Jumping Jagged Jagras! [NDE, Medium Adventure]

[Ailene Haschiro]

Ailene trudged through the jungle, striking at any vines and foliage in the way with the knife she brought. The walking conditions were entirely unlike the urban environment she had grown accustomed to in Karakura Town. Even the sands of the White Desert weren't as annoying as this. At least there you could see where to go as the large fortress of Las Noches loomed in the background. The jungle offered nothing more than trees, vines and more trees! From her satchel, Ailene pulled the note that had been given to each of the participants. It was signed by the head of the Kawada house. The location would claim to be some clearing in the middle of a forest.

The woman lightly clicked her tongue. She just decided to roll with the punches for now. Her stomping and cutting alerted the local small wildlife which had started peer at her from atop the trees. Ailene looked up into the sky. "Where is she..?" Suddenly, something descended from atop the leafy green crowns of the tall trees. Diving down at a leisurely speed, the form took its place atop Ailene's shoulder. The Fullbringer looked over and spoke softly. "Well?" A soft growl emanated from the dark-winged, scaled dragon which rested upon her shoulder. "Shouldn't take too much longer. Few more minutes if we keep our current course." 

The woman briefly sighed and murmured, "Why did this have to take place in the damn jungle of all places..." The draconic spirit simply shook her head and moved her tail behind Ailene's neck and onto her other shoulder, resting it gently on her collarbone. She began to close her eyes and spoke with a soft growl. "Just wake me up when we're there." The Fullbringer rolled her eyes. With Mélusine properly sitting on her shoulder, she began to quicken her pace. She knew one of the participants would be Yui. A familiar face in this strange quest would be nice. She was certainly curious to see who all would show. Perhaps other Shinigami? Maybe even other Fullbringer? It would certainly be exciting. 

After a few minutes of traversing the jungle, Ailene would eventually find herself coming upon a clearing. Despite its size, it was impressive that they had been able to cleanly carve it into the landscape. Seeing a table in the middle decorated with fine cloths of red and gold, Ailene began to draw closer. As she approached, it seemed that others had already arrived before her. She recognized one of them immediately. Yui Tsumugi, the newest worker within her tea house, Rēgīna. She didn't recognize the others involved, but thankfully everyone already present began sharing names. "Naito and Akita, huh?" The other participant had not shared a name and was instead enjoying a glass of water that was provided.

It seemed that two of the other participants, besides Yui, were Shinigami. Akita wore a Shihakusho though it was slightly modified to be sleeveless. Even then, both her and Inozen possessed what Ailene merely assumed to be a Zanpakutō. As for Naito? She couldn't really get a read on him. From the way he carried himself, he did not appear to be a Shinigami like the others. After her brief analysis, Ailene finally approached the table and took a seat, aiming for one next to Yui. She had taken to simply wearing purple tinted robes. Cut in a manner not unlike her original Espada uniform, she had a scholarly look to her though it was somewhat contrasted by her wild, purple hair which covered one of her eyes.

Since everyone was beginning to introduce themselves, Ailene decided to partake in the formalities. "Greetings," She'd give a big smile. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Ailene Haschiro and I own a small tea House, Rēgīna, in Karakura Town." Looking over at the slumbering dragon on her shoulder, Ailene gently snapped her fingers next to her. Lifting her head and gently flicking her tail, Mélusine slowly rose and remained perched, rather proudly, on the Fullbringers' shoulder. "This is my companion, Mélusine." It would be somewhat amusing with how Ailene so nonchalantly addressed a literal dragon sitting atop her shoulder. Meanwhile, Mélusine would only give a small snort of indifference almost as if she were better than anyone currently present. Ailene simply chuckled nervously, embarrassed already by the way her spiritual companion was behaving. 

[Mizuki Otsuka]

She had read the note over and over so often that the edges were beginning to wear and the folds in it were now so permanent that there was no hope in smoothing it out. Work for money was an easy enough to understand transaction but this would be the first that she had been called for something more serious than general maintenance work - and the nerves were definitely wearing on her. The location had been found and memorized on a map - and having little to no money to buy gear of any sort she went as she was; easing her way through the wilderness with grace and ease as though she had lived in them all her life. Her trek disturbed little to no wildlife and her arrival was so quiet that if she chose to stay on the fringes she could have convinced herself to turn away from the pack of people mingling around a table; maybe they wouldn’t have noticed her.

It was the blazing purple hair that convinced her that it would be worth the effort to enter, standing and introducing herself - though an animal… lizard… was perched on her shoulder as she spoke. Approaching the group from behind she sidled up, rather close to the side of Ailene that didn’t house the scaly friend ‘Melusine’ sat perched. Leaning forward with a slight bow she beamed brightly to the party at large, though her mismatched eyes caught none as they landed on the food displayed. “And I am Mizuki Otsuka, I own nothing but the clothes on my back and my wits- but some might say even those are a bit on the odd side.” As she made her introduction, far less formal than everyone else, the long pale blue hair would fall over her shoulder then back in a flash as she straightened.

Taking in the sight of everyone else she was easily the least prepared, in dress and weaponry. Wearing all she had, the thin and fitted corset top and utility pants - she felt more exposed than usual - the scars on her body shining over her pale skin. Pushing the feeling aside though she reached forward for some of the snacks available, picking up a bundle of grapes and popping some in her mouth before moving around to plop herself next to the girl who had stammered out her name to be Yui Tsumugi, offering her some of the grapes in hand idly as she looked around at the table, “Want some?” She didn’t expect the grapes to be taken per say but she had little room for worry as she took in the group… her nose scrunching slightly.

