone as it struck.

"Tch!" Sombría scoffed, quickly rethinking their advance, and moving back for just a second. "Where on earth did that come from!?" They shouted, their wound almost instantly cauterized from the bolt of lightning fired from the girl. Lowering their stance closer to the ground in observation more than anything else, Sombría simply watched as Yui stood, once again assuming an offensive stance.

"Surely you've heard of Kidō~? Regardless, you're not to approach any further until Ailene is ready to fight! For both our sake, I forbid it!"

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu Pool}
Reiatsu: 325/400
-25 Reiatsu from Byakurai.

[Ailene Haschiro]

Ailene was certainly beginning to feel the severity of her wounds. Gaining a physical body left her with a significant disadvantage. A body composed of reishi could take far more punishment. A strike from a sword would not debilitate them right away nor being struck to the ground. It would take a truly crippling and grievous wound to bring a Shinigami or even an Arrancar down. Ailene simply didn't possess that same inherent durability anymore. Moving towards Yui and taking her place beside the Shinigami, Ailene coughed a little. Blood rolled down her cheek. "Ugh. An internal injury?" Even this used to be a simple fix thanks to HSR. Unfortunately, Ailene gave it up once she relinquished her powers.

She focused on the Hollow before them amidst Yui's declaration. It was passionate to say the least. She was clearly irked by the fact that the barista had taken such a hit. She'd find herself stumbling forward as she got the branch. It still was a tool that was far from ideal. Unfortunately, the woman wouldn't have many other options. However, the Hollow soon gave a rebuttal. A response that Ailene was no expecting. "For someone so concerned about their friends, you seem to realize so little how detrimental that is; after all, you're more of a danger to that girl than I am!" Ailene tilted her head. She looked at Yui for a moment. "What the hell is he talking about?" 

The Hollow briefly continued. "What's this?" This Hollow seemed content enough to prod at the two women. Was he hoping to turn them against one another? Unfortunately, the next comment from the Hollow made Ailene freeze. "Seems as though both girls aren't what they seem! Ailene, was it? Tell me; does your friend here know about the significance behind that number of yours? Bahaha! I thought I'd recognized you from somewhere, and that all but confirms it! I can't wait to be able to take a bite out of the former Septima Espada!" In an instant, her entire world shattered like glass. "Damn it... damn it!" Her expression changed. She was visibly disturbed by the reveal.

The woman gently put her hand onto her waist, touching the marking that once denoted her as the Septima Espada. "S-Septima Espada..?" Ailene looked at Yui who questioned the whole thing. "w-what's he talking about, Ailene?" The barista sighed. She let her hand drop from her waist. Her face darkened for a moment. "Well. I guess I couldn't hide it forever..." Ailene rose to the occasion. It would be only a matter of time before someone who knew her marking could identify her. The Arrancar who turned on her own kind. The one who had unleashed Saigo and relinquished her powers. The Hollow who would be man. "It's true. I was once the Septima Espada. An Arrancar of Las Noches." 

There was some regret in her voice. After all, Ailene had chosen to turn her back on that life. She had chosen to embrace humanity once more. She hung her head, for a moment, in shame. Fortunately, Yui already seemed to have her mind made up. "N-no matter," The barista opened her eyes to stare at Yui with a hint of shock. "regardless of who you are, or might've been, you're still my friend! And that takes priority!" It was so strange. Yui actually seemed to not mind. Well... rather she focused on the here and now. Her friendship with Ailene seemed to overpower the natural hatred that she had endured while among the Espada. 

She sighed and nodded briefly. Mélusine's voice, despite being hard to make out gave her the advice she needed. Soul Command. She had done it before Shortly before she met with Yui. The skill involved tugging on the soul of an object or even a liquid. By doing so, she could manipulate everyday items in different ways. In this case, she resolved to turn the branch into more of a weapon. She just needed time. Time to properly utilize Soul Command. Thankfully, it was time that Yui would give her. As Yui moved closer to the Hollow, declaring her intent, Ailene would take the time to slowly carve away at the branch.

