Compulsions

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko watched as her blood bullets seemed to only briefly  halt the intruding monstrosities. She stood ready, waiting to unleash more when Kimiko made her own attempt, using a powerful force to blow back more of the mutating crowd of workers. The fact that their attacks not only seemed to barely slow them down, but might have even increased  the rate at which they were regenerating and nutating had not gone unnoticed by the blonde. 

"Tch. What a load of shit." Fuuko hissed. She was ready to put more bullets into the pile, or even try something else, when Kimiko told her to check on Yuu. "At this fuckin point, I think I'd rather try my luck with the damn lasers." Fuuko growled. She looked over the scene and narrowed her eyes. She gave Kimiko's shoulder a hard slap. "If you think you got this. Just, I don't know, holler if they start eating you or somethin." Fuuko said, trying to bring some levity into a bad situation. 

She hopped forward and ran back down the hallway. "Oi! Yuu!" Fuuko barked as she approached. "How's it goin!? You turned off those damn computers yet!?" She asked and stepped up to where she had blown a hole open to give Yuu access. When she didn't immediately hear back, she narrowed her eyes. "Yuu!? Are ya dead!?" She bellowed. "Cause if you fuckin died and you get us killed, I swear I will-" She stopped as she peered in and tried to see where Yuu was, only to see a zombie slowly encroaching towards the human. "Shit! Yuu! Fuckin... dammit look behind you!" She hissed and growled. 

Fuukoreached out, grabbed some steel and beins and tore at them as much as she could to get an opening. Then she hefted up Shukketsubuki and set it in the hole, even as it began to glow. "C'mon, baby. Let's see if these science babies are as much like real  zombies." She then paused. "Heh, real  zombies." There was a loud  cocking of a hammer Fuuko grit her teeth and flashed a fang at the zombie as she took aim. 

"Blood bullet." 

There was another loud *bang!*  and Shukketsubuki expelled another round. One bullet this time, much faster than the others, and with  much more power aimed right at the zombie things head. Once she fired, Fuuko pulled away Shukketusbuki from the hole and peeked in. "Oi! Yuu! You ok!? Any more of the fuckers in there?! You get that tech shit taken care of?! Clock's fuckin tickin, buddy!" Fuuko said, barking rapif fire questions at Yuu while she peered into the room to see if there was anything else she needed to take out. She also checked to see if aiming for the thing's head would keep it down for good. 

[Blood Bullet - 1 Bullet Speed 700 Strength 200]

______________________________________


Reiatsu: 1025/3400 - Blood Bank: 2270 - | Extra Large Tsukubo (3 post)


Blood Collection - [15] Passive | Blood Bullet [-1000] |


-500 Blood Bullet

SPOILER: Click to show

Stats:



Reiatsu: 3400



[[Strength - 400 Points (600) +50%

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 272 Points (340) +25%

Reiatsu Strength - 45 Points (31) -30%

Light Aura - 95 Points

Dark Aura - 05 Points

Instinct- 75 Points

Senses- 68 Points (51) -25%

Energy sensory - 40 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points



Total: 1200/1200 SP]



Current Skills 15/15

• [Battle Focus] {1}

• [Pain Tolerance] {2}

• [Lack of Fear] {2}

• [Zanjutsu] {1}

• [Strength of Will] {2}

• [Damage Recovery] {2}

• [Bleeding Tolerance] {2}

• [Anti-Stealth] {1}

• Blood Scent {2}

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Fuuko's assessment of the situation, as grim as it may be, was unfortunately just about as truthful as it appeared to be at a glance. No matter how many bullets and how many waves of reiatsu struck the infested bodies, and no matter how powerful those two may things may be, they would all appear to do nothing that was too substantial in hindsight. Puncture wounds left by the bloody projectiles were far and wide, but they quickly began to close themselves the moment they were formed, and deformations of the body caused by blunt trauma were either repaired into the original shape or transformed into something new. All of those things appeared to be accomplished by the root-like veins that infested them all, with no apparent care for what the original body was supposed to be, given that the beasts' "healing" only worsened their monstrous appearance. In a way, almost as if they were constantly granted attention by the unknown being that had seemingly taken control over them... and it all only further put Kimiko on edge.

The fact that something as powerful as a supernatural being capable of controlling people from afar was already bad as is. Just by taking over the populace of Jodanapur, it proved that it could be used for nefarious means, such as offensive military operations, political upheavals and various scientific experiments. However, the additional fact that it could mutate the bodies it took over and turn them into those monsters was something that was completely unprecedented to the swordswoman. Even though she had seen many horrible things in her career, she had always been able to tie them to Hollows in one way or another. It didn't completely alleviate the fear that she felt whenever she confronted them, but it gave some kind of explanation for their existence, be it as supernatural as that explanation may be. But this wasn't the work of a Hollow. It wasn't even the work of a Hellion. It was just something else. Something new. Something that only a scientific organization from the Living World could create.

By the time she had shot what may have been the fourth or fifth wave of reiatsu, Fuuko had gone to help Yū in the computer room, leaving Kimiko on her own just like she had ordered her to. She breathed in and out quietly as her eyes focused onto the threats ahead. Her arms felt tingly, no doubt a side effect of having fueled her blades with a notable amount of spiritual energy over the course of the last minute, and her brow felt sweaty, a sign of exhaustion sprouted by the many things she has done ever since they arrived here. Everything that composed her, from her head to her very toe, demanded that she simply head forward and cut every single one of those beasts down to completely finish them off. She knew she could, and she knew deep down that she would very much enjoy the act. Yet, every time the idea appeared in her head, she hesitated. Every time she almost gave in and almost pushed herself towards the fray in the mad dash of war and fury that she was so familiar with, she refused to go on further. Instead, she merely prepared herself to send another wave of reiatsu.

The beasts let out ugly cries that resonated throughout the room. They were becoming more and more ear-piercing as time moved on, no doubt due to the destruction and reconstruction of their vocal cords as they became filled with the veins that infested them. However, those weren't what caught Kimiko's attention the most. What did do so was the figure of the dark being who walked towards her alongside the hellish creatures. Her footsteps echoed louder and louder over the cacophony of the infected - enough so that they eventually forced the Captain to stare at her, much to her discontent - and the more she approached her target, the louder the footsteps became. At this point, the extreme exploitation of her senses was becoming a common event for the Shinigami, but it never ceased to test her might and resolve, in spite of the fact that she knew the Inner Hollow was not truly there. She was just another vision, another product of her imagination made dark by the other half of her soul. In spite of that, she heard the words which followed each footstep loud and clear.

G i v e   t h e m   w h a t   t h e y   w a n t .
G i v e   t h e m   w h a t   t h e y   w a n t .
G i v e   t h e m   w h a t   t h e y   w a n t .

The wave of pure scarlet energy which followed the last echo of the words caused the entire hallway to shake with greater strength than ever before. Like the ones which preceded it, it pushed away every one of the monstrous beings back towards the other end of the hall, sending their bodies flying into each other, the walls, and even the ceilings in a bloody display. But such a terrible spectacle would not be witnessed by Yū, who was by then still trying his best to understand the words that were on the computer screen. So far, he had gathered that the words Warning: Breach Detected were written on the aforementioned screen. That was good. The problem was that he needed to read just about everything else that was on the screen. There were still so many words to properly translate, so many options and variables and flashing icons that he quite simply did not understand at a glance. It was confusing enough to give him a headache, and the stress that he felt due to the weight on his shoulders was most definitely not helping him move along.

For a moment, his attention turned towards another string of words. Or rather, it was turned towards a box on the screen containing a list. He did not quite understand what the list itself was supposed to represent, but judging by the fact that several of these elements were marked in red, he had a hunch that they were somehow related to the damaged door. Gulping, his eyes would remain stuck on this list... until, suddenly, Fuuko barged into the room and began to bark at him. The sudden loudness of the blonde's general attitude caused him to freeze and completely lose every bit of focus he once held for the computer before him. However, it was the creation of yet another hole into one of the room's walls that caused him to shoot right up. "A-AH! N-No, miss, I'm not dead!" He shouted back a response to Fuuko's previous question, eyes wide opened by how abrupt the formation of the new orifice was to him. It was only then that he realized what Fuuko had said right after she had asked him her question, which caused him to pause and slowly look back over his shoulder.

The sight of the corpse standing right up behind him caused him to slightly open his mouth in shock. He couldn't breath. He couldn't even think. He just couldn't do anything. He had become, in every sense of the word, the perfect prey for a predator who was most likely about to eat him whole. With his teeth hitting one another in multiple succession, he would try to move away from the walking dead with a heart that was beginning to pound painfully against the insides of his chest. Then, with a swift yelp, his body simply... reacted. Quickly, he bolted towards the shotgun that he left on the table beside the computer and attempted to grab the weapon. At first, the movement was too swift, enough so that his hand clumsily colliding with the hilt of the weapon was enough to send it flying towards the floor. However, with a quickened breath, he'd quickly jump towards the firearm and grab it with the both of his hands before he remained on his back on the floor. 

With shivering teeth and multiple noises of utter fear coming out of his throat, he'd settle his left hand on the shotgun's pump and his right hand on the hilt. His fingers would clumsily reach for the trigger, all the while his left hand guided the weapon's barrel towards the corpse, which had by now taken a few more steps towards him. Eventually, his aim was complete, and his breath quickened into one last shout before he pressed onto trigger. A click would be heard from the firearm in that moment... followed by the monster suddenly being hit straight in the head by what could only be described as a miniature freight train. Instantly, the skull and a massive chunk of the upper body exploded, making way for the projectile as it propulsed itself through its body as well as the wall behind it, and what remained of the body was launched straight into that same wall in a gruesome display of violence and gore. In other words, the creature had been pulverized.

Yū could only stare at what remained of the creature once all was said and done. The amount of blood that was released in the act was quite simply astonishing. It left a terrible stain on the wall, one that he doubted would ever be cleaned, and its smell was so potent that it left him somewhat sick. As for what remained of the body... He preferred not to give it any attention. From the looks of it, the root-like veins that were filling his body were desperately attempting to hold together what remained of it as they stretched from the lower piece and tried to recover the pieces of skull and muscle and bone that had been launched all over the room. It was disgusting, disturbing, and repulsive to him all at once. To think that he had done something to such a being, someone who he believed he could have once saved long ago in spite of the fact that they had most likely been dead for the longest time now... He simply could not believe it.

Fuuko's voice came to him a moment later. She was asking him multiple questions again, and in rapid succession too. He'd blink a couple of times, cough a few more to try to chase away the sickly feeling that was beginning to creep in, then push himself up. His eyes would briefly look down towards his weapon as he attempted to regain his footing. Somehow, the barrel wasn't fuming, and it didn't seem as though he needed to pump the weapon to load in another shell. Stunned, he looked at the thing, then the damage that was done to the fallen monster before he returned his eyes to the computer. "U-Uh, yes, I'm... I'm okay," he'd respond slowly, somewhat unsure of how to properly deal with the information that was being granted to him in that moment. The amount of information was such that, upon reaching the computer, he would just stare at the aforementioned list once more, unable to read the English words on display or to even try to decipher them.

It would not take long for him to realize that the shock of the situation was preventing him from actually making a decision. Thus, upon realizing that fact, he would decide to go with the only decision he could make. With one hand clenched powerfully around the pump of his weapon and the other hovering over the machine's keyboard, he'd find himself clenching his teeth before simply going through each option on the list and choosing their opposite setting. He did so frantically, without proper rhyme or reason, and with surprising strength. From Fuuko's end, it would almost seem as though he was downright smacking the keyboard, potentially damaging it in the process. Numerous noises were heard from the door in that moment, many of which were muffled by the veins which covered it. Finally, after a hellish minute or two, the lasers would be deactivated. However, right after their deactivation, something that he could properly read and also most definitely recognize finally appeared on the screen: a box containing...

... a 10-second countdown.