Most people wore some type of weapon at their hip and it made her wonder aloud, “Should I have brought something more than my fists to this?” With a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders she sat back into her seat and got comfortable. Seeming completely at ease with the random assortment of people around her - and it was oddly true, this mix of energy was pleasing to her…

[Crystal Tokei]

Crystal was resting peacefully in her makeshift hammock hidden in a place only one other person knows. After much traveling her ride seems to have stopped, seemingly sitting down somewhere. Oh, I wonder if we arrived at the meeting location, I can't wait to try out my new toy. Happily lost in her own thoughts the little doll remains in her little hammock for a while longer. While lying there she heard a few people arrive, no one she knows yet.



Some time passes before Crystal finally hears some people give introductions, apparently ther is an Ailene, Mizuki, Naito, Akita, and the leader of the Kawada house himself. Stretching the doll decides it's time to start moving and getting comfortable somewhere to see who and more importantly what people are. Everybody currently at the table might notice something off about Yui, specifically her clothing. As suddenly the back of her shirt would begin moving, as the doll begins climbing the girls back starting from where the hammock was inside her shirt (Midway down the back).



After a few seconds of movement in the shirt people would spot Crystals hands poke out of the of the shirt where Yui's back of the neck is. These little fingerless hands would grip the girls shoulders in order to provide a good anchor, at which point the dolls head would pop up out of the same are. She would at this point start looking around at the people who showed up and introduced themselves. Just as the doll ended on Ailene she would spot the dragon, excitement would flood through the dolls mind making her literally point at the creature periodically tapping on Yui's left shoulder.



Doing this for about ten seconds Crystal would stop, deciding it would be better to get into a more comfortable spot. Thus the little doll would climb up onto Yui's left shoulder (total not so she can keep looking at the dragon) and tap her on the head before pointing at one of the cups. With her intentions of wanting a drink made the doll would reach into her yellowish dress with blue flowers and pull out a marker. Popping the cap of with her left hand she would use it to draw one single line on her face where a mouth should be. With that done she'd replace the cap and put the marker back in her dress. If Yui handed her a cup people would witness as that drawn on line opens up into a true mouth allowing the doll to take a gulp of water. Once she was done with drinking some water Crystal would motion for Yui to place the cup on the table in front of them, after which she would wave to the rest of the table.

SPOILER: Click to show

{What the Doll Looks Like}

[Madelyn Fūrinji]

Moving through the jungle was something that sounded easier than it turned out to be in practice. Although she didn’t need to traverse as much of the jungle as the others, at least that’s what Maddie believed, it still wasn’t fun. The feel of nature was something nice, but the humidity didn’t accompany her outfit well, nor had she been in the mood to sweat. Having received an invitation to what seemed like a meeting or maybe a hunting soirée as she kept walking though that thought became further and further from reality.

She’d been dropped off close to the meeting place through some sort of pitch black hole that lady Keira called a garganta. Maddie didn’t know anything about it or how she was able to make up portals, but she trusted Keira. Now as she kept walking she came to the clearing and saw the table with others who’d arrived before her. Looking herself up and down she immediately frowns at the fact her heels are covered in mud, her leggings although black have green from the brush. “Why did I bother to hope when I was coming to a jungle?” Maddie questions herself as she feels a curtain of negativity fall across her form.

Walking to the table Maddie would normally be a big smile eager to meet new people and hopefully make friends that could help explain all the new things that Lady Keira was already helping her with. Instead though she was frowning and seemed down almost like she’d just received grave news. Finding herself a seat and sitting down with a sigh, Maddie continued to wither in her loneliness, unaware that her emotions had been altered once again by the new addition of her body. It would only be a couple moments though before she started to look around and see the others at the table.

One was a man that looked handsome enough, but she couldn’t tell much about him beyond his appearance. Another liked the color purple, even more than she liked pink which seemed a bit excessive. That one though had a cute lizard on her shoulder and Maddie immediately wanted to get right up and start petting it! That’s when she caught the sight of someone she knew! “Wait, is that Yui? It wasn’t a dream then?” Maddie, confused yet happy about getting up and walking to Yui, felt a bite on her left wrist. Her blood seemed to go cold as she recognized what was happening again. Right there her left hand was gone or rather cut to pieces with a cleaver embedded in her forearm. “It’s not real, it’s not real, fake, fake.”

[Eleonora Schmidt]

Eleonora mused over the content of the letter she receive, outside of the 1000 Ryo that were very helpful as she is planning to get around and buy some more tools to learn new techniques, but at the same time while she's glad that there'll be more people on this job she can't help but feel uneasy, working along side other spiritually aware people can be a blessing or a curse depending on their views on Quincies and if they make a difference between the Vandenreich and those who don't follow the emperor.

Nonetheless the girl show up in the meeting point and listen to their contractor, apparently they will be hunting some type of spiritually aware lizards that have been feeding on hollows but for some reason Soul Society doesn't think they are a threat, the blonde would question the logic behind that because if those things feed on hollows they already are a threat even if minuscule, then again that's the reason they are here and if anything it's a chance for them to grow stronger too.

Eleonora would listen to the others as they introduce themselves, there were a couple of Shinigamis that definitely made her a bit more nervous than what she already was, it also got to her attention the little doll that just made out a mouth with a little marker, and finally the girl with a dragon on her shoulder as if that was the most normal thing in the world, it was definitely an interesting party to say the least.

