Field Trip Time! [R, NDE, Med]

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

OOC: Ren's getting scrapped and Kisune isn't interested in this thread, so they will get Plot magicked away, and Iwa and Maresuke stumble upon Taien, and can be persuaded to stay and help, or they can do their own thing for their own reasons. Either way, Taien does meet Iwa and Mare at least once.

[Iwamichi Saeke]

The sun beamed down upon the pair of wanderers. Their travels had taken them to many foreign and distant lands, but none quite like this place. Karakura Town. A hot spot for reiatsu and other-worldly activity apparently. Iwa had briefly heard about this town, but she hadn't seen it for herself. Yet. Maresuke walked silently beside her, with which she herself also made no sound. They probably wouldn't until they reached their destination. They both were ponderers, thinkers of individual and private thoughts. One would think they weren't companions or maybe even acquaintances, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. It was about midday by the time they arrived, so the city was as bustling and busy as ever. They weren't worried about people seeing them, but it was a bother to have so many people around. After a while, the noise builds up and one can't take it any more.

Iwa found a large plaza and decided to sit upon the edge of the fountain at its center. here, she could watch a plethora of people come and go and perform their many quirks. Finally, she turned to Maresuke. "Do you have any ideas what we should do today? Let's find something to do so we don't get bored. This is Karakura Town though, so I'm sure we will find something. The question is, where should we look? She was still speaking when a large cry echoed somewhere off in the distance. It was a cry of pain, followed by shouts of alarm and maybe anger. She raised her head, as if she could follow the ripples of noise to its source. The people remained undisturbed. It was loud enough for the whole plaza to hear, yet no one made any inclination that the sound had ever happened. She made a glance toward Maresuke and waited for him to either speak (which was rare and never really happened, so it was more like waiting for him to write out his thoughts). If one of them didn't feel like going, then none of them would go.

She had felt a sudden pang of curiosity. What had made the sound? It was obviously the sound of death-gruesome, sudden, and heart-wrenching. She got up from her seat, running her fingers over the hilt of her katana. Unfortunately, she couldn't sense if it was by any Hollow activity, but Maresuke might be able to. A couple of kids ran past her in blissful ignorance. She turned away from them before she started to feel nauseated. Beginning to walk in the direction of the sound, she had to put aside a rising fling of excitement. Such a hindrance needed to be dealt with quickly. "So, you know what we've got here?" It was a simple question, one she hoped he'd be able to answer. Another low gurgle or grunt was suddenly heard. They both looked up, for it seemed to come from above them. Iwa couldn't exactly trace it since her senses and energy sensory weren't that good. However, the hair on the back of her neck visibly started to stand upright. She could feel SOMETHING.

"It must be close by." That was her only words as she sped off again, with Maresuke running behind. They would find this skirmish or whatever it was: so they wouldn't be bored. Well, maybe it was also because she wanted something to fight, but boredom was probably a better excuse to give to Maresuke, if he ever asked for one. People flew by Iwa's field of vision, some carrying basket-fulls of bread or fruit, some shouting at street vendors to haggle their prices, some trying to run off with unpurchased goods down their shirts, and some flirting with those of the opposite sex successfully, or more commonly, pitifully. She didn't have the time to observe these people. There was something more interesting being carried on the wind. The sounds had lulled to a whisper or stopped altogether. It wasn't helping them locate it at all. Iwa trudeged on blidnly still, with Mresuke loyally prodding behind. Neither of them knew where they were going-whether they had passed their destination or not. It was frustrating: another emotion Iwa needed to suppress.

Every alleyway they turned down seemed to be a dead end. or just another place to remind them of where they had just come from. A couple of times, Iwa thought to jump onto a building and look from up above, but then she wouldn't be able to see every little detail that was happening on the ground. Her habit of always observing people was probably getting in the way of their investigation. She wasn't hearing any complaints from Maresuke, however, so she sped right along. Somehow, they managed to find themselves back at the same plaza they had left moments ago. Frustration was becoming a real problem now. She quickly sat a the foot of the fountain again, this time with eyes closed and legs crossed to reach a feeling of zen. Iwa hadn't done this in a while, but it was effective nonetheless. Maresuke was probably doing his own thing, but if he was watching her, she didn't really care. She would resume the search when she was ready.