A loud and shockingly-powerful "SHIT!" suddenly came out of the office worker as he realized what that countdown meant, right before he quickly moved out of the room. His pace was no longer hesitant, no longer slowed down by hesitation and trauma. Now, he was moving. Quickly, he reached Fuuko with widened eyes, then pointed towards the door. "W-We need to go! Now!" He explained, or rather partially, before he looked down the hallway towards Kimiko and called as loud as he could towards her. "MISS! I GOT RID OF THE LASERS, BUT WE ONLY HAVE TEN SECONDS! LET'S GO!!" Once he believed his words to have reached her, the man then tried to run towards the unguarded door as fast he possibly could, hoping that Fuuko was in tow. Meanwhile, another rumbling would be felt all across the hallway as Kimiko sent another wave of reiatsu towards the mutated horde towards them. To Yū, this meant that she had heard him, and so he moved right up until he was on the other side of the door.

The awful creatures' many high-pitched screams could be heard across the halls once he and Fuuko would go past the door. That said, for a moment, it would almost appear as though Kimiko did not actually heard them, as remained standing there in the hallway. Fortunately, before either of the medics could call again towards her, the swordswoman would suddenly use Shunpo to appear right behind them. Panting quietly, the Captain would look back towards the rapidly-moving bloodied messes that were sprinting towards their position before she clenched her teeth and prepared herself to push them one last time. The most urgent of the horde was the one creature who came of the computer room, a lower body with many veins breaching out of its remains to swiftly form what appeared to be some kind of upper body and head. "Tch, persistent little shit!" A frustrated scowl came from Kimiko as she fully unsheathed her black blade to strike the creature down. However, said creature would never properly reach down. At least, not entirely.

With a gargled snarl, it had launched itself towards the trio in a last bid attempt to hurt them. However, just before it was properly capable of doing so, the defensive laser system of the door reactivated, causing much of the walking dead to immediately be into several pieces that were launched towards the trio. Kimiko quickly shielded Yū and Fuuko from getting hit by the pieces by swatting them away with her blade, and eventually, the first two found themselves staring at what remained of the corpse. The Captain continued to pant quietly, still hit by the exhaustion which came with the rapid use of her spiritual energy to a certain extent, before her scarlet eyes turned towards the man's firearm. It would be then that she would find the strength to let out a brief comment in the moment: "I don't know where you found that thing, but... I think the safety's on..."

"Huh...? Oh... Yeah, I-I think you're right..." 

The response was brief and soon followed by a little clicking noise, one that confirmed the release of the firearm's safety mechanism. That was just about the only thing that Yū could say in the moment as he looked forward towards the hallway before them. It looked terrible. There were more veins on the walls and ceiling and floor like ever before. Yet, somehow, he wasn't as scared anymore. He was just tired. Tired of the fact that he had narrowly avoided death several times now. Meanwhile, the Captain simply looked forward with a frown and a silent mouth as she slowly regained her strength. It was clear that they were now extremely close to the source of what caused all this trouble within Jodanapur, and it was also clear that whatever came next was most likely going to be worse. Hopefully, taking that thing down was going to at least take care of the Humans occupying the upper floors... but at this point, she was beginning to highly doubt that that was going to happen.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu: 3000/7000}
Technique Name: Tsukanoma Kanmeki (つかの間んめき, "Fleeting Bolt") (x2)

Technique Type: Zanjutsu - Hohō | Ranged Attack

Technique Element: None

Usable by: Shinigami, Rogue, Vizard & Beast-Clansmen

Class: 3

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 600

Technique Description and Effects

A modified variant of the classic Iaijutsu technique aimed to correct the short range of its inspiration. The user bends their back in a crouching position before putting their foot forward and grabbing the scabbard of their weapon with one hand and the hilt with the other, slowly fueling reiatsu into the aforementioned weapon in the process. Once a sufficient amount of reiatsu has been transferred into the weapon, the user then rapidly unsheathes it from its scabbard, allowing its power to guide their arm towards the target. This abrupt movement causes the stored reiatsu to then burst from their weapon in the shape of a large streak of energy molded by the speed of the user, one large enough to span a maximal distance of 20m. Should it ever reach the target, said target will feel as though they have suddenly been hit by a direct strike, more precisely one possessing three times the speed of the user.


Drawbacks & Weaknesses

Much like Unmei Kanmeki, Tsukanoma Kanmeki bears many similarities to the Kagami Kanmeki attack, so much so that not fueling the blade with any reiatsu would only really make it look like a lesser version of the latter. Due to this, it is thus easy to assume that it is one of the easiest techniques to learn among those used by the followers of the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu. However, it is the complete contrary, for this technique requires an unprecedented level of mastery for one simple reason: it's lack of any use of Kidō. Indeed, this strike does not possess any magical properties and is instead only natural material, as it only requires a certain use of reiatsu alongside both speed, power and precision all conveyed through both a Iaijutsu skill and a Martial Art - Hohō skill of at least 2. In a way, one could interpret this technique as a means for Kimiko - its creator - to boldly show how one does not require Kidō to even achieve long-range combat, but rather only utmost mastery of the blade. Case in point, the primordial nature of this technique is to simply insult practitioners of Kidō. How petty.

Ironically enough, this interpretation is not shared by the followers of the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu, for unlike her, many find this technique to be incredibly useful despite the fact that it does require a greater amount of reiatsu to execute it compared to most of the other techniques created by Kimiko. This is especially the case for those who find themselves unable to reach their targets, as they will often use this technique to bridge the gap between they and their opponent. Its lack of complexity also makes it quite popular among those who are capable of mastering it, so much so that many followers of the school tend to show their mastery over it with pride and accomplishment. So much for Kimiko's lack of respect for ranged combat, eh?


Made by: Nakajima Kimiko

Reserved? : No

[Satoshi Fuuko]

To say Fuuko was tired herself would be an understatement. It had been a long time, if ever, that she had used up this much reiatsu. While her tank wasn't depleted just yet, she was certainly getting  there. Worse than that, was that while she  was softly panting and soaked in sweat, Shukketsubuki still seemed ready, willing an able to keep on going. 

"The bitch really is that thirsty..." She muttered to herself once they were in a position to catch their breaths. Having made it past the lasers with a path to what was, hopefully, the last stop in Jodanapur, she was still sucking any blood she could up, even if it was from chunks of horrible things throwing themselves at the trio. Fuuko took a moment to set Shukketsubuki up against the wall and clapped on hand against Kimiko and the other against Yuu. "Seems like we're pretty close." She said and glanced down the hallway. 

"I think I can get us through to the next area. Even if there's another wave, I'm feelin pretty confident. You probably should save whatever ya got for whatever's inside. I can probably keep Yuu safe at the very least." She looked at the shotgun. "And, hell, maybe there'll be somethin for you ta shoot. I'm sure yer feelin anxious." Fuuko then grinned. 

"Either way... we got this. No big deal, right?" She looked back at Kimiko. "If we don't  make it out of this, it's been a real trip. Thanks fer takin me under yer wing, even if..." Fuuko stopped. What hd popped into her head wasn't a good thought, so she stopped and looked at Yuu. "And you, well, you better not die so don't even think about it. Think about somethin like this  instead." Fuuko pulled her arm from Kimiko and faced Yuu. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his cheek and left a big, wet kiss mark there. "Mwah." 

Fuuko then stepped forward and grabbed Shukketusbuki. It was glowing from drinking blood and Fuuko held it in front of her and grabbed the handle with two hands. She pulled it apart and in each hand, she held two, extremely large zanbatou. Normally used for cutting down mounted riders and their horses in one stroke, Fuuko held them like they were made of cardboard. Che crossed them at the hilts to make them look like scissors and then stabbed each one into the walls, driving them into the veins. Then, Fuuko bent her knees and took off in a flash. 

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" She bellowed out a warcry and used shunpo to drive herself and her makeshift plow down the hallway as fast as she could, slicing up the veins as she moved and clearing the path of anything that was even remotely upright and in her path. "River of Blood!" Fuuko shouted out as she plowed into the pulsating network of veins. Shukketsubuki sharpened, making it even easier for her to cut through the beins as Fuuko drove until she found a set of stairs. She also used her blood collection to suck more blood fromt he veins, to wither them and make them easier to plow through. "Drinkit all  up, bitch! Get plastered!" Fuuko encouraged her zanpakutou, even as she drove down the stairs, intent on clearing a path for the other two.  

______________________________________


Reiatsu: 825/3400 - Blood Bank: 11,985 - | 2x Zanbatou (4 post)


Blood Collection - [15] Passive | 36 Deep Gashes (36X1.5+1.5) +2500 Blood Collection (Small Area) |


-50 Blood Collection
-50 Shunpo x 2
-100 River of Blood (active)

SPOILER: Click to show

Stats:



Reiatsu: 3400



[[Strength - 400 Points (600) +50%

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 272 Points (340) +25%

Reiatsu Strength - 45 Points (31) -30%

Light Aura - 95 Points

Dark Aura - 05 Points

Instinct- 75 Points

Senses- 68 Points (51) -25%

Energy sensory - 40 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points



Total: 1200/1200 SP]



Current Skills 15/15

• [Battle Focus] {1}

• [Pain Tolerance] {2}

• [Lack of Fear] {2}

• [Zanjutsu] {1}

• [Strength of Will] {2}

• [Damage Recovery] {2}

• [Bleeding Tolerance] {2}

• [Anti-Stealth] {1}

• Blood Scent {2}

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko's scarlet eyes went from Fuuko to Yū as she gave them both a brief examination. From the looks of things, it seemed as though the office worker was still just about as stressed as he always has been. He was shaking, panting quietly to himself, and he was holding onto that shotgun like his life depended on it, mainly because it somewhat did. It was difficult for the swordswoman to recognize how long the man was going to last from this point onward, but nevertheless, she was glad to see that he was still willing to proceed in spite of his lesser combat skills. Fuuko, on the other hand... Well, needless, it was much less difficult to notice her exhaustion in comparison. Her bloody sword still appeared to be unsatisfied, judging by how much the medic was complaining about the weapon's state of mind, but its owner looked like she was not going to be able to remain on her feet for much longer. In fact, the Captain had never seen her this tired before, even after all those training sessions during which she deliberately attempted to push her towards her limits.

To say that this was a bit of a problem was a bit of an understatement in the superior officer's mind. While the blonde was most certainly a fantastic fighter and losing her ability to fight would lead to a greater struggle from there on out, it was more so the idea of losing her ability to drain the blood out of this putrid environment that concerned Kimiko the most. Right now, that particular power was one of, if not the only, true advantages over their target, as it debilitated it to some extent; after all, it was not hard to assume that something which could infect people with its strange veins could also control an area full of veins. For all that they knew, it was perhaps even afraid of Fuuko solely because of that power alone. In other words, losing it was simply not an option. They needed to keep Shukketsubuki - and therefore, Fuuko, for Kimiko doubted that the Zanpakuto would want to listen to anyone but her - around for whatever time remained on this mission, no matter what awaited them up ahead.

Fortunately, once again, there was still a fair bit of energy that remained within the buxom warrior, both on a physical and emotional standpoint. In spite of everything that has happened thus far, her will remained strong, as made evident by the way she expressed herself to the other members of the trio. Her attitude was enough to cause Kimiko to grin along and let loose the bit of seriousness that had crept into her mind as a side effect of her brief analysis of the situation. "Heh. That's all I needed to hear!" She exclaimed, letting some of the shine that she reserved for her teaching role back at her dojo slip right through before she looked onward towards the accursed hallway. Her eyes remained serious, but upon her face was now displayed a visage of greater confidence. "Usually, whenever something has the ability to infect and create weird monsters like that, they aren't particularly powerful on their own, so I'll let you take care of it. Besides, I'm starting to think that Shukketsubuki's our best counter against it."

She would try to keep a straight face as she briefly laid out the plan that she had in mind, but admittedly, something about the way Fuuko then concluded her thoughts left her a bit worried. For a brief moment, it almost seemed as though the medic wanted to say something to her that was more important than the words that she had given to her prior. Almost, because just before she could actually express herself on the matter, she quickly moved on from the subject. In normal circumstances, Kimiko would have given no mind to this and would have just thought that they needed to talk about something once everything here would be said and done, but Fuuko was not just one of her students. She was also the elder sister of another one of her students, most importantly a student that she now personally understood to be someone who shared her dark condition: Kazuhiko. Did this mean that... the medic knew about her brother's condition?