"Pleased to meet you all" The German said pushing some strands of her blonde her behind her ear. "My name is Eleonora Schmidt and uhm..." She would look at Inozen and Akita a bit nervouse before continuing "I'm a Quincy, as such I am great at long range combat but I've also have a couple of tricks for hand to hand"

Well everyone seemed like nice people and they have been warned to not have any in-fighting in the group so the hunt should run smoothly all things considered, most importantly there was one thing lingering in her mind at the moment and that was Aratima Kawada's supposed gift of power, what could it be? And would they be safe? He did use the word "experiment" but that could meant reuniting the group to see how well they worked together, in any case with all presentations done they will hear about it now most likely.

[Arantima Kawada]

Arantima Sweeped his gaze across all of those that came up and nodded to each of their introductions as they were made. He Chuckled at the small talk around the table as most here obviously didnt know each other that well yet. He clapped his hands together rather loudly and waved a hand out, sweeping across them slowly "Those of you that are unsure of your usefulness on this journey are about to have that question answered. All of you hold still, You are about to be given the stability needed to unleash your inner power.._hopefully"

The Last word was said under his breath but if someone was paying very close attention they could hear it. But Within a moment Arantima's Zanpakuto was drawn out and held horizontal to display its length to all that were present. the blade was pristine and looked as if it were made of silver or platinum and enameled nearly pure white all the way down to the golden wrapped hilt inset with a Small eye sized opal at the base of the pommel. He drew a hand across the blade and it began to be eaten away by a golden flame and 9 golden orbs made of that same fire were floating in the space where the blade had just been.

The Orbs each Zip through the air faster than any of their eyes can see but does not collide with them, it hovers in front of their chests harmlessly "Alright. Now you must give your final consent to undergo this mission. By taking hold of that orb In front of you, you will be granted a shard of my Strength, Split among this many it will not grant you much.. But what little it grants should be more than enough for this excursion. Those of you who are familiar with shinigami need not worry about dealing with my Inner spirit.. He is still inside me.. Those motes are merely My condensed Gravitational pressure, Very little shinigami essence within. Take hold and crush the orb and let it wash through you."

Arantima looks expectant but also worried that a few of them might turn this down, but he is hopeful that most will stay to at least see how this works. "For the majority of you. I would recommend not Unleashing that new full power unless you feel like your lives are in immediate danger. The shard of power I gave you does not change how taxing a release of that magnitude might be on you. There is a map on the table, however.. If those of you that are powerful sensory types among you step into the jungle behind me and reach out you will know which direction to go.. We are not far from the nest, but my presence keeps them away from the camp.. At least it did until I spread that presence out amongst you all."

Arantima's smile is not forced but it is not exactly the most comfortable as he takes a seat at the table and gestures behind him at those who took the gift of power to go as they had their objectives. "Also, Do what you will with the smaller ones, they are not what I am after.. But the big one. Leave it in as much of one peice as you can.. If not, I will understand but the more intact.. the more of a bonus You will get paid."

Small OOC notes!

Anyone with 50 ES or higher can sense the direction of the Lesser Jagras behind Tima and will be able to follow the threads to the nest!

The Map is available for those who wish to take it either way.

From this post onward you are able to release! However as a DM note! Quincies among you, Have the most freedom in this as they can regenerate reatsu. The rest of you will have to plan around that duration of yours. Bount however have an unlimited duration release but it is expensive and taxing at this stage, but it doesnt have a set duration so it'll be completely up to you when to pop that doll!

[Akio Naito]

He looked over the rest of the expedition party who had showed up. Two obvious shinigami, he expected that there'd be a few no matter how far off of heaven's books the Kawada were going. The others seemed like the usual mix of living humans and dead souls... And one toy? Akio smiled at the sight of Crystal, it had been years since he'd seen any of those souls who preferred toy bodies. He assumed the one who introduced herself as Ailene was one of the doll-using clan, something else he hadn't seen one of in quite a while, but that was the simplest explanation he thought of for her odd pet. That left the others as some mix of full manifestation artists, sacred artists, martial artists, and possibly other doll users who were being more subtle about it at the moment. He didn't really have a reliable way of knowing who was what at this point, though Mizuki's comment about only bringing her fists led him to assume she was a martial artist, that our even less prepared for the job than he was.

He was fine working with the assembled group, or rather he had been before Eleonora had revealed herself as a quincy, a real quincy. Bandaged hands tightened, weight shifted to the back foot as Akio had reflexively primed himself to bolt off into the distance up until he realized that fleeing wouldn't do much besides getting him chased down by any combination of those at the table. No, he just needed to stay on-edge, to keep his guard up around her for his own safety. This wasn't the absolute worst case, as long as he could always avoid notice by limiting himself to only his arts, doing his share of the work without manifesting a bow. That seemed to be the safest option at the time.

Then Arantima pulled his attention away from the absolute nightmare of being exposed. The fake quincy quietly took a loose grasp on the orb before him, turned it over a few times as he stared into its depths and seriously considered the situation he'd walked into. "More stable than the last one was." He murmured to himself, this had been his second time holding someone else's raw power in his hand, and his third time absorbing power that wasn't rightfully his. What did it mean now that Akio was used to gaining power without any effort, and losing it just as easily? That he'd accept anything to fill the emptiness after losing his release? That he stopped caring about what power he held onto because he didn't expect it to last? He shook his head, this wasn't the time for that particular strand of guilt.