She'd break off the twigs after a few moments. Holding in before her, the barista envisioned a knife. This blade slowly sheared the bark at an angle. Just as she imagined, the bark slowly began to peel off. Slowly and steadily, she peeled the bark off slowly. It would require all of her focus. She briefly looked up as she heard a familiar incantation and an accompanying spell. She'd pause for a moment. She'd grin at Yui for a moment. It seemed that the girl had some surprises after all. Byakurai was a low-level Kidō, but it was something. Ailene returned to focusing on her branch. The Kidō bought her even more time as the Hollow took a small step back. It seemed as though it wasn't as confident once its food started fighting back.

Getting the time she needed, the last of the bark would peel off. Allowing her spiritual energy to die down, Ailene looked at her handiwork. What was once a branch now appeared pointed like a spear-tip. The improvised weapon was no longer than maybe two feet, but it would have to do. After all, it appeared sharp enough to pierce skin. Rising to her feet, she'd step beside Yui. With the spear-like branch in hand, she spoke in a hushed tone. "Listen Yui... I'm going to just go for it. I can't do much, but I'll try to get his attention. Perhaps that will give you free reign to do whatever you need to." She smiled at the girl and began to walk closer to the building that the Hollow was clinging to. 

She hoped that they had seen the last of his tricks. A prolonged fight like this certainly wasn't something that she was used to without certain protective measures. Primarily Hierro. Regardless, she had to do her best. She sprinted forward at a speed of 135, surpassing a well-trained athlete, and quickly darted to the left.  Seemingly moving towards his curled tail, she instead doubled back and used Soul Command. Tugging on the ground, the woman used it like a trampoline, leaping into the air. The leap was enough to put most professional athletes to shame. Her aim? Not only to get the Hollows attention, but to lodge the spike deep into its body. She brought it over her head and was ready to plunge it into his flesh, hopefully giving Yui the opportunity to strike just as she initially gave Ailene a chance to get a hit in. 

SPOILER: Click to show

{Ailene's Reiatsu Pool}
Total Reiatsu: 650/750

Soul Command - 50

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

As the aforementioned turn of events began to unfold, and the hollow aimed to pit both girls against one another, his plans seemed to fall through rather quickly. Both comments, while sparking a bit of conversation between the two girls, proved very quickly to be largely ineffective. Neither of them found themselves in a state of frustration with one another; while confusion was evident, and conversation was likely to follow after the fight, both seemed relatively... unfazed by their words, thankfully.

Neither girl seemed to have the desire to devolve into conflict with one another. Whether it was due to focusing on their current situation, or due to a lack of desire to fight didn't matter. Sombría's plan had failed. Holding her sword ever tighter, and following through with her plan of action, Yui fired off a stream of lightning from her fingertips in order to knock the beast down a peg. As he withdrew, taking a few steps back with a pained grunt, Yui spoke her original line, standing firm. She wasn't going to let her friend sustain damage if she could help it.

As Ailene approached her, closing the distance between the two of them, Yui turned half her attention toward her friend. She didn't dare look away from Sombría given that'd likely end up costing the girl her life, but she'd listen to what Ailene had to say regardless. "Listen Yui... I'm going to just go for it. I can't do much, but I'll try to get his attention. Perhaps that will give you free reign to do whatever you need to." Sighing softly, Yui nodded her head. She wasn't fond of the plan at hand, but understood Ailene's choice behind it. "Not a problem," she spoke softly, keeping her voice hushed, "just... Please be safe, ok?"

As Ailene began her charge toward Sombría, Yui followed in suit, though notably keeping her distance from the two of them. Given she was the one with the potential for ranged combat between the two of them at the moment, she wasn't going to cause them to lose that advantage they had over the Hollow. That could've proved incredibly useful, all things considered, so losing it would've been detrimental if they couldn't help it. As such, she ran forward at a speed of 40; notably slower than Ailene's own speed, and more of a jog comparatively speaking.

As she did, Yui watched as Ailene took to the air, gaining a rather tremendous amount of air for someone that seemed so distinctly non-physical in nature. She couldn't help but smile. Wherever this came from, Yui found herself incredibly thankful; and, it seemed Ailene was likely going to feel the same. Just before she jumped, Sombría primed an attack against the girl, looking to sweep toward her with their rather massive tongue. Though, even with their own instinctual abilities, they too hadn't accounted for the fact that something like this was going to happen.