This would make the teacher briefly freeze with concern, though eventually, she would push the matter away. Now was most definitely not the time to think about such things. They needed to focus on the matter at hand before anything else. The same, though, could not quite be said for Yū. So far, the man had said nothing up to that point. Even though he had felt Fuuko's hand upon his shoulder and was slightly startled by it, his gaze had only been focused on what was up ahead. The Captain was right in assuming that he wasn't physically exhausted. He could still run if he wanted to, and he also could still fight. However, the same thing could not quite be said for his mind. Ever since this entire incident began, he couldn't count how many times he had almost perished from the hands of such abomination... but that computer room... That was the one place within which he had truly almost perished. If Fuuko hadn't saved him, he would've died. That thing... It would have done something horrible to him, something unprecedented. It would have killed him and then turned his body into... into...

Before that image could properly be conjured in his mind, he felt something oddly wet against his cheek. Blinking several times, he would let out a confused "Ah?" before he allowed his eyes to trail towards that particular area of his face. Once he realized what was happening, a heavy blush suddenly appeared on his face, and he very quickly frozen in place with his eyes left wide open for the entirety of the scene. He only realized that he had not been breathing throughout the entirety of the act that after it came to end. Quickly, he would regain his breath, panting before he swiftly turned his head towards Fuuko with an expression of nervous disbelief. "M-M-M-Miss?! I-I-I-I-I, y-y-y-y-you...!" He comically babbled for quite a while, evidently unable to mutter even a single coherent word as his mind raced towards several different conclusions. All it took was one kiss on his cheek, one unexpected thing that he could not have possibly foreseen from someone like those two supernatural warriors, and it was enough for him to almost completely forget that he was currently standing in some kind of horrific, fleshy hellhole filled with who-knows-what.

Kimiko would simply find herself staring at the medics with a bit of a dumbfounded smile. She knew what kind of woman her student was, and so this did not surprise her very much. In fact, she doubted that the office worker was the first person to have received a kiss from the blood-bender. Oh well, she was at the very least glad that such a thing was the one trick that was able to bring him out of his little stump. While she herself has never really had them before, mainly because she's never really had the time to concern herself with them all that much, pink thoughts were overall better things to experience than darker thoughts. In any case, the Captain would eventually position herself near the man before patting him on the shoulder and turning her head towards her student. "Alright, Fuuko, you're up! Let's get this over with!" She called before she then held the back of the man's head. "The same goes for you too. Brace yourself."

The poor medic knew exactly what this meant. In the following moment, they were going to go unbelievably fast once again. It was going to make him dizzy and force him to feel all sorts of terrible feelings. However, this was the only way. They could not stay here, and they could not proceed slowly while they practically remained in the lair of whatever has taken control of the entirety of Jodanapur. So, the man would take a deep breath - or rather, he attempted to, given the entirety of the area smelled terrible - before he held his shotgun near his chest and looked ahead. Meanwhile, his eyes remained on Fuuko and her weapon as it beamed with spiritual power that he never thought he would've witnessed in his life. This time, though, it did not scare him. Rather, it inspired him. He needed to stay strong, not only for himself, but also for this powerful superior officer, for that supernatural woman who has tended to him the most she could, for his family who were still waiting for him back home... and most importantly above everything else...

... for her.

What happened next was only a blur to Yū. He heard the scream from Fuuko as well as countless of other disgusting noises that erupted in his ears. He also felt blood being spilled onto him only to then be removed from him by the blonde's bloody weapon, but that was about it. Kimiko, though, witnessed everything as she followed her student with the aid of Shunpo. With clenched teeth, she would remain close behind Fuuko as she tore through the veins and left behind her a terrible trail of gore that pulsated with life and death all at once. Many of the lights that peered through the flesh immediately shattered from the spiritual power that violently crashed into them, and many of the walls that were beneath the great veins ruptured as they failed to remain standing after what must have been days of heavy pressure from the organic system breaching through their metals. Needless to say, the trio was quite simply lucky to be capable of achieving such great speeds.

It was not exactly clear how long this entire operation proceeded. The hallway, all things considered, was rather long, and much of this was in part perhaps due to a few modifications that had been made by the fleshy and organ-like structure that had covered it. One thing, however, remained certain: they were steadily going further and further down into the facility. Then, they reached a flight of stairs. Kimiko couldn't tell where they were exactly going or where they even were, as there was now absolutely nothing in their vicinity that properly ascertained their current position, but it didn't matter to her nor Fuuko or even Yū: they just needed to go as far down as possible in order to reach the source of the flesh. So, down they went, with Fuuko continuing her bloody carnage with no mercy to be had for the veins' origin. Blood would continue to be spilled with no apparent resistance from the veins, and many of them would wither and die as said blood was very quickly absorbed by Shukketsubuki. It was nothing short of one of the ugliest sights Kimiko's eyes had ever set their sight onto.

Yet, somehow, it was far from the ugliest thing she would witness today. Far from it, as after a time, the trio would begin to hear something very distinct from the depths of the stairs, which eventually simply turned into a fleshy slope. It was hard to describe from where they were once they began to hear. From the way it sounded, the Captain first mistook it for some kind of engine or generator, something that was responsible for powering the entirety of the facility. But the further and further down they went, so far down that the pressure in the area began to slightly rise in spite of the precautions clearly taken by the manufacturers of the facility, the clearer it became. It didn't sound like an engine at all. No, it sounded more so akin to... the breathing of a massive creature. A long, labored, pained breathing that was almost akin to a great, unending wheeze. Inhale.......... exhale.......... inhale.......... exhale.......... This should have been a warning for what they would seen witness. It should've been.

But it was not enough. Not nearly enough.

At the end of the fleshy slope that followed the stairs was a room. A very big, distant space that spanned a perimeter that Kimiko could not properly define at a glance. In theory, given their current assumed position underground, neither she or the rest of the trio should have not been able to see anything at all around them. However, perhaps unfortunately, they were able to see every single detail of the room thanks to several powerful, industrial lights that had apparently remained lit beneath mounds upon mounds of flesh that covered the ceiling and walls. From every corner of the room could be seen enormous strings of veins and what appeared to be several other oversized organs, none of which Kimiko could properly recognize. There also appeared to be several buds on the floor, all of which were pulsing with reiatsu and distinct life. Then, at the very center of the room where each and every stand of flesh interconnected into one mass... there was... a pillar.

From the looks of things, it appeared as though the pillar had taken the shape of a giant brain-like structure. It was impossibly tall and wide, the sign of something that had become far too developed for its own good, and it had taken a very distinct crimson color. At the very base of this structure stood what should have been the many veins that connected the brain to the rest of the "body", so to speak, an amalgam of links and connections that spanned throughout the rest of the facility. That should have been the only thing apart of that amalgam, nothing more than fat tissue with blood coursing within them. However, amongst them was what appeared to be some kind of face. It did not look Human. Not in the slightest, especially given its size. However, it possessed fat black eyes, a notable and a lips-less mouth, as well as a cranial-like apparatus from which the rest of the "brain" could grow from. It also appeared to be the source of the aforementioned breathing.

"Oh, god..." was the first thing that would come out of the trio shortly after they arrived. It came directly from Yū who, in horror, could only stare at the creature's face as it appeared permanently contorted with very clear pain and suffering. Slowly, he'd push himself away from Kimiko and just stare at it all, simply wondering what he was even looking at and what it all meant.

The Captain, in the meantime, just stared at the creature with a look that could only be described as wrathful. There was no doubt about it now. Every one of her theories had been confirmed. This was not a Hollow, but a creation of this Chiba Chimon, if not somebody else who could somehow replicate his work. How they were able to cultivate something like this here, she couldn't know... but the more she stared at the structure, the more she found herself hating it. So, eventually, she would turn her attention towards the glowing pods. She was about to prepare herself to destroy them, if only because she believed they were not quite off-putting decorations for an off-putting room, but rather nests that could somehow birth even more of those horrible creatures from earlier. However, before she could even so much as say anything to the medics in order to prepare them all for what may as well be a proper cleansing operation, the face would find itself suddenly staring at the trio before moaning a single word that completely stunned Kimiko:

". . .  F R I E N D S  .  .  . ?"

It can speak.

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko's muscles burned as she charged down the stairs with her zanpakutou in her hands. Shukketsubuki was making loud, swallowing noises as blood splashed and splattered like water from each vein that was severed, only to find it turning course, peeling off the walls, defying physics in every way to get sucked into Shukketsubuki. It fired Fuuko up to hear her girl finally be in her element. Shukketsubuki, much like Fuuko herself wasn't a zanpakutou that really fit in. It's abilities and powers were... fickle at best and needed a lot of help and huidance at the very worse. The weapon, in her truest form, couldn't do the job she was meant to do very well, if at all, and if she listened to the cravings inside of her, well, there was a point where she couldn't do her job very well for quite the opposite reason. There was no "happy medium" with the blood drinking weapon. 

Though, it was the same for Fuuko as well. 

She always thought if the roles were reversed, if there was some kind of academy for zanpakutou, that Shukketsubuki would be laughed at, ridiculed and, likely, held back in her studies. Sometimes other shinigami thought she was "cool" because she "drank blood" but Fuuko knew better. Shukketsubuki was as sensitive as they came, that could have been why even though Fuuko loved her, the two bickered like sisters. Here, though, Shukketsubuki was free. She could do as she liked and it didn't matter how big or small she was, how much blood she drank or anything else. There was no wrong answer. So, when Fuuko finally plunged through to the open area, it was with a grin as massive as the beast in front of her. 

Until, of course, she spotted it. "Holy... shit..." Fuuko said in awe. It looked like a massive, pulsating pimple, or some kind of globule. Whatever it was, it was nasty as hell, but Fuuko didn't have time to think it over. Once Shukketsubuki had finished feeding for the moment, she needed to change. As she began to glow, she began to expand and, as she began to expand, Fuuko grabbed the glowing weapon as it grew and let it carry her up, nearly fifteen feet in the air, where she stood on an outstretched wooden handle of a nearly two story tall scythe. The most classic of grim reaper weapons, as Fuuko had one foot jammed into the point where the handle met the shaft, the whole thing was pointed up and tilted back. Fuuko's nee was bent and she let the thing lean back as she leaned forward. She was partially crouched and so high up, she could practically stare eye-to-eye at it. 

Even as the others showed up and spilled into the room, Fuuko mostly just stood, staring with mouth agape at the beast. It was like it had her enthralled or entranced. She just had to figure out what it was, but like the others, Fuuko would need some kind of point of reference to even try to begin putting together what it actually was. The slimey, writhing mass, hulking in the middle of this half underground city... It was almost too much. 

Then it spoke. 

"Ehhhhh?!" Fuuko blinked and shook her head. She narrowed her eyes as her grin spread. "FRIENDS!? You fat fucking tub of lard! FRIENDS!? Motherfucker, we are way past the point of friendship! What? Do you want us to take you down to the bar for a pint!? Maybe play some darts or cards and have a fuckin laugh!? Here's your fuckin laugh, you fleshy turd!" Fuuko inhaled and then shouted at the disgusting thing. 

"YOU'RE GONNA FUCKIN DIE AND I'M GONNA LAUGH WHILE I FUCKIN KILL YOU! AHAHAHAHAHA!" 

Maybe it was the exhaustion or the sheer inexplicable horror that brought upon her delirium, but there was a shine in her eyes that meant every bit of what she was barking at the blobby creature. She rocked on the curve of her massive scythe, leering at the creature.  "Maybe you'll have better luck chummin up to these two, but I fuckin doubt it!"  