"Inner power? I don't have any." A forced, awkward smile. "I just want to do this job to whatever extent I can." His own reiatsu briefly flared as his grip tightened on the orb, the usual lazy coils of earthy red and pale blue-green faintly visible around his arm even as the golden mass broke apart under the growing pressure and into his body before seeming to fade away. He found the experience very, very painful. Eyes tearing up as the foreign energy forced its way through his body, sucking air through grit teeth as it forced open spiritual channels he'd neglected for over two years, searing heat spread to every part of his soul- Then stopped and faded into an immediate sense of dissatisfaction. "That- Hurt more than I expected." He reached over to the map, and spread it out across the table to get an idea of where the nest was, and for the excuse to lean on the table for support while he caught his breath.

[ChaosMystic]

As Inozen sipped his cup, he would appear well-mannered and slightly curious of the others as they arrived. Due to the ratio of men to women, (beautiful women at that), he took on a passive observant posture. Having lived an entire human lifetime before transitioning to Soul Society, he knew not to underestimate them and to choose his friends wisely. Already he could see how everyone fell in line with introductions and interacted with one another. Crystal; a literal doll, and Madelyn, who appeared through a garganta, both seemed to know Yui. This was an asymmetrical team if he had ever seen one, and Yui, Crystal and Madelyn could be perceived as a cohesive unit within the platoon. 

Judging by appearances, Inozen and Akita were definitely shinigami due to wearing variations of their shihakusho. In this way, Inozen was able to grasp an understanding of what they were capable of, according to what he was taught in the academy. Sure, every shinigami was different, but he would probably have an easier time coordinating his attacks with hers in the heat of the moment. 

As for everyone else, there was a myriad of different abilities, both spoken of and observed. Naito, who looked totally unprepared for the jungle environment, mentioned having an affinity for dragon streams before someone with an actual dragon on her shoulder appeared. Mizuka didn't even bring a blade to help herself traverse through thick jungle brush. Unless she had some kind of hidden technique, she would most likely need to stick with someone who could cut their way through the jungle. He could easily provide this service if need be, and perhaps after getting to know her, he would like to be her friend. 

Inozen placed his cup down with a soft 'thud'. He could tell that Eleonora was nervous about her heritage. This was something he felt he needed to address before embarking on this excursion. She could be less effective if she had that doubt in the back of her mind, a perception that could place either her or anyone else in danger. Inozen turned to address her, "I don't have any contempt for Quincies. Just as souls can diminish into the infinite abyss, can souls be born anew. Perhaps technology hasn't allowed us to observe this phenomenon, but Quincies are a part of nature, and nature always has a way of finding balance. My name is Shikimura, Inozen. Let's go kill some lizards," Inozen would smile at her softly before turning to the bright orb floating before him. 

He had taken note of Naito's reaction to absorbing this power and figured that even if it were painful, the pain completely ceases pretty quickly. He grasped the orb in his palm, feeling the warmth radiate from it. "Here goes nothing," his grip slowly tightened around the orb. He could feel the orb resisting to maintain shape until finally the pressure caused it to collapse and implode. The liberated energy immediately began to cling to Inozen, externally at first giving him a golden silhouette, but then the energy began forcing its way into his body. Searing pain erupted through all of his meridians as the fire nature invaded his water-natured energy. Inozen grimaced and let out a short howl through gritted teeth, not understanding that Arantima's opposing fire-nature was a natural side-effect. 

The pain lasted longer than he expected, longer than Naito due to his incompatible nature, that when it was over, Inozen dropped to his knees and doubled-over gripping his stomach with his right hand. Beads of sweat lined and fell from his face, and malaise had taken inducing a pounding headache, nausea, and stomach ache. Instinctively, he hurried over to the table, almost tripping over himself in the process, filled up a cup of water, and began to chug. This intake of water began to restore balance to the assault to his body, and with an exhale of satisfaction and newly formed bags under his eyes, he regained his resolve with a weathered smile.  

[Akita Himura]

Their 'host' certainly had a strange way about them. It was not at all unusual for officers or other 'higher ups' to know details the grunts simply didn't have access to but the way this was being gone about seemed also...routine on the half of Arantima. Certain practiced professionalism that Akita had begun to associated with nobility and nobility-adjacent types who had opportunities to practice the intricacy of statecraft and discourse during their careers. Matters were a bit more simple for her: 'Here's your job, go do it'.

The mote of golden light flittered towards her with silent alacrity, circling her hand as she smiled and held it up. Her open palm and loosely extended fingers almost acting like a tree for this golden moth to dance around. The mote was just energy but it had this weight to it, this quiet fragment of true power buried within that had its own voice, its own mass, its own efficacy beyond just casting light upon each of them. Other grabbed their fragments first, likely because she'd lost herself in playing with this one, but she was in no rush. There was no need.

Flattening her hand a bit, the mote almost 'landed' right in the middle, allowing itself to be cupped and cradled by the anticipation of her spirit. With the careful wrapping of her fingers its light was occluded in her closed fist, buzzing and vibrating until it 'snapped' with a crystallize crack and a warmth of energy rushed down her arm and into the very heart of her. The warmth did not last long as the gilded edges of this power were quickly clawed away and gobbled up by...something within her. A biting cold from within the shadow she cast, its icy fingers curling around her almost like a lover's embrace. The first feel was delicate and considerate, like how one might cradle an egg so that it did not break. But as the heat was drained away and her skin turned pallid it became immediately clear that this was not careful consideration for the delicacy of the gift; this thing inside of her was ensuring its meal remained tender and juicy.