Who knows how much time clicked by, but eventually, Maresuke nudged her shoulder to get her to continue. Standing up, she stretched her legs and cracked her knuckles. Nodding in satisfaction, she calmly walked away from the fountain. They had to make some sort of plan or else they would be going in circles the rest of the day. In the end, it was probably better to look form above. "I'm going to take a look from the top of that building. You can follow me or look over there." She waited for him to make his reply, then headed up the wall of the building. As she thought, it was much better this way. She shaded her eyes from the sun with the back of her hand and took a look. From there, a good portion of the city was now visible. But the sounds had not come from anywhere on the ground. As she scanned her environment, she saw a figure standing on a rooftop not far away from here she had positioned herself. She cracked her knuckles furiously and bit her lip. What an idiot for wasting all that time. She made a motion toward Maresuke to follow and skipped along the rooftops until she had rested near the apparition. They silently watched the figure until it finally turned around to address them.

[Taien Hadohou]

Eh? Taien blinked. Why did he think Ren-San and Kisune-San were here with him? Clearly he had been alone from the start! Did he hit his head or something, or was the smell of the Dangai messing with his head? Clearly he had been the only one here on this rooftop when the tragedy occured. Clearly no one else had witnessed it. Clearly. Random possible delusions aside, what was he going to do with this guy? Taien flicked the metal naginata out to the side, and caused it to retract back into a ball. He pocketed it again, and went over to the corpse. Gah, that was one strong pierce. His face was split wide open, there was blood all over the place! His robes seemed clean though.

Taien began to search the body. It might seem disrespectful, and a bit suspicious, but Taien had a reason for doing so. He was looking for a few things, though one of them was the most important. A symbol of identification. Since he was a Seated Officer, he probably had a badge somewhere. This was for later. He couldn't well bring the body back with him, however much he might have wanted, and he couldn't leave it out here. A Hollow might eat it or something, and that was horrible. It would disrespect the man he barely knew.

Taien was also looking for anything that might help him out in stoping the invasion. Money, items, supplies, anything like that would be wonderful at this point. He was pretty sure he'd find a badge or something, but he wasn't so sure about the other things. After Taien had found whatever he needed, he placed it behind him in a pile, neatly sorted of course. When Taien was done searching everywhere he could think of for some item or some such to be, he got up and moved to his side. There was one item left. . . Hopefully it would let him use it.

Taien gingerly coaxed the Zanpakuto of the fallen Shinigami from it's place at his side. He didn't really get a good look at it before, but now he could see it. In any case, he had something to ask of it.

"I don't know if you understand me, or will accept me. However, I beseech you for your aid. I need all the help I can get to stop this invasion from happening, and to avenge Fijo-San. Please, lend me your power, and let me aid you as well. To prevent the loss of more life."

It seemed odd, talking to a sword. Zanpakuto were alive though, their own beings, seperate from their wielders. What was this one feeling then, now that it's wielder was dead? Well, either way, Taien grasped the handle. He got a good grip on it, and attempted to pull it out. If it accepted his help, he would probably be able to use it to slay Hollows with. If he didn't, he could just do what he originally intended to do and give it back to Division Thirteen, along with Fijo's badge and the like. It would be really helpful if he had it, a Convert-A-Weapon probably wouldn't be enough.

Either way, Taien got up and moved whatever he had found to appropriate places on his person. He had also appropriated the deceased Seated Officer's Shinakusho. The more he could bring back, the better. It also afforded him more storage space for items and the like. Taien placed his palm over Fijo's chest and cast a spell. Or rather, he cast a fused spell. He had fused Sokkatsui with Tzuri Raiden, essentially creating a ball of fire for him to manipulate. Taien controlled the flames, causing them to engulf the entirety of Fijo's body. The intensity of the fire burnt his body to ash in a few moments, leaving only a pile of ash in it's place. Taien brought out his Convert-A-Weapon once more, and had it turn into a hinged jar. Taien scooped the ash into the jar, getting as much of it in as possible. The jar snapped shut, and Taien put it away, shrinking it to be able to do so.

He was not going to leave someone behind if he could. He had taken as much of Fijo-San with him, and hopefully this would be enough for a grave or something when he got back.

The deed done, Taien got up and looked around. Now. . . What to do about that invasion. . . As he was looking around, he spotted someone. That someone was, as far as he could tell, looking right at him.