"What!?" Sombría shouted as best they could, given their tongue was well-out of their mouth at the time. as Ailene took to the sky, they did what they could to withdraw their tongue in record time to strike her from the sky, but Yui wasn't going to let that happen. Before they began to pull their tongue back into their mouth, the girl had already prepared another attack as she closed in. Now somewhat closer, Yui's voice rang out with another "Hadō #4: Byakurai!" As she finished speaking, and pointed her fingers, the spell took hold.

Another stream of lightning blasting through the air eventually its mark on the Hollow, powering through her location and piercing directly through their tongue itself; given the thickness of their tongue, and the wideness of the bolt itself, their tongue fell to the concrete. With an agonized shout, Sombría recoiled from the pain of the strike, having just had their tongue blasted clean-off. It seemed that the opening Ailene needed had arrived, and in good time too; Yui had almost reached the two.

As the Fullbringer dropped from the sky, plunging her makeshift blade into the Hollow once again, Sombría began to thrash and whip about, looking to buck the girl from their back. Unfortunately for them however, they weren't exactly the most physically capable. Given their injured state as well, whipping the girl from their back was going to prove quite the challenging feat. Though, if nothing else, it provided the two with another distraction, aiming to fully-capitalize on the power of a tag-team fight!

With Sombría's now-altered attention, Yui took the opportunity to make her move and finish this fight once and for all. Closing the remaining distance between the two of them with Shunpo, the girl went in for a final, decisive blow against the Hollow. Cleaving directly upward with her Asauchi, Yui watched as her Zanpakuto glided like butter against the chitinous material that made up their mask, splitting the beast's visage in two with relative ease. As her momentum continued to carry her up closer to Ailene, Yui took a quick moment to rest on Sombría's back.

Giving a soft smile to Ailene as the Hollow fell from the side of the building, crashing to the pavement, Yui did what she could in order to keep the two of them on the upper-side of the beast. She wasn't looking to let the two of them suffer any more damage than they needed to; not after the injuries already having been taken thus far. The two frankly needed some time to rest.

With a forceful exhale, Yui turned her attention back toward Ailene, slowly climbing down from the now-disintegrating body. "That..." she started, her breath making itself apparent, "that was stressful." Giggling from her words as the girl allowed herself to fall backward into the grass behind her, she couldn't help but smile. The two of them had done it; they'd survived a Hollow encounter. A tear fell from Yui's cheek as she held a hand into the air. "You were right, Sensei," she spoke softly to herself, before another tear glided down her cheek.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu Pool}
Reiatsu: 250/400
-25 Reiatsu from Byakurai.
-50 Reiatsu from Shunpo.

[Ailene Haschiro]

Clearing off the plan with Yui wouldn't be too much of a hassle. Not that Ailene gave the Shinigami much of a choice. Yui's cooperation was crucial after all. The fact of the matter was that Ailene had proven herself to be largely ineffectual in this encounter. She had left her blades behind like an absolute fool. All she could do was use the environment, but even this left much to be desired. After all, a warrior wielding a branch for a sword and using a trashcan lid as a shield was hardly the stuff of legend. Yui, despite not having quite developed a Zanpakutō, would be able to deliver the coup de grâce if given the chance. Despite not offering a different plan, it would be clear that the girl wasn't all too fond of it. 

"Just... Please be safe, ok?" Ailene nodded. She turned her head and spoke briefly, a brightened smile on her face. "No worries. I'll be fine... I'm not alone in this endeavor after all." This was entirely intended to provide Yui with hope. She noticed that the Shinigami was relatively soft spoken and timid. She needed someone to keep her spirits high during times of great duress. This hope, however uplifting, was something that Ailene fabricated. She had no guarantee that any of this would work. For all she knew, this Hollow had them right where it wanted them. In spite of this, she took a deep breath. The purple-haired woman couldn't allow herself to think this way. She wouldn't! 

With her will reinforced, the woman sprang into action. Racing forward, Ailene quickly broke off to the side before shifting backward and changing directions. All of this was in an attempt to confuse the Hollow as to her intentions. Suddenly, the Hollow stuck out its tongue, attempting to sweep the barista off of her feet. Utilizing Soul Command allowed Ailene to use the ground like a trampoline and leap to new heights. Through sheer happenstance, Ailene had dodged the tongue of her assailant. It seems that the Hollow had not expected her to be capable of such a feat as it suddenly blurted out, "What!?" The woman couldn't help but grin. 