Akita's body shuddered, her bones practically chattering as she dropped to one knee and expelled a few ragged puffs of visible breath, as if she were suddenly left outside in the arctic. The rush of sensation faded and normalized, her skin regaining a measure of its mocha color, as she climbed back up to her feet. A quiet mumble beneath her breath as she rubbed the back of her neck, "Gosh, that packs a bunch. Sneaks up on you..."

Stepped up a fair bit more timidly than she would have but a moment before, she approached the bench and looked over Akio's shoulder to the map left to them. Hopefully the task at hand would distract her from this unnatural chill.

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

As introductions were being made, Yui simply did what she could in order to keep quiet. She didn't want to interject where she didn't need to, and wanted to give everyone the respect they deserved in order to speak. Though, that was not to say that she wasn't going to make a mental note of everyone that arrived, and subsequently introduced themselves; quite the opposite, in fact. She'd make a mental note of everyone that she could in order to see just what everyone was going to be like, and whom she should've stuck by when the mission itself actually began.

Speaking after her, Yui made distinct note of Ailene's arrival to the 'party'. With a bright smile rising to her cheeks, she found herself quite joyed to see her friend showing up as soon as she did! Given folks were still actively arriving to the group, she assumed that Arantima was going to go through and fully-explain everything a bit more in depth once everyone was here, so she didn't have to worry about regurgitating the information already said to her. If nothing else, she was thankful for that.

Quickly pulled from her thoughts, Yui made immediate note of a new voice coming from behind; one she hadn't recognized. “And I am Mizuki Otsuka, I own nothing but the clothes on my back and my wits- but some might say even those are a bit on the odd side.” Yui couldn't help but giggle from the girl's words. She was going to be quite the fun companion to have around, if Yui was getting the right impression of her from the get-go. A thought that was only further solidified as Mizuki offered her some grapes. "Oh!" Yui exclaimed, "I'm all right, thank you, though~!"

And with that, she gave Mizuki a rather serene smile. If nothing else, Mizuki's interactions with her went quite a long way to help calm her down a bit; put her at ease. As her fingers stopped snapping, and simply rested idly in her lap, Yui turned to Mizuki as she spoke once more. “Should I have brought something more than my fists to this?” Another soft laugh came from Yui. "I think you should be okay," she spoke softly, "that seems to be about the standard around here~!"

As more folks started to make themselves present with introductions - Crystal crawling from her shirt, Maddie arriving shortly thereafter, and quite a pleasant introduction from Eleonora, it seemed Arantima was up to speak once more. As he spoke, and small motes of Reiryoku admixed with gravitational pressure began to float in front of each and every one of them, Yui hesitantly reached her hand out in front of her. Gently crushing the orb, and allowing it all to wash over her (and in turn, likely Crystal), she found her vision immediately blacken.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Inner World Interactions!}
As Yui's vision seemed to slowly return to her, she pressed herself off of the ground in which she laid upon; well, more accurately, the wooden floor. Pressing a hand against her forehead in an attempt to relieve the growing pains, Yui groaned as she looked around. "Wh-what?" she spoke to herself, "What's going on?" Taking in the world around her, she seemed to be inside of some kind of building; nothing notably fancy, but it seemed almost like a shrine of sorts. How on earth had she gotten here? She had no idea.

"Helloooo~?" She called out, "anybody here?" Starting to take the opportunity to look around the halls for a moment, Yui stumbled upon a longer hallway leading into a much larger room. Deciding that braving this hallway was the best option, she slowly began to walk toward the room. And, with each passing step, she felt the air around her grow a little heavier. While not the most noticeable at first, the closer she got, the more forceful; more crushing this air had gotten. It left a rather frightening feeling with the girl.

As she approached the entrance to the room, she made immediate note of a golden-haired individual sitting on a small mat. They seemed to be facing away from her, and didn't dare say a word. As she took another step closer to them, she felt the crushing weight of the air almost... lift. Like it had just disappeared. Such a sensation froze the girl in place. She didn't dare say a word; didn't dare move a muscle. All that was heard was the sound of her own, rapidly-increasing breathing. Seconds passed. Then minutes.

Eventually, the person sitting on the mat decided to speak up. And, if nothing else, his voice was enough to scare the hell out of the girl. "Well, then, I hadn't expected to see you so soon~" he practically sung, standing up from the mat he was on, "It truly is a pleasure to meet you, Tsumugi. Perhaps we'll be the greatest of friends, hmm~?" He chuckled. "I kid. For the time being, however, it seems you're going to be making use of Kori's little tricks~!"

Squinting her eyes, Yui stared quizzically. "Kori?" she asked. As soon as she did, the man before her all but vanished, reappearing in front of her - not inches away from her face - a split second later. She wanted to scream; to fall backward, leave, or anything of the like. But, something kept her from doing so. Like she hadn't been in control of her own body. She hated that feeling so, so much. And yet, it seemed that she wasn't going to need to experience it for very long.

"You'll find out soon enough, dear Yui~! Try not to die before we meet again, hmm~?"

As the girl's vision returned to her just as quickly as it had faded, she took a moment to look around once more. It seemed very little had changed; like only a couple of seconds had passed. "Whoa," she spoke under her breath, placing her hands back at her sides. As Arantima finished up his thoughts, fully guiding everyone through what was going to need to be done, Yui let out a soft yawn, followed by an appropriate "excuse me."