______________________________________


Reiatsu: 825/3400 - Blood Bank: 12,000 - | Omega Scythe (5 post)


Blood Collection - [15] Passive |

SPOILER: Click to show

Stats:



Reiatsu: 3400



[[Strength - 400 Points (600) +50%

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 272 Points (340) +25%

Reiatsu Strength - 45 Points (31) -30%

Light Aura - 95 Points

Dark Aura - 05 Points

Instinct- 75 Points

Senses- 68 Points (51) -25%

Energy sensory - 40 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points



Total: 1200/1200 SP]



Current Skills 15/15

• [Battle Focus] {1}

• [Pain Tolerance] {2}

• [Lack of Fear] {2}

• [Zanjutsu] {1}

• [Strength of Will] {2}

• [Damage Recovery] {2}

• [Bleeding Tolerance] {2}

• [Anti-Stealth] {1}

• Blood Scent {2}

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko's gaze remained on the gigantic creature for a time as she attempted to understand what they were going to do with it. Evidently, this thing was very much so the source of practically every known issue that has been ongoing in this city. It was the one which produced such an impossible amount of spiritual energy that it prevented any and all detection throughout the area, and the one who used its abilities on the people here to control them and also define them as its weapons. It was also most obviously not a Hollow or a Hellion or any kind of creature that could be defined as being a typical spiritual entity, but rather a being that had been man-made just like the one that the Captain had eliminated alongside her little Hollow companion from way back then. The only difference was the sheer magnitude of power between it and that other being. For all intents and purposes, this should have rendered the target eligible for immediate slaughter, something to consider as kill-on-sight above everything else... but... something felt off.

She wasn't really sure of how to properly describe it, but she could not sense any kind of killing intent from the creature. It may look awful and induce into her a fear that left her stricken with awe upon seeing it for the first time, yet it wasn't exactly making her want to kill it immediately. If anything, as she further witnessed it, she couldn't help but think that this creature looked like it was in deep, deep pain. The way its "head" shivered as it tried to move its "eyes" towards the trio, the way its loud voice boomed with concern rather than aggressiveness, and the way it decided not to condemn them for coming close to it, but rather with curiosity as it beckoned them to answer a question that was - considering the circumstances at play - shockingly intimate... It differentiated it so very much from Rider, and if anything, it reminded Kimiko of another monster she slew a long time ago, a tortured beast that she pitied back then and still pitied today.

Before this metamorphosis, this thing was one a Human just like Yū. It was a normal person, if not at the very least someone who could be described as such. In a way, this only worsened the Captain's point of view on the situation, as it could mean several things. The first was that it was entirely possible that this monster had absolutely no control of its abilities, just like Rider. Perhaps this entire development as well as its influence on its surroundings was some kind of twisted evolution brought about by a physical reaction of some sorts. The second was that it was possible that this monster did have some level of control, but that the trauma had reduced its cognitive ability to such an extent that its behavior could now be described as being similar to a child's. And then, there was the third thing that this all alluded to... and that was that, somehow, this thing had once been nothing more than a child, and that it reacted so intensely to all of this not really because of physical trauma, but solely because of emotional trauma.

The Captain hoped that this third theory was not correct. Slaying something that had become juvenile was already not an enjoyable process, but slaying something that was already juvenile and that had been corrupted into something unseemly was a process that she did not want to repeat. Even now, it reminded her of the children she slew from way back then during an attack against the Soul Society, boys and girls alike that had been turned into undead creatures to serve nothing more than yet another uncaring mad man. It was said to her multiple times since then that those particular children had actually been killed during their transformation, and that therefore, the bodies that she had cut down were to be treated not as what they once were, but rather solely as what they were at the moment of their slaying. In a way, that did lessen the blow that it had caused to her, even if she still felt the emotional effect of the moment to this day... but she could not use that here. At least, it didn't feel like she could.

Perhaps, in the end, that earlier theory remained correct to a certain extent. It didn't really matter what it once was, no matter how hard she tried to see it. What instead mattered most was what it was now, and how even more dangerous it could become for the Living World if it was allowed to live. From the looks of it, it seemed that even Yū had understood this. Kimiko could see that certain gleam of hope in his eyes - that one ember that personified his will to somehow heal this monster - fade away as he raised his shotgun. "We... can't save them, can't we? Not even with your abilities?" He tried to ask, at the very least, to see if he could get some kind of miraculous response from the girls. That felt like the minimum he could do in this moment, as a Human who bore no powers to speak of beyond the weapon he currently carried. To that, Kimiko would merely shake her head, causing him to look back down towards the aforementioned weapon, then the creature with a look of shame and regret. "Alright, well... You said it yourself... Let's just... let's just get this nightmare over with."   

A nod came from the swordswoman then, and from that point on, she tried to understand how they were going to tackle this immense problem. As she noticed previously, there were buds that had been embedded into all around the fleshy floor of the room. There was no doubt that something was going to happen the very moment they would set the creature off by attacking it; after all, it was too obvious. Considering this, she initially wanted to take care of the beast with one fell swoop that it could not foresee. It was huge and it was spread all over the place, and so this meant that its movements were probably slow and cumbersome. It had also granted them an invitation towards conversation, which they could most definitely take advantage of in these circumstances. In other words, so long as they played their cards right, they could grant this thing a peaceful death and return the city to normal with minimal damage dealt to their surroundings.

That was not the decision that Fuuko decided to make.

Before Kimiko was able to even mutter a single word, the blonde suddenly began to scream at the monster. The volume of her voice as well as the tone she used was such a massive contrast to her previous behavior that it caused not only Yū, but also the Captain to be briefly startled. Understanding what was going to happen almost immediately after she witnessed this outburst, Kimiko's eyes would widen and she would try to stop her by reaching out for her shoulder with a swift "No, Fuuko, wait!" being shouted out of her chords. Unfortunately, before the words were able to reach Fuuko, it was far, far too late as each and every one of the things that came out of the blood-bender's mouth were able to reach the monster's ears, or rather what could perhaps be constituted as its ears, wherever they were. And just like that, even though no properly-offensive action had been accomplished thus far, whatever peace talks they could have had would now remain unreachable.

Once it both felt and understood Fuuko's objective, something akin to a whimper came from the beast's head before it then began to scream in utter fear for its life. Instantly, a wave of spiritual pressure washed over the area. Kimiko herself would not be affected, but Fuuko and Yū would be immediately challenged. The latter, especially, got it the worst. A shout of pain was brought out of him as he suddenly found himself pushed towards the ground with his stitches reopened and his nose immediately starting to bleed. The fact that he had not died on the spot was rather shocking to Kimiko, but at this point, she could only guess that it was because of his time spent in the area. More shockingly, however, was the way he quickly stood back up and clenched his teeth before shouting "I'M OKAY!" as he continued to raise his weapon. His newfound resolve was nothing short of unprecedented. Either that, or this was the work of the sheer adrenaline pumping through his veins. 

With her teeth equally-clenched, Kimiko found herself quickly analyzing the area once again as she heard several bursts. Already, she could see that the bulbs from before were beginning to erupt with life as veins would sprout from them and form something that appeared similarly to a body. Meanwhile, larger veins akin to tentacles sprouted from the walls and from the head as they quickly reached for the trio. In other words, they needed to move. Now. "Fucking damn it! Fuuko, go cut off that head from the brain and purify it if you can! Yū and I will take care of the rest!" She shouted out loud over the bursts before she and the office worker would quickly turn themselves towards other tentacles as well as several of the new creatures that were born on the spot before them. At that point, Kimiko at the very least just saw red, and with a huff, she let out a loud cry before she shouted: "ONWARD, YŪ! WITH MEEE!!"

There was a confused scream that came from the office worker in that moment. However, soon after, that scream turned into a proper war cry, quickly followed by the sound of gushing blood and explosive gun fire as the targets were shot and cut down.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu: 3000/7000}
Technique Name: Akuma no Ishi (剃るかんめき, "Demon's Will")

Technique Type: Other | Strength of Will Buff

Technique Element: None

Usable by: All races

Class: 3

Technique Reiatsu Cost: N/A

Technique Description and Effects

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


Drawbacks & Weaknesses

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


Made by: Nakajima Kimiko

Reserved? : No

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko heard the scream. She felt  the scream. From her perch upon Shukketsubuki, she could feel it trying to crush her and the beast was nearly succeeding. Fuuko could feel Shukketsubuki being pushed into the floor, and Fuuko was halfway draped over the handle of the large scythe, her own nose bleeding a bit, a slow, molasses like trickle, but she pushed through it and hopped up onto the top of the Scythe handle. 

"I'm the demon here, motherfucker!" Fuuko shouted once she was able to gain her faculties. She hissed and crouched. She grabbed the handle of the scythe and then used it to vaulet towards the beast. Her own scythe was as tall as the beast itself, but she swung it with speed and power like it weight nothing. As she swung the scythe, she aimed for where she thought the neck was, hard as it was to tell. 

"River of blood." 

Fuuko muttered the words to sharpen Shukketsubuki even further. It cut the flesh like a hot knife through butter. Fuuko barely felt any  resistance, even as she swung all the way through. As she swung up, Shukketsubuki started to glow and Fuuko jumped into the air. Where the "head" and flopped off, Fuuko raised Shukketsubuki in the air, now a very large spiked mace. Fuuko used her speed to spin Shukketsubuki and then slammed it down into what remained of the "head" sending chunks of whatever it was made up shooting in all directions. 

She looked back at the body and swung the glowing Shukketsubuki into the mass of fleshy beast. "C'mon, drink it! Drink it all up!" Fuuko demanded and instilled some more of her reiatsu so that everydrop of blood inside the monster's body and outside splattered in the room was sucked up by Shukketsubuki. All that should be left of the creature was the dried up husk of it's body that Fuuko was now standing in. Shukketsubuki was now a ginat spear that pierced the ground and pushed into the ceiling. 

Fuuko tore open a flap of dried husk to see if she could spot Yuu and Kimiko. She was pretty sure with the beast dead that everything else would screech to a halt. At least, she hoped as much. She honestly had no clue at this point in time. She just knew she was exhausted and hoped there weren't any more surprises for her left in Jodanapur. 

______________________________________


Reiatsu: 675/3400 - Blood Bank: 15,000 - | Omega Spear (6 post)


Blood Collection - [15] Passive |

-100 Blood Collection (in Sight)

-50 River of Blood

SPOILER: Click to show

Stats:



Reiatsu: 3400



[[Strength - 400 Points (600) +50%

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 272 Points (340) +25%

Reiatsu Strength - 45 Points (31) -30%

Light Aura - 95 Points

Dark Aura - 05 Points

Instinct- 75 Points

Senses- 68 Points (51) -25%

Energy sensory - 40 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points



Total: 1200/1200 SP]



Current Skills 15/15

• [Battle Focus] {1}

• [Pain Tolerance] {2}

• [Lack of Fear] {2}

• [Zanjutsu] {1}

• [Strength of Will] {2}

• [Damage Recovery] {2}

• [Bleeding Tolerance] {2}

• [Anti-Stealth] {1}

• Blood Scent {2}

[Nakajima Kimiko]

The sword swings and the gunfire that resonated from the base of the flesh pillar at the center of the room rang louder and louder as Fuuko made her way towards the head. Each and every time one of them would be heard echoing across the room, no matter the space and time within which it took place, it would be followed by the gruesome sound of flesh being torn apart, blood spattering about the remains, and a terrible high-pitched cry of pain that could not possibly be conjured by anything that was even once Human. Sometimes, it would only take a couple of the noises for them to eventually be followed by the familiar thud of a body falling limp and dead onto the floor. At other times, it would require some more, as a certain amount of their owners proved to be somewhat more resilient than their predecessors. Either way, it did not matter to Kimiko or Yū in the moment. All that mattered instead was simply that they could kill them. So, they did just that.

Caught by spikes of adrenaline flowing in her veins, the Captain did not quite see the flow of time pass by as the creatures came to her and the office worker. She did not even pay much attention to Fuuko, all things considered. Instead, she merely forced upon the creatures the dregs of anger that had been boiling within her blood. Like the clones that they've confronted outside of the facility, she brought upon them the joy of battle. However, there was now also the rage which came from witnessing the birth of yet another of these terrible monsters and the regret that she felt from having been unable to properly save whoever this person once was. She couldn't even imagine herself being in their place right now, in a perpetual moment of excruciating pain and suffering, both physically and mentally. It must be an anguish the likes of which could only be portrayed by the deepest levels of Hell... and yet, from the looks of the facility and its many devices, everything pointed to it somehow having been made by man, of all things.