The tongue quickly began to recede. Ailene had fully committed herself. Evading an aerial strike would be extremely difficult in her position. As the Hollow attempted to swipe at the airborne Fullbringer, a bolt of lightning was flung towards it. The Hadō tore through its flesh and severed it cleanly. As the Hollow wailed in agony, Ailene knew that this was her chance. It would be thanks to Yui that the Hollows attention had been taken off of her. She really could count on the Shinigami. Now it was time for Ailene to play her role. She struck the wooden spike into Hollow with conviction. She wasn't all that strong, but her speed and the force of gravity would make up for that. 

Much like Yui, Ailene hung onto the Hollow's back as she grabbed onto the wooden stake. The response was to be expected. It wildly thrashed around as it attempted to knock Ailene off of its back. However, it wouldn't be easy. Ailene held on for dear life and the Hollow was already taken several hits. Its energy had waned. Now all of its attention rested upon Ailene. This would give Yui the opening to deliver the finishing blow. Drawing closer with a Shunpo, Yui swiftly brought her blade down upon the Hollow's mask. Her Asauchi cut through the mask effortlessly. For a moment afterwards, the struggling magnified in intensity. 

After the last death throe, the Hollows' movements slowed to a crawl. Ailene rose, standing upon the creatures back along with Yui who joined her atop it. Suddenly, its lifeless body began falling off of the building. Ailene gasped as she nearly lost her footing. Thankfully, it seemed that Yui would be there for her once more. Stabilizing herself, Ailene braced for impact as the Hollow fell to the pavement with a loud thud. It's body already began to disintegrate into spiritual particles. Ailene sighed in relief. The threat was over. They had done it! Together with Yui, she stepped off of the Hollow slowly. Despite standing, the girl had taken a fairly decent hit after all.

Ailene turned to Yui who began to pant. "That..." The barista gave her full attention to Yui. "that was stressful." Ailene blinked. Stressful was certainly one way to put it. The Fullbringer sighed briefly as Yui fell into the grass behind her. The Shinigami spoke softly Ailene could only make out one word. "...Sensei." Ailene was fairly intrigued to say the least. This girl had a teacher? A mentor of sorts? Or perhaps she was just referring to a teacher at the Shin'ō Academy. Ailene wouldn't pry as to whoever it was. She was just glad that they had made it out of that situation alive. One of a few times since regaining her humanity that she had faced a Hollow as prey.

It was still so surreal to Ailene. She used to not feel fear when encountering a Hollow. She could simply crush them without a second thought if they even wished to fight the Septima Espada. She may not have seen herself as such, but she at the top of the food chain. Now? Hollows relished at the opportunity to devour her soul. They saw her as just another human victim. In a way, it was something that she had to come to terms with. Hollows would no longer respect her. The number that was engraved into her very flesh no longer had any meaning other than vanity. She brushed her hand along the 7 that rested on her waist.

Her secret and greatest shame had finally come out. The Hollow had revealed to Yui that Ailene was the previous Septima Espada. Was she supposed to deny it? There was little point in it. It only would've raised more questions. Yet the truth behind her past did not seem to bother Yui. The Shinigami, either through being so good-hearted or just entirely naive, sought to prioritize her friendship with Ailene. Then again, she did run away from Soul Society. It only made sense that she did not embrace its strict code of law. Ailene couldn't help but smile at Yui for a moment. This girl was a true friend. Someone who had earned Ailene's respect. Ailene chuckled softly. "So... are you still looking to get sushi after that.." She would try to take the stress off of the situation as best as she could.

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

As conflict carried itself out, and the two made their attacks with relative ease, Yui couldn't help but smile all the while. As the hollow was defeated, fell from the building, and as she threw herself down onto the grass, relief was all she felt. For once, she'd felt like she had accomplished something. That her departure from Seireitei hadn't been in vain. And, in truth? It hadn't been thus far. If it weren't for her leaving, she would've never met Ailene. Today, as stress-fueled as it was, would've never happened. And honestly? She wouldn't have wanted that. Even if her life was on the line, even if Ailene's life was on the line, she'd enjoyed that time they had just spent.