And then, it hit her. As though she'd been caried by adrenaline thus far, Yui's entire body immediately tensed up as the girl was wracked thoroughly with searing pains all throughout her body. Almost dropping from her seat, though tightly gripping on the table for support, the girl did everything she could in order to keep herself upright. Just what on earth was all of that!? She thought to herself, as everyone else around her seemed to be sharing similarly-adverse reactions to Arantima's 'gift'.

Nodding her head softly in conjunction with Akita's words, Yui gave her a soft, but very obviously off-kilter smile. "Ugh, you could say that again," she spoke with a chuckle. If nothing else was for certain, Yui knew full-well that was not something she'd ever wanted to experience again. While not quite as bad as her first Hollow encounter, a distinct fear of burning had been instilled into the girl's mind.

[Ailene Haschiro]

It would become clear rather quickly that there would be more members in this hunting party. Slowly but surely, more participants would emerge from the depths of the jungle. In fact, Ailene recognized one of them after a moment. A Mizuki Otsuka. The woman had been to Rēgīna before back when Ailene first opened the Tea House. She remembered very little of the woman besides being considered unsavory by some of the patrons at Rēgīna. It was a behavior that Ailene sorely detested. Rēgīna had been organized on the foundations that nobody would be turned away. Mizuki had as much of a right to be there as anyone else. At the moment, Ailene couldn't dwell on such thoughts. She simply gave the woman a warm smile.

Among the newcomers was one more that caught Ailene's interest. Subtle movements of Yui's clothing would soon reveal a doll. Possessing black beady eyes, bright yellow hair adorned with teal ribbons and daisies and wearing a dress gave the doll a childish appearance. It was a toy that someone would likely give a young girl. The sight would've been surreal to Ailene had she not already met a Mod Soul before. A close friend of hers, back when she was the Septima Espada, was a Mod Soul. It was strange to see one here especially due to the Mod Soul purge by the Shinigami. She pondered for a moment before pulling out the letter. Reading over it, it was clearly spelled out that this was a private venture. It was outside of the purview of the Gotei 13. Even the Shinigami present were cautioned of the consequences of inviting conflict into the group.

Setting the note onto the table, Ailene looked back at Crystal as her eyes swept from person to person. As Ailene's eyes met the lifeless orbits of the Mod Soul, she watched Crystal begin pointing at her. The Fullbringer was perplexed. At least initially. As Crystal climbed up to stay perched on Yui's shoulder, Ailene understood just who was getting all the attention. She tilted her head backward ever so slightly to give Crystal a better look at Mélusine. The black dragon still remained perched on Ailene's shoulder though she'd quickly tilt her head and stare at Ailene inquisitively. That's when she finally took note of Crystal. Despite the blatant fascination, Mélusine wouldn't give Crystal the time of day as she stared forward again. Ailene couldn't help, but chuckle. She muttered softly, "Seems you have a fan, Mélusine." The dragon would do nothing more but snort indifferently and keep staring forward. 

As the final introductions came to a close, it seemed that the party could finally get started. The sound of soft clapping filled the air. Ailene and Mélusine both turned their heads to stare at its source. It was none other than the gracious host of this little operation, Arantima Kawada. The Shinigami began to address the group. Just as in the letter, the Shinigami spoke of being granted the opportunity for each of them to unleash their inner power. Ailene raised an eyebrow. "I'm still wondering just what he means by that. What could he have in store for us?" The possibilities seemed nearly endless. As the Vice Captain drew his Zanpakutō, Mélusine shifted ever so slightly. She'd growl softly as both her and Ailene stared at the Zanpakutō. Beautifully crafted and decorated, its wielder consumed the blade in a brilliant flame. As the nine golden orbs emerged, one of them flow towards Ailene with blazing speed before gently hovering before her chest. 

Ailene could sense the flickering embers of Shinigami reiryoku before her. There was no doubt about it. This was the Shinigami's very essence given form. The woman would have her suspicious confirmed shortly after. Ailene listened as Arantima gave a brief explanation as to the purpose of the orbs. Each one of them would gain a fragment of his power. The instructions were quite clear. "Take hold and crush the orb and let it wash through you." Ailene briefly looked towards Mélusine. The spirit stared at the flickering flame with intent. Raising her head, she looked at Arantima and growled ever so softly. Shortly afterwards, the Shinigami continued.

There were a few takeaways. For one, he warned that most of them did not have the spiritual maturity to sustain that which he had awaked within each of them for a long time. Second, they weren't that far away from the nest. Third, and perhaps the most important, there was nothing holding back the beasts within the jungle with the Shinigami's power so split. The Fullbringers' eyes widened. She couldn't help, but gulp. Perhaps this would be the turning point for some of the group. Some of them gripped the golden orbs and crushed them. They'd seem to be in some discomfort. This made Ailene even more apprehensive. Was this really the right call? She looked upward, mulling it over thoughtfully. Looking over at Mélusine, the Fullbringer nodded and gripped the orb tightly. It wouldn't take much to crush it and as she did, the reiryoku entered her body.

The experience was visceral to say the least. Energy surged through her body, singing it with an increasing heat that overtook her. This power was not for her alone, however. The energy drained from her body and leveled itself out. Her body wouldn't feel on fire anymore. Mélusine growled softly as she also felt the smoldering fire rush through her. In that moment, Ailene and Mélusine became even more bonded. Their spirits interwove. Now, more than ever, the Fullbringer was keenly aware of her companion. It wasn't just her physical presence. Ailene could sense her. The pride and passion. Her spirit. It was palpable, now more than ever, to Ailene. Even more so than when Mélusine had first resonated with Ailene to form their Fullbring. The sensation began to pass as both of them opened their eyes.