As for Yū, he simply took aim and shot at everything that he believed to be a target. Considering that the ammunition that was at his disposal was limited, there were only so many shots that he could take. He did not how many had been loaded into the shotgun he held, and he also did not know of the firearm's condition, even if it did look somewhat new. The only thing he really knew was that he could somehow apply his preconceived notions of the weapon about as effectively as he could apply them on the pistol he had found prior to its destruction at the hands of Kimiko's swordsmanship, which is to say he was only really effective with it to a certain extent. Even so, despite his lacking skill, he was able to take out a number of the new creatures that were birthed from the fleshy pods on the floor. Not many, for the majority of them were very quickly slain by Kimiko, but a few. Of course, though, the matter of ammunition eventually reared its ugly head once again, and by the time he had reached his seventh shot, a terrible click then followed.

The man was about to report to the Shinigami that he was out of ammo and that he could no longer contribute to this battle. However, before he could even so much as mutter a word in-between his and Kimiko's war cries, he heard another cry, one that was far more guttural and far, far deeper than any cry to expect from the girl. Confused, he would find himself looking up towards the source of the noise, and as he did so, he would witness the "head" of the massive being they were supposed to eliminate screaming in horror at the sight of an equally-massive weapon headed straight towards it. The weapon - the very same bloody scythe that had been conjured by Fuuko - would find its blade risen and directed towards what could be constituted as the being's neck within its amalgam of veins and other fleshy vessels, and soon after, with nothing but a single swing, the neck would be cut clean off. This would effectively put a stop to the being's cries of panic and horror, and bring the head down onto the floor in a loud burst of splishes and splashes.

At this point, one could say that the beast had been taken care of, even if its minions had not been taken away quite just yet. But Fuuko did not take any chances. Swiftly after it was cut down, the head was then smashed to bits by a mace the size of which was about as grand as the scythe from before, and whatever blood that once remained within it was very quickly absorbed by said weapon. Some of the blood that Kimiko and Yū had splattered themselves as they cut down the creatures summoned from the pods would also be absorbed in this process. Hell, some of the blood that fell from the latter's nose was absorbed as it very quickly drifted away from its original position right towards the blonde's almighty blade. It was nothing short of barbaric work from a woman who had herself become barbaric in the heat of the moment. Although, considering the potential of the threat they've faced thus far, perhaps such barbarism was required after all.

For a brief moment, it would appear as though what once was supposed to be the mouth of the "head" would try to scream once more, if only to express the anguish that remained within it in that moment. But by the time it attempted to do so, the blood that once filled its body was almost completely gone, taking along with it the essential functions of whatever its body was supposed to be. In so doing, the creatures that were facing Kimiko and Yū would slowly begin to stop proceeding as they should, and then crumble into simple indistinct masses as the veins that were fueling them were also deprived of their essential substance. They were still alive, or perhaps as alive as one could believe them to be. However, they could no longer be described as anything that resembled a threat. This would cause Kimiko to stop, briefly stare at the fallen in confusion, then stand over the bodies with a frown before her scarlet eyes turned towards the suffering giant.

For a moment, it would appear as though the area would grow silent as the main body fell and the blood was removed from it. For all intents and purposes, the creature had fallen and there was no way that it could possibly get itself back up, especially not against a foe who might as well be its own personal Achilles' Heel. Then, slowly but surely, the "head" would begin to vanish as all Hollows do: in a stream of spiritual residue to perhaps take the form of a proper spirit in time. Where and what that spirit will become, Kimiko did not know yet. All that she did not was that the creature did not have anything to say in that moment, unlike Rider. Instead, as the aforementioned "head" would disappear, so too would the pillar as well as the rest of the veins that had spread out across the room... and the very moment this massive process of complete vanishing would begin, the familiar rumbling of the earth being moved against struggling steel would resonate.

Upon noticing that the trio would soon be encased in a tomb of rock and stone, Kimiko's eyes would widen before she would decide to immediately take action. Unsheathing her white blade, she would first take deep breath, after which she began to focus a great amount of spiritual energy within her blade, enough so that it would begin to vibrate at a intense speed. This vibration would be such that, after a certain point, the blade's appearance would distort, appearing less fluid as the common laws of physics began to break all around its structure. The sight would be enough to cause Yū to stare at the weapon in shock and awe, unable to comprehend what the Captain was doing, right until she would then cut at the air with the weapon, leaving behind something that was akin to a cut lodged into glass. The cut remained as such for about a second until it then began to crack several times. Then, it suddenly and swiftly expanded into one massive tear. It was... a portal. The woman had created a portal.

The man wanted to say something about this, like how he wasn't sure he was even going to survive going into something like this, but unfortunately, there was no time for him to protest. Right before he let out a single shout, Kimiko would grab him by his clothes before pulling him towards the literal tear in the fabric of space. "FUUKO, LET'S GO! WE'RE LEAVING!" She called towards her student before her eyes saw something fall from above. It was small and frail, and appeared to be akin to yet another skinless corpse much like the one she had seen from Rider. Usually, she would have tried to bring the corpse with them inside the portal in order to bring it back to Squad 12 for analysis... but she did not bother to do so this time around. Or rather, she did not want to, because its size prevented her from understanding whether it was nothing more than a small person or what she legitimately thought it was supposed to be. So, she would quickly bring herself near the portal, and once the medic would be close, she would push herself inside with the shocked office worker.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu: 2250/7000}
Technique Name: Shibori (絞り, "Aperture")

Technique Type: Zanjutsu - Hohō | Dimensional Breach

Technique Element: None

Usable by: Shinigami, Rogue, Vizard & Beast-Clansmen

Class: 1

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 0 (Cinematic), 750 (Combat)

Technique Description and Effects

A variant of Sukima designed not to transport attacks, but rather proper living beings. The user takes a deep breath before they begin to raise the spiritual energy within their body, bringing about an intense vibrational force that permeates throughout its entirety at a great speed. Once this energy reaches a level that causes it to pour out of the user as a blurry aura that can be seen by all, it is then abruptly moved towards their blade. This abrupt movement causes the creation of an immense cluster of energy to suddenly inhabit their very weapon. As it remains within the weapon, it begins to change it, forcing it to progressively lose its physical form as it enters an ethereal nature which beams brightly with the color of the user's Aura with almost blinding intensity. After this transformation has caused the weapon to become so warped by the energy that it can no longer be affected by the laws of physics attributed to the world which surrounds it, the user then focuses onto a particular point in space which remains in front of them, then brings about a single slash to that point with their weapon.

Due to the sheer amount of energy fueling both the weapon and the power of the strike which it has delivered, this single action causes a great tear to appear between the location the user is currently located in and the Valley of Screams, the world between worlds. This tear first appears as a crack within reality - as though something akin to glass has somehow been broken in front of the user - before it then suddenly expands into what could only be considered as something that is similar to a tunnel which beams with the color of the user's Aura, after which it remains open until the user decides to go inside of it or to close it during the course of the next three posts. Whichever of these options have been chosen, the closure of the portal causes the user's weapon to return back to normal and the tear to disappear completely as the world swiftly reconstructs what was damaged by the great mass of energy which affected it.

After passing through the beginning of the tunnel and closing it behind them, the user can then decide to guide its end throughout the Valley of Screams by simply moving forward. This causes the tunnel to slightly pass by them and to push anything that dares to approach it. Since the Valley is connected to each of the main realms, this characteristic of the tunnel allows the user to choose where they wish to go within the realms, much akin to how a Hollow moves between the realms via the use of Garganta or Descorrer. The destination of the user can be located within any realm, which can allow them to effectively appear within any location at any given time, without warning.

The user of this technique must be proficient with it before being able to execute it properly in combat, as it requires a proper amount of reiatsu in order for it to be executed. However, though this amount is required, no reiatsu is ultimately spent by the user during the technique's use outside of combat, as unlike the energy delivered onto an enemy with Sukima, the energy used to create the tunnel is returned to the user upon its closure. Complete mastery of this technique allows one to use this technique during combat, and thus to quickly bring themselves towards their opponent with a process akin to teleportation. Most opponents with less than 300 Senses will have a difficult time properly ascertaining the location of the tunnel's end as it appears near them, which permits the technique's user to strike them in a more efficient manner.


Drawbacks & Weaknesses

As a variant of Sukima, this techniques shares some of the difficulties related to its use, given that the process required in order to form a tear in reality is similar. It too requires the user to be able to understand how quickly they can vibrate the spiritual energy contained within their body, and to consider how much of this spiritual energy is required in order to properly achieve the technique's main goal. However, there are other factors that one must take into account while executing Shibori, as noted below:

• The user's weapon is completely intangible during the creation of the portal. This means that they cannot use their weapon in any way against an opponent or the environment that surrounds them before the portal has been created, as doing so will merely cause it to pass through them.
  
  
• The user's tunnel can welcome as many visitors within it - whether they be alive or not - before its closure. This can include allies or even troops, which can be quite useful for commanders who wish to use this technique. However, it can also include enemies. In certain cases, such an occurrence can drastically affect the course of a battle and greatly endanger the lives of those within the tunnel, as the user may be distracted and thus be unable to properly guide the tunnel towards its end.
  
  
• The user and the rest of those who are within the tunnel cannot physically get out of it by any other means than through its destination, as its structure is solid. This property also affects each ends of the tunnel, as although they appear to be open, an invisible force blocks the path leading into the Valley of Screams.
  
  
• If the user is not within the portal upon its closure, the tunnel within the Valley of Screams begins to fold into its beginning until it is no more. Upon the end of this shrinking process, anything and anyone that are within the tunnel at this point of time will suddenly be launched throughout the Valley of Screams. While this process is surprisingly harmless, it forces the Valley of Screams to recognize the presence of intruders within itself, and thus to forcefully spit them out into one of the main realms. This imposed destination is dependent of what the Valley of Screams believes to be the most appropriate for the intruder depending on the quality of its spiritual energy. For example, Shinigami are returned to the Soul Society, while Hellions are returned to Hell. Due to the strangeness of their Soul, beings with split souls (namely Vizards) will be chosen a destination at random which fits their own energy.
  
  
• The user's destination must have been witnessed by them at least once before their arrival there. This must have been accomplished in-person or through other means, such as looking at a picture of the destination or by watching a video recording of it. Moreover, if the destination is located in Hell or the Silbern, demonic or Vandenreich reishi must respectively be present within the tunnel in order for the user to access them, either in the form of an object (ex: the horn of an Akki) or a person.
  
  
• While the user can use this technique during battle, doing so causes it to be much more exhausting to use than usual, as the reiatsu spent to properly create the tunnel is not returned to the user. This is due to the fact that the presence of hostile reiatsu disturbs the returning process, preventing it from being successfully completed.

With these factors in mind, it is thus imperative that one must be capable, but also knowledgeable enough in order to execute this technique. Proficiency requires a Martial Art - Hohō skill of 3 as well as any skill related to swordsmanship (ex: Martial Art - Zanjutsu) of 3, while its mastery requires the first skill to be raised to 4. Any attempts to use this technique without properly respecting these criteria may result in severe consequences to the user, such as a blast of energy upon creating the tunnel which may harm or even kill the user... or somehow worse.


Made by: Nakajima Kimiko

Reserved? : Yes

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko could hear the blasting of Yuu's gun and feel the slashing of Kimiko's blades as she finished off the massive beast. While Shukketsubuki guzzled up the last of the thing's blood, Fuuko felt the rumbling of the building. There was no way that this thing could maintain structural integrity. Even if it did, they were so far down, it would be difficult to dig their way out of the rubble and wreckage even if they didn't get crushed to death. Still, Fuuko looked up and down. She figured that she might  be able to use Shukketsubuki to make a hole, but it was going to be tough and she honestly wasn't sure if she had the energy to do it. 

As she pondered the next course of action, sweat soaked and panting, she heard Kimiko's voice. As she lifted her head, she noticed the tear in space and raised an eyebrow. "The fuck?" She muttered. It took a moment, but seeing Kimiko grab Yuu and heave him into it, made her understand. Apparently Kimiko had a way to make portals. Well, that was convenient. 

Fuuko wasn't going to ask questions, especially when Kimiko shoved Yuu into the portal. She grabbed Shukketsubuki and it began to glow. Then, it began to shrink until it was nothing more than a katana again. She grabbed it, but didn't sheathe it. Even as she clutched the hilt, she could feel her weapon quivering. Fuuko knew she was making her weapon hold things in, but just in case they didn't go to somewhere safe, she wanted to be sure to take some blood with her too. 