"Hey! You can see me right? Would you mind coming over here? I have a question to ask of you!"

Remaining Reiatsu: 2875/3000 (-125 for combined Sokkatsui and Tzuri Raiden)

[Iwamichi Saeke]

The man was lost in his own little world for some time - until he finally saw Iwa and Maresuke. He had just burned a body and placed its ashes into a convenient jar that he unfolded from somewhere. Yet, he didn't hesitate to call out to the two who had just witnessed this. If he had just been guilty of murder, he probably would want to get rid of the witnesses, right? Then, it all could be an act to catch Iwa and Mare off guard. It was also possible that he just didn't care what he had just done, or he was completely innocent. Either way, she was still curious as to what happened here. She looked toward Maresuke briefly, then stepped forward to hear his story. He looked calm and composed. So maybe she wouldn't have to deal with some hypersensitive, emotional, annoying shinigami that couldn't hold his own pants up. She hated those kinds of people the most.

Basically, Hollows were gathering in this area and planning an attack on the Soul Society while the gate was still open. She wasn't sure how many Hollows were already here, but it was obvious that they all would eventually be defeated. They might succeed in taking out the useless Shinigami, but there was definitely too many powerful Shini for them to completely overcome. Iwa would never have tried a full front assault like this. It was asking for death and bitter defeat. She would not accept defeat - not ever. The man in front of them had just asked for their assistance. Sighing, she cracked her neck, swaying it back and forth. There was a long pause between all three. She wasn't sure about what Maresuke was thinking, but knowing him, he wouldn't be quick to come to the Soul Society's side. Of course, Iwa wouldn't help them so easily either. There had to be something in it for the both of them.

She studied the man, his facial expression and his appearance. There was a slight pleading look in his eyes, but he was not desperate. He looked pretty strong: enough to defeat a majority of the Hollows on his own. He didn't have to ask them for their help. He also should have realized by now that they were rogues, outcasts, even fugitives. If he hadn't, then she was grossly overestimating him. Maresuke was busy writing something at this point. Iwa had been silent in consideration of her companion. His thoughts still remained a mystery to her. Looking back at the Shinigami, she continued to contemplate an answer in her mind. The man was pretty persuasive, she gave him that much, but he couldn't convince her to help him for free. Maybe if she and Mare helped this person, they could get some sort of reprieve from the Soul Society, still breathing down their necks. basically, it was a bargain. Help for a pardon. She doubted that they could get a full pardon, but it was worth the chance. It would certainly help Mare if they could get that kind of a deal.

A roar was heard in the distance, probably from a Hollow. The air was somehow tingling with new energy. She closed her eyes and gave it one last thought. This could be a great opportunity - for all three of them. Iwa and Mare could get more training and battle experience and the other man could get honor for saving his fellow Shinigami. She assumed that that was what he was after. Quickly, she read over the words that Maresuke had written to her on his pad of paper. She whispered her thoughts to him; everything was decided. Turning back toward the Shinigami, she started, "We have decided to lend you our assistance. However, we do desire a price for this service. We can discuss that later. It would be best to come up with a plan before taking action, no? Do you know how many Hollow are in the vicinity?" It wasn't much, but at least it got them all on the same page. The real battle started now; she could feel an adrenaline start to swell. She was going to become stronger, with every passing battle. She ravished this idea, for it was one of the few things that could actually make her feel some emotion. Clutching her katana, she waited for the reply.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

OOC: This post is just a quick one. You guys keep interacting while things build. I'd like Maresuke to post at least once before we really get things moving if he is to actually be in this thread.

Taien rummaged through the still warm corpse quickly, gathering up his belongings. Besides the Zanpakutou and the Shihakusho, he found the identification badge of the officer, as well as a card that would serve as help through the Senkaimon. Instead of taking the trip back through the Dangai, instead they'd be able to take the quick route through the Senkaimon, just as soon as it opened that is. Upon trying to talk to the Zanpakutou, Taien got no response. The blade would not respond to him, nor reciprocate any interchange of reiatsu in an attempt to get communication started. The sword was quite literally dead. While Taien and Iwamichi talked, an eerie fog started to roll into town. With any sort of Energy Sensory, the three figures on the rooftop would be able to sense that the fog was laden with reiatsu. On the breeze carried the sound of a tribal drumbeat.

: 1/1