Ailene still felt the adrenaline rush. Something within them had been brought out. The slumbering embers of their power awakened. For the first time in her new existence, Mélusine felt it once again. The anticipation of Ailene unleashing her upon the world back when she was the dominant spirit of their Resurrección. This was further reinforced by Arantima as he spoke. "Also, Do what you will with the smaller ones..." This was all she needed to hear. A smirk formed on her maw. This is what she lived for. She could recapture that feeling. The feeling of being an apex predator. That glory she felt when snapping bone and feasting on her enemies. "Today, Ailene. We've been living your life for the past months, but today will be different. Today we live my life. The life of a hunter. The life of a Hollow!" Needless to say, she would become enamored with today's hunt.

[Mizuki Otsuka]

The girl next to her, Yui, was as pleasant as expected, actually interacting with her in a genuine manner, and even giggling at her earnest question aloud. It was rare for her to meet those who saw past her stitched up appearance and treat her as a person - so seeing her react in such a normal way brought a light blush to her face, and even a gentle smile. It was hard not to notice the small doll crawling from her newly vested companions hood, leaning a bit away she would take in the moving creature - eyes widening in curiosity and wonder. It took so much effort not to reach out and touch the doll that interacted with Yui.

Her attention was grasped by the commissioner of this journey, clapping his hands together to gather said attention. Her eyes would rake his form in contemplation, while she hadn’t been long for this world he seemed to hold some other type of hold over some amongst her - aside from the allure of money. Closing her hand over the grapes she rested both hands in her lap as she sat back into her seat to listen with a renewed sense of weariness. Suddenly as he spoke a shard was wavering in front of her - per his instruction she was to grab it and crush it into herself - but from the reactions of those that had done so she was less inclined to do so. It promised strength in trials ahead… and seeing as she was at odds with those who came more prepared than she… gritting her teeth she withdrew her free hand from her lap. Giving a side glance to Yui, her anchor in this moment, she stared into the shard as she grasped it and crushed it with ease into her palm.

The wave of energy into her body was not to go unnoticed - though the rise of a voice deep within her mind was far more drawing than any form of uncomfortability. The whispered voice echoed in her mind as though coming from all angles, “My dearest… look at you. Has no one cared for you over the turns of the sun? Don’t you worry love, I’m here now.” Her nails were gripping so hard into her palm that it left half moon shapes in the skin as she hurriedly returned them to her lap - the glance she gave Arantima was one of distrust and fear, what had he done to her. The whispered voice continued in the back of her mind, in a stream of consciousness she couldn’t escape - the look of pain was becoming hard to hide.

Suddenly forcing herself into motion she would push herself out of her seat and stand, her legs feeling solid against the ground as she strode to the place the woman named Akita was leaning over the demure man named… Akio, the well dressed man. Placing her hand firmly on the table on the other side of the man, her eyes bore into the map - as if hunger wasn’t the right word for her expression. Drinking in the arrangement of symbols and pathways she let the smile play firmly on her lips. Turning her face suddenly she met the side of Akio’s face, taking in his expression and profile before speaking in a gentle whisper, “For someone who undermines their own abilities I’d be happy to be in your group… you aren’t as good a liar as you play.” Rising from her leaning position she would stare at Arantima once more, unwavering in her expression of distrust even as her voice rang out for all. “What are you after exactly? You pay us, feed us, and give us power outside of our current station yet…”, tilting her head in a curious way, the smile crawling over lips, “What do you gain from this. An experiment clearly, as you awaken horrors in our minds.” She was speaking far out of turn, revealing too much, but she was unaware of this with her limited knowledge. Tapping her finger to her temple she stared even harder, “What do you want from this.” Her tone was hard, no it was stone. A complete 180 from the girl she was before - but that was due to Yurei stirring in her mind and body now, a hard to control doll that burned away all inhibition and brought out the worst train of recklessness out in its host.

[Crystal Tokei]

Crystal was enjoying her beverage and even waddled over to the girl next to Yui in order to motion for some grapes. If the girl handed her some she would gleefully pop them into her mouth, bouncing up and down like a child who was handed sweets. After which she would bow to the girl in thanks before heading back over to Yui, just in time it seems. Arriving in front of Yui the doll would hear Arantima speak, taking out his intricately designed Zanpakuto before summoning balls of golden energy from it. These energy spheres would shot towards each person at the table before stopping directly in front of each one of them.



Crystal didn't immediately grasp hers, instead she looked back at Yui who was watching others currently take hold of their sphere. Moments later her friend would grab the sphere in front of her. Not waiting long the girl would crush the energy causing a wave of that power to flood directly toward her, the problem is Crystal just happens to be in between Yui's crushed sphere and Yui herself. The energy would smack into the doll causing her to silently fall backwards and cough as if dust was breathed in to her lungs.



Yui didn't seem to deal with the energy well, considering when Crystal finally got back up and looked towards her the girl was barely standing up using the table to remain upward. The doll figured it was now her turn, grasping the golden ball of energy she held it in front of her staring into it. About ten seconds would pass before she finally accepts the gift, unlike all the others who already took in the energy Crystal didn't crush it and absorb it. Suddenly the doll would shove the sphere into her mouth and swallow, feeling the energy course through her body after doing so.