Doing what she could in order to catch her own breath, Yui made distinct note of Ailene approaching, and wiped her cheeks with an almost silent sniffle. Turning her attention toward the Fullbringer, she listened intently to what Ailene had to say. "So... are you still looking to get sushi after that.." Her words brought about another giggle to Yui. The same smile she'd had only grew larger from Ailene's own words. With a huff, the girl forced herself to sit up, throwing her arms onto her knees.

"I wouldn't mind~" she sung, "but before that, I wanted to ask; how are you holding up? Do you want to take a bit to get patched up before we head out? That... those hits you've sustained thus far don't exactly look the most pleasant." Her smile turning more into a look of worry, Yui maintained her watch on Ailene. If nothing else, she wanted to do her damnedest to make sure that the older woman was doing even partially okay. Last thing she wanted was for Ailene to be in a state of suffering at the moment.

Slowly rising to her feet, Yui took a look around for the moment. Sombría had almost entirely dissolved by that point, and a soft yawn escaped her lips. If nothing else, that encounter tired her out more than normal. Food was certainly something on her mind, but for now, Ailene was a larger priority than that. "Rest easy, friend," she spoke softly to the Hollow, currently in the process of passing on to Soul Society. In truth, this was one of the highlights of her ability to purify; she looked forward to seeing what was going to become of the Hollow in the next life, if she got the chance.

Walking over toward Ailene, Yui pulled the girl into a gentle embrace. Not nearly forceful enough to hold the girl there, and gentle enough as to not severely agitate any of the injuries the girl had suffered. "Thank you, Ailene," she spoke softly, "if not for you, I don't believe that we would've gotten out of this alive. So, thank you~!" Pulling back, she once again gave Ailene another friendly smile, doing her very best to show her appreciation toward the Fullbringer. Thanks to her, they carried the day.

Pausing for a bit, and letting Ailene get the opportunity to speak if she'd like, Yui's eyes darted toward the ragged clothes that the woman wore; namely, that numeral tattooed on her side. After the two went back and forth a bit, should Ailene decide to spark up a quick word with the girl, Yui decided to speak. "Hey, Ailene?" she asked softly, "I can't say I'm all too familiar with the Espada as a whole - my knowledge is limited to what was taught to us in the Academy - but I wanted to ask you: what was that like?"

Not so much a morbid curiosity, and more so an attempt to learn more about life as a Hollow, Yui didn't expect an answer if Ailene didn't feel comfortable talking about it. She wasn't going to press it if her friend wasn't ready to open up about it, but at the same time she truly did want to know. If nothing else, she supposed what she was after was validation that the effort that she - and other Shinigami - had put in to purify, to try to end that suffering, wasn't for naught. And truthfully? What better opportunity did she have than directly hearing it from the source?

Waiting for a potential response from Ailene, Yui began to pace around the girl, simply looking to keep her legs moving. She wasn't quite nervous or anything, but more so still on that lingering adrenaline high from the fight that had just occurred. She didn't exactly want to drop from that immediately, and rather decided to ease herself into it, so she kept her body moving in an attempt to return to normal as best she could. If nothing else, it provided perfect opportunity for the two to head back to Regina if Ailene had desired to do so.

[Ailene Haschiro]

"I wouldn't mind~" Cheerful as always, Yui would seem okay with moving forward to go to this sushi place. Ailene had to admit to herself that she was fairly hungry now. Perhaps the adrenaline? Before she went on, however, Yui began to check on her. "But before that, I wanted to ask; how are you holding up? Do you want to take a bit to get patched up before we head out? That... those hits you've sustained thus far don't exactly look the most pleasant." Ailene wasn't entirely surprised. Thus far Yui had shown herself to be extremely caring. She seemed to put everyone before herself. It was the trait of a truly kind soul. Ailene couldn't help but smile in response initially.

"Well... I'm standing. That's gotta count for something!" She said with enthusiasm. "Patched up? Nah. I'll be good to go..." Her voice trailed off for a moment. In truth? She didn't feel all that great. Her body ached and she had coughed up some blood just a bit ago. She'd certainly live, but she'd likely regret it later if she didn't get rest. Unfortunately, Ailene had other plans in mind. She just needed an excuse. "...besides, I spent a few weeks stuck in a clinic, so I'd rather not repeat that." She grinned for a moment. She didn't go into detail about why. Besides, it was a unique circumstance back then. The Saigo no Houmen had ravaged her physical form. It had left her drained of her energy and riddled with burns. Compared to that... this was just a scratch. 