"Yeah, fuuuuuck this place.' Fuuko said as she stepped up next to Kimiko. 'You do know where this is going, right?" Fuuko said with a raised eyebrow as she hopped into it. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Shortly after Kimiko manifested the portal that would bring the trio out of the crumbling underground of the facility, she would quickly find herself looking over to Fuuko in order to confirm that she was in the process of joining the Captain and the office worker. Usually, she wouldn't do such a thing, as she knew that she could trust the blonde when it came to following her directives to a certain extent... but at this point, it was the one thing that allowed her to further ignore the corpse that had fallen from the structure of flesh that continued to disintegrate before their very eyes. That, and it appeared as though Fuuko was rather confused by the fact that Kimiko could even manifest portals to begin with. This particular fact was enough to cause the Captain to feel somewhat embarrassed at the time, as she should have probably better informed her student about her technique before they even headed down into this horrible place. Oh well...

In any case, it would not take much longer for the blonde to join them. By that point, her blood-based weapon had been severely reduced in size, and she appeared to be ready to go. That said, as to be expected, she would make sure to question the legitimacy of Kimiko's technique. To this, the Captain would simply look up towards the ceiling above, which was evidently beginning to collapse even further, before she would grab Fuuko's shoulder with a mixture of concern and authority in her eyes. "Just get in!" would be the words she would use in that moment as she watched various rocks beginning to fall from above as well as a few pieces of metal that once composed the ceiling. Her tone was urgent and very clearly trying to convince the medic to cooperate, in spite of the frustration she felt for how this entire situation was handled to begin with. Whether Fuuko cooperated or not, she would then attempt to pull her into the portal before, finally, the officers would find themselves fully away from the chaos alongside Yū with the entrance to the portal swiftly shut behind them.

The interior of the portal would be most striking to Fuuko, but unsurprisingly, Yū would be the one staring at it all with the greatest shock and awe imaginable. Before them, in one straight line, stood a single tunnel that stretched into what could only be described as a mass of pitch-black darkness. Its material was unclear, but the medic could gather that it was composed of spiritual energy that came from Kimiko, as it was of a red color that was most familiar with the stuff released by the Captain of the Eleventh. At a glance, it did not actually appear to possess any kind of end, as it seemed to disappear into the dark. However, the swordswoman did not appear to be concerned by this. In fact, now that they were here, she visibly seemed to be much more relieved than she was moments earlier. She would take a few deep breaths as she recovered from the sheer expanse of energy that she has spent ever since they began their assault on the facility, then let out a long sigh. It took some time, but they were eventually able to take out their target after all. Mission accomplished.

Of course, there was still the odd one out in the room that was Yū. As to be expected, the poor man was still trying to understand everything that had just happened and everything that was happening to him now as he found himself looking over towards the darkness outside of the tunnel. For all intents and purposes, he should not be here. He, a normal Human, should not have witnessed everything that he has and he should not be able to witness this infinite darkness to which he had no kind of understanding of. Even so, he would take the time to simply sit there for a moment with his fuming shotgun and just stare at the infinite dark. "It's... over..." he muttered quietly. For a moment, his eyes trailed towards where the entrance to this tunnel was supposed to be, but he found nothing but the darkness again. This would lead him to look on towards Kimiko in confusion. "I... What exactly is this place...? I don't... I'm sorry, I just don't... understand what's happening anymore..."  

"I can't blame you for that," the taller woman would reply after a time as she allowed everyone to take a break. They had gone through a lot and, all things considered, there was still quite a fair bit of time for them to move before her and Fuuko's disappearances start becoming a problem. So, from now on, she would take it slow, especially with the office worker. Besides, now was the better time for her to properly explain how this technique worked, or at least the gist of it. "Right now, we're in what you could call the "space between worlds", so to speak. Basically, it's kinda like a... bunch of roads. This tunnel we're in is a guide I made to bring us towards these roads. What I'm trying to say is that as long as we remain in this tunnel, we should be fine."  

"... What happens if we go in there without this tunnel?"

"This place doesn't really like people like us, so if one of us go in there, well... You get spit out somewhere. I don't know where exactly. You can find yourself back in Japan as much as you can instead find yourself elsewhere entirely. Trust me, it's not a fun experience."   

"O-Oh."

A wave of fright washed over the man in that moment as he looked on over towards the darkness again. At first, he looked intimidated by it again, enough so that he felt an urge to slightly push himself away from the "wall" of the tunnel he had found himself bending onto as he sat down. However, not long after he made that realization, he would simply calm down with an overwhelmed sigh and just let himself rest again. It was clear that he did not feel particularly at ease with the notion that Kimiko had presented, but at the same time, so far, it did not present any kind of danger to him. In so doing, for the time being, he would simply decide to ignore the information that was given to him and mentally move on so that they could properly head out of this place. Speaking of which... "So... how are we going to leave this place? I don't know how this works, but... it shouldn't take us too long, right? We just need to go outside the facility..."

Kimiko would find herself nodding at the question that was asked to her, then point towards the end of the tunnel with her white blade. At that moment, she would realize that she still had the blade in her hand. It would cause her to blink for a moment, as though she was surprised to see that she had not sheathed it yet now that the battle was over, before she bring it back to its scabbard rather unceremoniously. "Walk behind me, and I can lead us to the buildings outside the place. I could drop us on the first floor instead, but... it's probably best we don't. We don't know if killing that thing was able to get everyone in there back to normal yet," she would lay the plan down, then look towards Fuuko for a moment. Then she would ask, if only to get a glimpse as to how things were going on her end, before she then tried to take a deep breath and push the exhaustion away. "Come on. It shouldn't take us too long."

She would then begin to walk onward into the void, hoping that the others were in tow. Yū would hesitate for a moment, deciding to stay somewhat close to Fuuko. However, eventually, he would decide to move on with his shotgun still in hand. He knew that it was emptied of all of its ammunition, but right now, it was the closest thing to a weapon that he had. As such, he was going to keep it until he would find himself on his way back to Japan.

[Satoshi Fuuko]

When Kimiko didn't immediately answer her question and just demanded Fuuko hop through, the blonde narrowed her eyes, but didn't hesitate anymore. She stepped in. There was no reason not  to trust Kimiko. Aside from being the commanding officer in the mission, she was Fuuko's mentor. There were only a few people she considered to have a more personal relationship with than Kimiko. After all, she had known the woman since her first day as an official member of the Gotei Thirteen. Hell, what they had just gone through together would create a bond between them unlike anything else either might have. It didn't mean Kimiko was completely without reproach, however. 

Fuuko stepped into the portal, not knowing if she needed to rush through or could walk, but she didn't immediately run. She glanced back to see what would happen to the entrance before taking a step forward. She saw the glow and could feel the reiatsu, but she wasn't worried too much about getting hurt. If Kimiko could make the portals, then they were probably  safe. She was more worried about Yuu, who, predictably, had a barrage of questions. Fuuko let him get them out and let Kimiko respond. Then, she stood next to him and grabbed his hand. She clutched it, so that she could make sure he didn't get lost. Maybe it would make him feel safe. She ran a thumb along the top of his hand as well. That might help, right? Her hand was rough, calloused from spending hours a day holding a blade, but they still held the gentle touch of a woman. She was strong, but tender, but she didn't spare Yuu a glance, other than to speak some words to him and then turn to Kimiko. 

"You're askin the wrong questions, Yuu." Fuuko said calmly. "Who cares where we are, or what it is?" She said, dismissing his curiosity. "If there's not a Cleaner coming for us, then we'll be fine. Especially if we're only goin to the outside of the building. That's a pretty short walk, right?" She reassured. "But that  means you think there's still some more to do in Jodanapur, huh, Captain?" Fuuko raised an eyebrow as she stared at Kimiko's back. With her grip on Yuu's hand, she held up her other arm and let the sealed Shukketsubuki rest on her shoulder. She could hear the incessant whining in her head, but blocked it out for now. 

"I'm more curious about how you made this portal than I am what  kind of portal it is. Is that one of yer Shikai techniques?" Fuuko asked as she followed behind Kimiko. "Because that's pretty interestin." She mused, with a stone-faced look. "Not particularly on theme with yer squad, though, huh?" Fuuko added, cracking a faint  smile. As if Shukketsubuki was on theme for the medical division...

______________________________________


Reiatsu: 675/3400 - Blood Bank: 000 - | Sealed Tachi


Blood Collection -

SPOILER: Click to show

Stats:



Reiatsu: 3400



[[Strength - 400 Points (600) +50%

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 272 Points (340) +25%

Reiatsu Strength - 45 Points (31) -30%

Light Aura - 95 Points

Dark Aura - 05 Points

Instinct- 75 Points

Senses- 68 Points (51) -25%

Energy sensory - 40 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points



Total: 1200/1200 SP]



Current Skills 15/15

• [Battle Focus] {1}

• [Pain Tolerance] {2}

• [Lack of Fear] {2}

• [Zanjutsu] {1}

• [Strength of Will] {2}

• [Damage Recovery] {2}

• [Bleeding Tolerance] {2}

• [Anti-Stealth] {1}

• Blood Scent {2}

[Nakajima Kimiko]

The answers that Yū received for his questions did not relieve him. At least, not completely. While it was true that he nevertheless felt safe behind the walls of the tunnel and that there should not be any way for him to find himself spat out in the darkness outside, the mere existence of this darkness was enough to raise more questions about the world than he believed he should have had at that moment. For one, he wanted to know what that darkness truly is. To describe it as the "space between worlds" was perhaps accurate, but what did that really mean? Was it something that held every world together? Was it something that contained the worlds rather than a number of paths towards them? And then, there was the matter of the worlds themselves. Obviously, he had understood by now that Kimiko and Fuuko came from somewhere else entirely, but the plurality of that particular word left him attempting to figure out how many of these worlds there even was. It also made him wonder if the inhabitants of the other worlds were just as powerful as these two and just as friendly in comparison.

He doubted that the Captain would have answered every one of his questions then. He knew that Kimiko had allowed him to witness and also understand the threats that she and her student faced together practically on a daily basis, but he had a feeling that she was not going to make sure that he recognizes every facet of the spiritual world. The brunt of that conclusion admittedly came from the fact that he felt out of line for even bothering to ask more about the spiritual world. He had already seen so many things and experienced them too. Hell, he was now quite literally standing in the middle of what one could consider as some kind of alternate dimension. Yet, still, he was nothing more than a normal Human who unfortunately had seen more than he should have, and that reasoning should not grant him further access to any more of that information, especially the kind that would leave him shaking in his boots until death takes him. Or, well... death takes him away from this body, he supposed.

Fortunately for him, by the time Kimiko had finished answering his questions, someone came to the office worker's aid: Fuuko. Without warning, she had grabbed his hand and gave him a few words. She did not stare at him this time, but regardless, the man felt much more at ease the longer his hand was held. All things considered, it was not quite the kind of grip that one would expect from any woman. It was indeed right. It was indeed callous and hardened by countless battles against whoever knew what. Yet the softness that remained... Now that he had some time to properly recognize it in the calm of the tunnel, it reminded him of another woman, one that he had come to refer to as his wife a time ago. It was just as soothing as the grip that he was once so used to, just as comforting. Maybe this was something all nurses had, if only to make their jobs a little bit easier while dealing with patients. Either way, it made him quiet down in the face of whatever lied ahead just a little bit further.

But Fuuko was not quiet. As the trio headed onward into the tunnel, causing it to stretch along the way so that they would not fall in the abyss it guarded them against, the medic had a few things to say to Kimiko. The Captain would allow her to ask her questions quietly, without any kind of interruption other than perhaps the noise of their footsteps as they moved and the sound of her breathing as she recovered from the heavy use of her spiritual energy throughout their stay within the accursed facility. Meanwhile, she remained attentive. She could tell that the hospital that they had located prior to heading into the facility still bothered Fuuko to an extent, but more importantly, the portal appeared to be the more-pressing matter for the time being. Something about her curiosity initially worried the Captain, as she did not quite wish for Fuuko to understand the true reason behind the creation of the portal. That said, once its "theme" was put into question, it would not take long for the swordswoman to let out a brief chuckle as she figured out something to throw at her student in the moment.