It wasn't that bad honestly, the energy itself was a bit spicy but not to bad. Then it hit her, Crystal's mouth felt as if it were on fire. Running back and forth while staying in front of Yui the doll grabs the water and downs what remained in the cup. That not completely quelling the sensation she rushes over to the container that held the water, shoving her head into the helpful liquid and taking large gulps. Pulling her head from the liquid she felt much better, as if nothing happened she heads back to her friend. Honestly, she doesn't even feel different so she hopes somebody gained a hint of power from these spheres.

[Madelyn Fūrinji]

Wait what was going on? Had Dr. Bright sent her here to kill things? Who were all these other people and what did these terms mean? Maddie was surprised to see that she wasn’t the last one to arrive and one of the girls who came after her said she was something called Quincy. Didn’t waste time though and said she was better at a distance so Maddie just had to assume she was good at throwing things since she didn’t see any guns on the girl. Any real thoughts or planning though went right out the window the moment she saw it. A walking plushie!!!!!

Madelyn’s eyes locked on the small fluffy figure it would almost seem like a small child had found the perfect toy inside a shop and wanted it more than anything else on the shelf. Maddie didn’t hear a word of what was being spoken as she just stared in absolute bewilderment at the literal blonde pippi longstockings that had come from nowhere as if it were a person. By the time she broke out of what may as well have been a trance she felt something envigarate her entire body. It was almost like soda or rather caffeine had been injected to every part of her body all at once.

Right away that amazing feeling though was overpowered by the pain in her wrist. It didn’t vanish or even get harder to feel, but the negative feelings of whatever had been put inside of her grew stronger along with her. It felt almost like her entire left arm was on fire now yet her voice wouldn’t come out. Another moment passed by while Madelyn’s teeth pressed down on themselves locking her jaw, she felt something, she felt as if she had to eliminate these things. The horrible thought only a moment ago was now something exciting that she was more than happy to seek out.

The others seemed to handle the sudden rush of power differently, one of them rushing the table to get water while the other went to the same spot in what looked like a hurried attempt to figure out where these little lizards were located. Looking around the others, Maddie could see that they for the most part were in fact crushing these small golden orbs of what she believed to be the energy Dr. Bright called reiatsu. “I didn’t do that though.” Maddie whispered out loud not realizing that her left hand had gone up and crushed the orb while she had been staring at the doll. She hadn't done it consciously yet she wasn’t the only one in control of her arm.

Business was really starting now when suddenly a thought sorta jumped into Maddie’s head. That lady there had a lizard on her shoulder, weren’t they hunting lizards? Why did she have one of the things they were hired to kill? Was there a reward for whoever killed the most? Was she CHEATING!

Maddie shook her head while her right hand tightly gripped her left wrist squeezing it to the point her right hurt. What was going on? That wasn’t something she’d think about. Maddie didn’t care about winning something like this and didn’t want to kill anything anyway. Horrified with what had just happened inside her own head, Madelyn's demeanor turned blue as she dealt with the fact she just wanted to kill someone’s pet for no reason. Sticking to the back Maddie stays close enough to hear them speak, but now moves to the opposite side of the girl with her lizard all the while her left wrist clutched in her right as the burning sensation swells up.

[Eleonora Schmidt]

Well if anything the group seemed competent enough with a lot of different skill sets that will definitely make the hunt easier, that said everyone here were strangers to one another and trusting the other with your safety wouldn't be an easy task at first, at least Eleonora would do her best to help everyone since she's a ranger fighter it means she'll stay on the back and keep an eye on most of group at almost all times.

"That's reassuring" The blonde said to Inozen, due to previous experiences with Shinigami she knows that there are good ones out there, but still a bit of carefulness never hurts. "I'm sure that with this group the lizards have little to no chance!" She said with a smile keeping the morale high

Truth be told there was still a bit of doubt on the German's mind but at this point there was no turning back as their host was about to give his "gift of power" to them, Aratima brought his Zanpakuto and held it in front of the group, to say that it was a beautiful blade would be the understatement of the century, she hasn't seen many Zanpakutos yet let alone one that's stationary and not one being swung at her but this one was definitely one of the prettiest and well cared blades she has seen.

The amazement didn't last long as when she saw the blade starting to light up in some kind of golden fire Eleonora would close her eyes and turn her head away, to most might be an odd reaction but at this point it's basically her first instinct when fire is nearby, she has a "curse" for lack of better term that when she sees even the smallest flame her vision goes completely dark and she wasn't going to risk it even if it wasn't a real fire.

She kept her eyes closed but she could feel the warm of the orb in front of her and when Aratima explain that it was a fragment of his spiritual pressure the girl hold the orb with both hands, once the explanation was over Eleonora would take a deep breath and crush the orb, the energy would flow into her first surrounding her before forcing itself inside, it felt as if millions of needles were piercing her body and while painful it also felt revitalizing in a way, as if the energy was mixing with her own and overflowing through her body giving her the strength to not collapse on the ground.

Once everything settle down Eleonora would open her eyes feeling a bit different than before, definitely more powerful and there was only one thing she wanted to do to test this newly awaken power, the blonde would extend her left arm and concentrate for a little bit as a flare of reiatsu would cover her wrist and part of her hand slowly taking form of a long bow, after a couple of seconds the cerulean light of her reiatsu would break appart and on the German's hand would rest a completely solid bow.

"I can feel the improvement already" She said with a big grin on her face, from not being able to summon a bow at all to summon it as mostly energy to now be able to fully materialize one, her journey hasn't been that long and there's still a long way to go but this is definitely the big first step to becoming a real Quincy and she couldn't be more proud.