Hopefully satisfying Yui, the Shinigami rose to her feet and began to approach the purifying Hollow. For what reason? Ailene was not sure initially. The deed had been done. It was then that Ailene heard the Shinigami address someone. Was it perhaps Sombría? "Rest easy, friend," Ailene tilted her head. This was certainly interesting. Most Shinigami seemed to see the purification process as another duty. Some even enjoyed it merely because it gave them to fight Hollows. By comparison, Yui seemed to look at it differently. Almost as if she was doing them a service. This was certainly a different stance from what she had seen before. 

It was refreshing. She smiled at the Shinigami as she began to approach her. Perhaps they could get go- The woman's cheeks flushed red as Yui embraced her. "Thank you, Ailene," Just like that, the Fullbringer was caught off guard. Her voice sounded nervous as she replied. "I.. I um.. your welcome?" Thankfully, Yui would elaborate. "if not for you, I don't believe that we would've gotten out of this alive. So, thank you~!" As the Shinigami stepped back, Ailene couldn't help, but still blush. She did feel that Yui was giving her far too much credit. Regardless, she decided to simply take the compliment. She simply smiled in response. 

As silence filled the air between them, Ailene cleared her throat. "W-well. Let's at least head back to Rēgīna briefly. After all... my uniform is ruined!" She looked down at the torn parts of her Rēgīna uniform and chuckled. Assuming that Yui would agree, Ailene began heading back at a comfortable pace. After all, everything still hurt a little. She'd simply have to swallow the pain and persevere. Along their walk, however, Yui seemed to want to ask about something. "Hey, Ailene?" The Fullbringer turned her head. "Hmm?" She hummed inquisitively. "I can't say I'm all too familiar with the Espada as a whole - my knowledge is limited to what was taught to us in the Academy - but I wanted to ask you: what was that like?"

There it was. Ailene didn't fault the Shinigami. She was curious. Ailene tapped her own shoulder briefly. They were approaching Rēgīna. Ailene pulled out a key from the satchel that clung to her hip. Still looking at the Tea House, Ailene would speak. "Tell you what. Let me go get into something a little less... well. Tattered. Then on the way to the sushi place, I'll tell you about it. Sound fair?" Assuming Yui found it agreeable, Ailene would open the door to Rēgīna and disappear through the door to the backroom. As she took off her Rēgīna uniform, a small pout touches her lips. "Damn. I'm going to have to get it tailored some time..." 

Setting the clothing down into a drawer, she pulled out a far different outfit. A set of robes that while a dark purple at the hem, grew brighter as it rose. It was fairly modest, not showing off too much or too little. It was tasteful. Slinging her satchel over her bare shoulder again, the Fullbringer stepped back into the main tearoom. This time, she'd be sure to take precautions. Stepping behind the counter and leaning down, the woman slid out a shelf. Seemingly empty, she pulled the bottom up and revealed a ten-inch steel dagger nestled snugly in a knife guard. Opening her satchel, the woman gentle slipped the slightly curved dagger into the bag. Putting everything back in place, she'd lock Rēgīna on her way out.

Now wearing something quite different, she smiled at Yui. "Okay~ I'm ready to go as long as you are~" Assuming that everything was taken care of, Ailene would let Yui lead the way to the sushi place again. In the meantime, she'd clear her throat as they walked. "So then. You wanted to know more about the Espada?" Ailene paused for a moment and looked up thoughtfully, trying to collect her thoughts. "Well, I guess let's start with the way we are assigned our number..." Her voice trailed off in the distance. In a short time, Ailene would systematically explain the nature of not only the Espada, but of Arrancar as a whole. She'd explain, in detail, the ranking system among the Espada and how it related back to the might makes right philosophy that so many Arrancar subscribed to. While she tried to stay as objective as possible, there'd be some melancholy to her voice. She'd detail her reasons for leaving and if Yui paid attention, Ailene's story began to resemble the story she had originally told her. Many of the same themes and story beats would be represented. If Yui was going to ask about her past in earnest... then Ailene would try to give her a full glimpse into her time among the Espada before they indulged in whatever Yui had in store for Ailene.

[Kitai Yoru]

126 paragraphs, plus 50% bonus, 950 Tp awarded