"Heh, says you... but I guess you're right on that. I bet Shawn's gonna want to figure this out the moment I show it to him," she would first comment lightheartedly, mentioning the current Captain of the Thirteenth Division in the process. This left her wondering how the man was faring nowadays, especially given that he was once a member of the Eleventh Division in spite of his magical capabilities. That said, she would eventually turn her attention towards her student's earlier questions, and in so doing, she would become slightly more serious as she looked on ahead. "My blades didn't give me this technique. I created it myself after what happened to the barracks of Jūbantai. Basically, I wanted something that could just move someone from a location to another so that we wouldn't have to deal with something like that again. It's not perfect, but it works. Well, at least it worked against that guy who tried to invade my barracks recently."

While it was true that she did not enjoy what she had witnessed back then after the latest direct attack against Seireitei had come to an end, that particular fact could not quite be described as being the complete truth. Being able to move an unreasonable target to another location was nothing more than a natural consequence of such a technique. In reality, she had designed this technique solely to permit safe travels between the realms, if only to make sure that Ruhe would have a proper means of escape should she be found. Quite frankly, it was a miracle that she was able to understand how to fashion this maneuver so quickly, especially given that she was given Aramis' warning about Quincy energy near Nijūkan North only a few days ago. You would think pressure would prevent her from understanding the delicacy of realm travel. Then again, in a way, it did allow her to understand it all in her anger at the time. She could still remember the very moment she broke through reality itself by simply... well, shoving a bunch of spiritual energy into a single strike out of frustration.

The trio would continue to walk forward through the tunnel for around a minute or two. While it was not a significant amount of time, all things considered, it was enough for Kimiko and Yū to at the very least further recover from the physical and emotional stress they had both endured. It was also enough for the trio to all realize that they appeared to be approaching something in the darkness that stood out in comparison to the rest of its substance. Somehow, as they headed onward, they appeared to be getting closer and closer to a darkening point. It was somehow darker than the surrounding black, like they were approaching the equivalent of some kind of worldly boundary. Then, without warning, the extremity of the tunnel that was stretching onward would find itself burrowing under this darkness. The sight was impressive, enough so that the office worker would briefly stop and take a cautious step back. This worry was only accentuated when a spiritual hum was heard from the darkness, and when cracks began to form within it. 

However, soon, this worry would come to an end as the cracks shattered open like the one Kimiko had formed with the beginning of the tunnel, only to reveal what they had been expecting all along: the outside of the facility. More specifically, it appeared as though the tunnel's exit had been formed on one of the rooftops nearest to it. At a glance, it appeared as though the facility was surprisingly still standing in spite of the destruction that they had inadvertently caused. Perhaps that was a testament of how far underground they previously were just a few minutes ago. Either way, Kimiko would leave out a brief sigh of relief at such a site, then beckon Yū and Fuuko to come with her into the portal. "Alright, let's go. If we're lucky enough, we shouldn't have to deal with anything else," she said then, more so to reassure the office worker than her student, in spite of the fact that both she and the blonde warrior had spent a tremendous amount of spiritual energy already. Once all was said and done, she traversed the portal. 

By the time everyone would be out of the tunnel, the shattered piece of reality would close behind them, and silence would be swiftly returned. Simply feeling the silence around them was enough to cause Yū to blink a few times, then try to raise his shotgun under his shoulder while she still held Fuuko's hand. However, nothing would come to them. They would not even be able to feel the overwhelming spiritual energy that was once present in the area. They would simply stand there on the rooftop, alone in just another city of India. It remained empty for the time being, of course... but emptiness was better than everything they had seen thus far. At least, it would be the case until properly regained their strength. The office worker looked around a few more times again, just in case, before eventually, he simply stared at the facility he once feared so much. "It's... It's over, then...? It's... finally over? All of it?" He muttered a few times before a wave of exhaustion hit him, then a weak, tired laugh. "I'm... I can't believe I'm still here, I..." 

The man would then groan and stumble as he felt the pain from his stitches again. Turns out, the intense gravitational pressure he had felt when the creature had screamed at them had finally reopened his stitches. Kimiko would notice this immediately and turn her head towards Fuuko before gesturing her to do something about it. Then, she would very lightly pat the man's shoulder, doing so in a way that was very clearly supportive and perhaps admirative, considering that he had not fallen outright unconscious yet. "Hang in there. If you still want to come with us, I'd rather have you still standing," she would tell him before looking towards the hospital in the distance. It did not seem as though the hospital had changed at all since their entry, which was good. They would still be able to investigate it after all. That said, she would make sure to ask Fuuko one more question: "Fuuko, can you sense any blood in the vicinity? I just wanna make sure we don't have to deal with another surprise before we go."

The answer to that question should have been thoroughly negative. It should have. But in reality, it wasn't. Far from it. Should the blonde attempt to catch a whiff of the area in the moment, she would be able to sense a very powerful smell coming from far outside of the city. It appeared to be located above ground, far in the air, but how far, she would not quite be able to tell.

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko listened to the response and raised an eyebrow. "You taught it to yourself?" She repeated. "Well, in an emergency situation, that would be extremely  helpful." Fuuko added, thinking of her own position as a medic. If she could get injured out of the battlefield and into a place where they could receive medical care... Fuuko then started thinking about her own abilities. Kido was still out of the question and for how much she had been around it, healing magic also didn't seem to be on the table. She needed to continue to develop techniques aside from what she could do with her shikai if she ever wanted to be in the position she intended to be. If she ever wanted to be a real  captain, worthy of the position. 

She let the silence fall over them. Holding Yuu's hand was calming for her as well. It reminded her of tugging her brother here and there when they were... alive? n the dark and quiet of the tunnel, Fuuko's thoughts drifted. She had been a shinigami for some time. The thoughts of her past life, except for the violent end, which was only just starting to blur at the edges, had all but vanished from her mind. That she was brought back to something so benign was almost startling to her. She sighed. Now would be the time for a cigarette if she wasn't worried about it making this strange place combust or whatever. 

When it was time to finally step through to the other side, Fuuko was snapped out of her thoughts and got through it with Yuu in tow. She could feel the eerie calmness of the now silent Jodanapur and glanced around. While she took inventory of the ghost town, she felt Yuu stumble and turned. Fuuko's lips pursed and she frowned but stepped forward and pulled up his shirt enough to look at the stiches. "Dammit..." She growled. "Hold on." She said and stepped away. She held out her zanpakutou which was still in her other hand and lifted it up. She flicked it and from the blade poured out gallons and gallons of blood. She let it pour out like a waterfall over the edge of the roof. It seemed to go on and on, with no stoping until finally there was a few dribbles and one last drop. Fuuko could hear the long sigh of relief in her head and smirked as she pulled up her sword and sheathed it. 

"Sorry, as much as she wants to, she can't take it with her, but I don't like to just empty her out anywhere. I'd much rather have it around in case I need it again." Fuuko explained. She then pulled out her small medkit and went back to Yuu. "Well, the good news is that while "m here, yer not gonna bleed out." She said. "But I think I can tighten up these stitches a bit." Fuuko said, giving Yuu a reassuring smile. "Yer doin great, but before we do anythin  else, maybe you should just have a rest. Once I get these stitches fixed, we'll get you comfy, ok?" 

While Fuuko attended to the wound, she looked back at Kimiko. "This whole place is fucked." She said with a deep frown. "We can't  just let the humans scurry back in here, though. We need to collect some data before we do anything else. I mean, yeah, if even we're done here... but all those people..." Fuuko said, lowering her head before clutching a fist. "That pisses me the fuck off!" 

Fuuko finished up the stitching and then looked at Yuu. "But what about him? He needs to go back to Japan, but he's seen too much. Are we, what? Going to take him back with us? I don't think it's a great  idea, but if it's just to get him to Japan faster... but he needs more  than that." Fuuko said. "Aside from some pretty deep therapy, we don't know the extent of what this place has done to him!" Fuuko said. "Not to mention if his boss  finds out he wasn't one of the statistics that will no doubt be written off."  Fuuko's blood was boiling just thinking about it all. Fuuko fixed the stitches and then stood up. 

"Let me take care of him. As a Captain... you have a more important role in all of this." Fuuko explained and then stopped. "Wait, you think..." She couldn't feel any reiatsu and everything looked pretty ghost town-y, but she lifted her head up and gave a good sniff. There was, of course, the purified blood dripping and pooling down the side of the building and on the ground, but Fuuko could pick Shukketsubuki's purified blood out of a pool of blood and vice-versa. There didin't seem to be anything at first, but a second, bigger sniff made her nose twitch. 

"Huh..." Fuuko said and tilted her head to the sky. "Something... up ... there..." Fuuko said as she pointed to the sky. "is bleeding..." 

______________________________________


Reiatsu: 675/3400 - Blood Bank: 000 - | Sealed Tachi


Blood Collection -

SPOILER: Click to show

Stats:



Reiatsu: 3400



[[Strength - 400 Points (600) +50%

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 272 Points (340) +25%

Reiatsu Strength - 45 Points (31) -30%

Light Aura - 95 Points

Dark Aura - 05 Points

Instinct- 75 Points

Senses- 68 Points (51) -25%

Energy sensory - 40 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points



Total: 1200/1200 SP]



Current Skills 15/15

• [Battle Focus] {1}

• [Pain Tolerance] {2}

• [Lack of Fear] {2}

• [Zanjutsu] {1}

• [Strength of Will] {2}

• [Damage Recovery] {2}

• [Bleeding Tolerance] {2}

• [Anti-Stealth] {1}

• Blood Scent {2}

[Nakajima Kimiko]

The swordswoman would give a look to Fuuko as the latter openly considered the utility of the technique that had been described to her. She was glad to see that her student had not decided to question the existence of the technique any further. As not entirely truthful as Kimiko's words may have been, the half-truth that they nevertheless carried appeared to have left enough of an impression on their target for that target to simply focus on the technique itself rather than the reality behind it, which was just what was needed in this moment. The medic did not need to know about Ruhe. She did not need to know where she presently remained and that this technique was meant for her above all more than anything else. The only thing that she did need to know, in comparison, was that it was powerful in many more ways than one, both on a logistical level as well as a combative level. That was the end of it. Or, well, perhaps something else too.

"Once you've refined your skills with the sword, I could teach it to you. It looks kinda easy when I'm the one doing it, but one mistake can lead to pretty severe consequences," the Captain would explain as the trio traversed the tunnel. It was nice to be able to revert to her teaching self right about now, away from the mess they had made back there in that awful place. She should not have enjoyed this moment as much compared to the battle she had just gone through, especially a warrior of the Eleventh Division, but it allowed her to forget about the creature they had slain as well as the fate of all of those Humans who remained in the facility, even if it would only be for the briefest of moments. "That said, you might not need a sword per say. Your brother told me that one time that, since you need something to use the technique, you can technically use anything. We haven't really tackled the subject again, but... Honestly, I've been curious about that ever since."

While it was meant to be nothing more than an anecdote, the mention of Kazuhiko would briefly cause Kimiko to grant her attention towards his case, if only briefly. While things have been going well for the man, it could be said that this was only from her perspective more than anything else. She could still remember what she had done to him on that mountain, the fate that she had bestowed onto him, and the reason behind those two things. The young man - a Vizard just like she and Celes and Camila - wanted to be confined into a place where he would hopefully remain for the rest of his life, forgotten by all, potentially even by himself. In a way, she granted him this fate by forcing him to leave the Fourth Division and join the Eleventh Division as an advisor to her Captainship, but they have not quite spoken about such matters since. It made her wonder how he was feeling at the moment, especially given everything that has been happening as of late.

In any case, not before long, the trio would find themselves outside. By that time, Yū was thoroughly exhausted. He was glad that it did not take long for Fuuko to take care of him again, much to his rising embarrassment, and he was also glad that Kimiko still trusted him enough to remain on his feet in spite of everything he has experienced thus far. However, he felt like he was most definitely starting to reach his limit. Simply looking at the hospital in the distance, the very same that he could remember fleeing so long ago... It left him worrying again. What if they found themselves meeting another kind of monster over there? What if he proves to be a burden again? The thoughts were so heavy that they slowly brought him to sit down on the ground, giving his fellow medical practitioner a better position to apply the stitches onto him once again. "J-Just... be careful with the stitches...!" He found himself groaning already as he felt the woman's hands around his wound. "They... That wound must have re-opened when that thing screamed... It felt so heavy..."

Scarlet eyes slowly found themselves staring at the man again as he mentioned those words, but the mouth that accompanied them did not explain this time around. Gravitational pressure was a concept that, in of itself, required several other concepts in order to properly understood. Therefore, Kimiko did not believe that she had a sufficient amount of time to explain everything to him before they would have to move again. Besides, it did not take very long for Fuuko to speak again, and all things considered, her complaints were all very valid. Yū's fate alone gave the Captain a bit of a headache as she would attempt to understand what they could do from that point onward. "As much as I want to figure this out further as much as you do, we've done everything that we could. I don't know how to fix this city, and I don't know how to fix everyone who's still in that facility. So, Rokubantai, Kyūbantai, and Jūnibantai will have to take it from here," she would conclude her professional analysis with visible disappointment. "At this point, if we try to do anything else besides investigating that hospital... we might make things worse than they already are."  

Her attention would then turn towards Yū again. She wasn't surprised to see that Fuuko was worried sick for him. Their time together was brief, but as the two remained with one another, it was clear that they had formed a sort of bond. Hell, even Kimiko had begun to appreciate his presence. Even so, his presence remained problematic, and there was nothing that she could really do as a member of the Eleventh Division to really prevent him from being taken away. Well, no. In actuality, there was one thing that she could do. It was the same thing that she had done with Camila after their fights against one another, with Kazuhiko when she confronted him atop that mountain, with Caballero after they defeated Rider, with Ailene when they first met so long ago, and of course, with Ruhe after she had finally put an end to her rampage. It was also something that she felt Fuuko would not appreciate from her in this moment... but it was either that or a fate that she didn't feel would be acceptable for Yū.

Either way, she would not be able to grant a proper answer about it to Fuuko, for after she gave her order to the medic, something that was bleeding would indeed be detected. At first, she simply thought that the blonde was speaking of the blood that she had just released from Shukketsubuki, but... she made sure to precise that the bleeding came from a most unpredictable place: the sky. This answer would cause Kimiko to frown in confusion and simply stare at the student, as though she wanted her to repeat herself due to her having not understood what she had just said. However, soon enough, she would find herself looking towards the skies too in an attempt to perhaps spot what was bleeding. At first, she did not see anything except the late-afternoon sun and the yellow, almost-golden clouds which surrounded it. But then, roughly a minute of complete silence that left even the wounded and unfocused Yū wondering what was happening, she would finally notice a development from afar.

When she initially witnessed the anomaly, she had not quite seen it. In fact, from that distance, there was no way for Fuuko or Yū to notice it at all. It was, for all intents and purposes, completely covered with a kind of camouflage that rendered it practically invisible. However, she could see the finest imperfections, from the way it slowly undulated as the object moved down to the little hum that followed its movements. This sight would cause Kimiko's eyes to widen and her body to quickly move in front of the rest of the trio, if only to defend them against an incoming attack, but the more the object approached, the more she would realize that such an attack was not going to come. If that would have been the case, they would have already attempted to attack them at this point. No, this was something else entirely... and it was made much more evident when, once the invisible object finally was a few meters away from the facility, it would deactivate its camouflage system and reveal itself.

What appeared before the trio then was what could only be described as an advanced dropship. It appeared as a great white rectangular vehicle carried by four separate thrusters which hummed with power. It did not appear to be armed in the slightest, but to Kimiko and Fuuko's surprise, the thrusters would appear to be exhuming... spiritual energy. Shortly after it arrived, the vehicle would begin its descent towards the streets before the facility, not far from its fountain, before it would land with the quiet thud of metal against concrete and the cooling-off of the aforementioned thrusters. It was an impressive sight, to say the least, but what caught both Kimiko and Yū's eyes the most in all of this was the bright neon red logo that was glowing on the side of the vehicle: a square containing a smaller red cross inhabiting a larger white brethren. "T... The... The Yumiya Aid & Healthcare Foundation...?" He muttered, his shock apparent. He did not say anything else after the fact, and neither did Kimiko who remained alert as she stood near the edge of the rooftop they remained on.

After a time, the doors on each side of the ship would open, and from them would quickly move out several individuals who all appeared to be medical personnel wearing white and red clothes. None of them appeared to be noteworthy at a glance, instead simply appearing to be part of a standard team. That is, except two particular individuals who instantly turned their attention towards the trio. The first was a man who very much stood out from the rest. He appeared to be wearing a white and yellow leather duster, as well as some kind of great metallic headband on his forehead lined with several bolts. On the back of the duster appeared to be a logo that differed from the one on the dropship, a yellow square containing a circular glyph surrounded by a square reticle. Meanwhile, his brown hair flowed away from his head into a wild ponytail, and his auburn eyes appeared to be cold, distant. The sound of metal following each and every one of his footsteps was worrisome... but it was nothing compared to the second individual who he remained close to.

At a glance, she was just a woman wearing a doctor's coat. Nothing more. Her bright yellow eyes were vivid and energetic, and her short red hair almost seemed like it shone as much as the logo on the airship. However, Fuuko would immediately be able to sense that she was the source of the blood. The smell that would overflow the Shinigami's powerful scent was... nothing short of overwhelming. In a way, it was as if the woman was constantly bleeding. And yet, she wasn't. As she approached the building with a confused step, she appeared to be fine. Well, physically, that is. Emotionally, she was a bit less so. "AH! YŪ! THERE YOU ARE! Oh my god, I was worried sick! H-Hang in there!" She shouted with very clear worry, enough so that it caused the soldier at her side to raise a brow. Of course, this shouting would not remain, as soon, she would notice Kimiko and Fuuko standing near him. "O-Oh, that's... Okay, wow, that's not good... and that's a lot of blood over there... Okay..." 

"Hirabayashi-san."

The monotone voice of the man by her side would cause her to stop for a moment, take a breath, then let out a quiet sigh before she would slowly recollect herself. Eventually, she would cough raise her hands near her head and approach the building. "P-Please hear me out! Don't worry, we're the only ones around here who can see you! We came here to help!"

Kimiko would just stare at the scene in silence for a moment, her gaze promptly showcasing how baffled she was at the sight of the two individuals. Never before had she seen anyone that was both so normal and so suspicious at the same time. It was... strange, so much so that she wasn't quite sure of what to do. "... Yū, is that your boss?" She would eventually just ask the office worker, just to make sure. In response, the man simply nodded and looked down at the woman with an awkward expression.

"Y-Yes... She is..."

[Satoshi Fuuko]

As she looked up at the sky, Fuuko heard Kimiko say something. Her ear twitched. She had been talking about the technique. Fuuko certainly wanted to learn it, but there were more important things than asking about it, even if Kimiko was giving the information up. But the name she had said. Her brother, Kazu...She opened her mouth, but a breath got caught in it. She closed her mouth and swallowed. Her free hand clenched into a tight fist. She had to hold herself back not to start questioning Kimiko about Kazu. Her brother, her dearest family and one of the only few people she cherished in this world. He had left  to go to Squad Eleven. The vanguard of the Gotei 13, the fighting squad, the squad Fuuko had wanted to join more than any other. But Kazu was a pacifist. He had only  joined the Gotei 13 because he thought his philosophy could make a difference. Because he believed he could heal. His conviction had been so great that it had become Fuuko's conviction. 

Now, she was more loyal to the Yonbantai than almost anything else. So much so that she was willing to fight her own captain over her beliefs. She thought that Kazu's will was unbreakable as his spirit, but maybe, just maybe, his time in Hueco Mundo had changed  him? That just meant, to Fuuko, that he needed her more, not less. She had jokingly been suspicious of Kimiko when they had first met, cracking that she thought Kimiko had been hitting on her kid brother. But He had come back from Hueco Mundo as a different person. Not a boy, but a man. Not lil Kazu, but Satoshi Kazuhiko. She couldn't recognize it and she was still  dealing with it and, maybe, Kimiko had taken him away from her. She gave the benefit of the doubt to her beloved sensei thus far, but there was a conversation brewing between them and if not for that blood in the sky, they may have been on the brink of having it right then and there. So, she pushed those thoughts away and did her duty, focusing on it instead of what was roiling inside of her. 

Fuuko herself was surprised that she could smell the blood even when she couldn't see it. Well, that wasn't entirely  true. She could probably smell a drop of blood from a mile away. Her nose was like a shark's, but the sky was the sky. If she couldn't see it, then it was up high, so... why...? That made the reveal, some kind of drop pod, even more confusing. How could she smell blood like that? Through that much metal? Her eyes narrowed and she carefully watched the thing land and then deploy. "What the fuck is this sci-fi bullshit?" She asked, both confused and a bit in awe at both the vehicle and the audacity of its appearance. She leered at it, taking a step to the side so she could get a better look as its occupants. 

"Who're these fuckin chodes?" She barked as the team of medical mooks poured out. She glanced around. She didn't like it one bit, but the other two caught her attention. Some stoic asshole, who seemed to be part cowboy and part cyborg. Fuuko grit her teeth, but her attention couldn't hold on him. The overwhelming scent of the woman all but forced Fuuko to stare at her. She seemed ... intriguing to say the least. When they focused on the shinigami... and then Yuu, Fuuko's eyes lit up. She looked at Yuu and took a step towards him defensively. Her scowl didn't leave, even as, no especially as the woman assured they only they could see the shinigami and that they  were here to help. 

Kimiko's guess about the woman was spot on and Yuu's confirmation made Fuuko make her decision immediately. "Fuck this." She growled. "Sensei, listen to whatever you want to from them, but I'm callin for a senkaimon.This shit doesn't sit well with me one bit. Not to mention, I think we're all  runnin on fumes if they decide they wanna fuck us up." Fuuko admitted as she reached for her soul phone. She then turned and looked at Yuu as she dialed the number. "Listen to me, Yuu." She said, staring him in the eyes. "Here's the moment of your whole life. It's your  choice, but I got a bad feelin about this." She said, trying to brace him for some truths. 

"You can go with them and accept the help. I think the best  outcome is that they take a chunk out of your head, or put you in some kind of brainwashing box, wipe your memory and you're back to being the hapless, yet dutiful whimpering baby of a man we found earlier. Whatever life you had, maybe you get to go back to and maybe you don't have to remember any of this except those occasional nights you wake up in a cold sweat, a passin nightmare before ya fall back asleep." Fuuko explained grimly. "Or, probably more likely, they know what you are and they give you a "choice" to comply and become part of whatever this shit is." Fuuko said, motioning to the city. "If yer lucky not to be one of their experiments, then I bet  you become one of their weapons. Buf if you really wanna be one of their disease zombies..." 

Fuuko heard the beeps of her phone. "Extraction." She said and gave the coordinates. "One captain Class and, one seated officer and..." Fuuko put the phone on mute. "Or, you can come with us. We can keep you safe. Maybe it will fuck you up, who knows? But, you'll at least know two people and I'll do the best I can to help you in any way I can. Things might be fuckin tough goin forward, but, at least you'll know you've made the decision of yer own free will and, if you come out the other side, maybe you'll even be strong enough to protect yourself and the people you care about." Fuuko added. 

Her phone was muted, but on the other side of it was a voice, requesting to confirm her extraction. She just looked at Yuu. "So, what will it be, Hayasaka Yuu? You've got maybe thirty seconds before they stop asking and just open up the extraction point."  

______________________________________


Reiatsu: 675/3400 - Blood Bank: 000 - | Sealed Tachi


Blood Collection -

SPOILER: Click to show

Stats:



Reiatsu: 3400



[[Strength - 400 Points (600) +50%

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 272 Points (340) +25%

Reiatsu Strength - 45 Points (31) -30%

Light Aura - 95 Points

Dark Aura - 05 Points

Instinct- 75 Points

Senses- 68 Points (51) -25%

Energy sensory - 40 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points



Total: 1200/1200 SP]



Current Skills 15/15

• [Battle Focus] {1}

• [Pain Tolerance] {2}

• [Lack of Fear] {2}

• [Zanjutsu] {1}

• [Strength of Will] {2}

• [Damage Recovery] {2}

• [Bleeding Tolerance] {2}

• [Anti-Stealth] {1}

• Blood Scent {2}