To Catch a Potatoe Thief

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Iwamichi rode across the chasm of her own power, and Itou decided to ignore the bridge in front of him, which could have meant his salvation, and rather face the moles that outclassed him in possibly every way. Even though the rogue had flung a large wave of earth from the ceiling into them, they just barreled through it and kept going, quickly and scarily advancing on the Academy student. Just when the Rogue thought that she was safe from the moles, that she had gotten away, she would feel incredibly sick. Out of the corner of her eye, she would see it. A man, if you could call it a man, wearing a suit, just sitting in the shadows of the ledge that she was going towards. Though he looked human, his face was nothing like it, being the face of a star nosed mole.

His gravitational pressure would drive both Iwamichi and Itou to their knees, being flattened by the force. Both of them would feel their insides start to ache, as if their organs could explode at any moment. Moving so fast that she was unable to see when or if he left, and appearing behind her on her own platform, the Mole Man just watched her with the black eye that grew out of the center of his mouth. He kicked the earth, and it crumbled like bread, sending her toppling into the pit. Itou was overwhelmed by the moles, them charging into him and sending him flying. He too fell into the pit, hurtling down with no way of stopping. With the pressure of the air preventing standing or stopping on air, and neither of them having any saving kidou that could be used, all hope appeared lost.

Meanwhile, Aramis was talking with Kyomei. The anger that had fueled the words of the shade had slowly passed, returning him to the normal way of speaking, except his words no longer were in long pauses. He seemed to be growing more energetic, as if he had been waking up from a long slumber. "No... This is not my inner world... This is a prison, a prison for the castaways. It is true that I brought you here, through my own power, but it was a mistake... I was aiming for the Kuchiki. No matter, Enkuroja is here." The pile of potatoes began to shift, and swirl as if caught in the vortex of a whirlpool. The throne that the shadow had once sat on was sucked downwards, revealing a perfectly circular pit. Inside the pit, a dark puddle stirred...

Iwamichi and Itou had been falling for what seemed like minutes before they saw light. If they twisted their bodies to look at it, what they would see would horrify them. They were rapidly approaching an exit to the pit, and beyond it seemed to be a three mile fall into a cavern that was occupied solely by a lake of fire. Not just lava, or flames, but fire that twisted like the flares of the sun, settled like liquid, and shot upwards like geysers. There seemed to be no hope, and crying out to any god or anything would not save them. They were going to die, and the only companion to share in their death and witness the event was someone that they had already decided that they hated. If they tried to speak, they would find that they could hear each other clearly, and in the last few minutes of their life, they could make up and be friends into the end of days.

They'd have a moment to talk, if they could get over their stubborn hate of each other, before they hit the end of the pit. It was a perfectly circular exit, and upon hitting it they would feel as though their entire body was submerged in a liquid. This liquid was as thick as molasses, but they could easily breathe in it and would float effortlessly in it. Attempts to swim in the thick soup would prove fruitless, and they would be stuck at the mercy of the current. Looking away from the soup would show millions of stars along with many other floating things, especially thousands upon thousands of potatoes, all in a clump alongside a gilded throne. A light appeared in the mess of soup, and when they hit it, they were thrust out of the soup, only to find themselves standing in a large cavern, with Aramis standing at one edge. Beside him was a dark figure that neither of them would recognize.

They may be puzzled at this change in scenery, and Aramis may be puzzled as an Academy Student and a Bakkoto wielding Rogue did not a Zanpakutou Spirit make. The surface of the dark liquid started to bubble, but nothing yet came out. "Ah... I guess he decided to let out some other prisoners instead of show himself. But don't you worry, he will come..." The shadows that had been dancing along the walls started to shiver again, and the room started to feel smaller. In just a few moments, the walls that had been unable to be seen on the far side of the cavern had shrunk inwards, resulting in a much smaller cavern. The bubbling pit was at the center, and the dome like cavern had quite a few tunnels with nice round entrances.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Mole Man}

Look at this scary, not-at-all-photoshopped, picture of the fearsome Mole Man that you are up against.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Picture}

Class 1 Soul Specialist Version 1

Strength - 400 (1200) Points

Speed - 400 (1200) Points

Spiritual Pressure - 0 - But Immune

Reiatsu Strength - 300

Light Aura - 0 Points

Dark Aura - 100 Points

Instinct - 200 (400) Points

Senses - 200 Points

Energy sensory - 100 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points


Total SP: 1600 Points

OOC: Iwa and Itou have been restored by the trip they took. Meaning, full reiatsu, no fatigue, and no wounds.

[Iwamichi Saeke]

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Nothing was more evident to Iwa than the situation she was in right now. Just when she thought she had escaped a brutal battle, escaped death, escaped an incomprehensible, inconceivable world, the world came back to slap her in the face. A grotesque creature had appeared before her-silent, ugly, menacing. It was both man and mole. A hideous offspring of earth and darkness. And there was nothing she could do to this monstrosity. She fell to her knees, under the weight of an enormous spiritual pressure. It clogged her throat and suffocated her. It laughed at her for being weak. With eyes glowing red, she felt herself fall away from the being and into a pit. The pit was wide and deep. It took another in its grasp. The boy she had encountered earlier was present as well. They fell together into defeat and nothingness.

The darkness did not last forever. Minutes later, light shone upon them, but it was not the light of hope. She always thought it was ironic when light was the source of death and destruction-fire. Iwa caught a glimpse of it as her body twisted slightly to watch their descent. Flames leaped around them and spread for as far as the eye could see. Her plans of escape became bitter ashes, mere dust by the dance of the flames. Her body screamed that this was the end. She had grown up with this one idea: Hell was a place of lament, of torture, and of fire. So this was Hell? But what had she really done wrong except look after herself? Was helping yourself a crime? Her body continued falling. It hurt to fall. You don't realize it, but there is a tremendous force (a weight you could say) on you while you fall. Continuously falling with that weight strains every part of your body until you can't move, even if you wanted to. Your mind is reeling from the blur of scenery as you pass. Your eyes can a lot, but that doesn't mean that they should. For one, your brain simply can't process it all.

Aching physically and mentally, Iwa fell silently along with the Shinigami boy. With all this time, she could speak if she wanted. She wasn't usually one to start speaking, however. And it hurt to open her mouth. It hurt to fall. Maybe he would say something, but it was probably nothing of value anyway. She had already decided that he was annoying and so far, useless. it was a shame that she would have to die alongside him. Not that she would want to die next to anyone in particular, just that dying beside someone you hated left a bitter taste in your mouth. Falling really was a boring endeavor. It hurt to fall. She decided that if he spoke, she would do her best to make a short reply, to give her something to do and cure her boredom. What else can one do while one is waiting to die? It's a tough question. Conversation would at least be some respite, even if it ended in more bitterness and frustration. The flames kept circling them, trapping them.

And just like that, their fate turned. Fate is a wheel, constantly turning. That became evident to Iwa now. She had given up, but her end had not come. at some point, her body fell through another hole, if that is what it could be called. She wasn't sure if holes were always that perfectly circular. It was probably a hole, but it felt like she was being pushed through a giant gelatinous liquid. It didn't feel like water and it was black like sludge. She was still pretty grateful for the break in plummeting through a sea of fire. The liquid was thick, but it did not stop them from breathing and moving. They were, somehow, still alive. It reminded her of the time her soul had wandered through a seemingly endless and pointless state between consciousness and death. that was before the Soul Society, before her escape, and before her life on the run. It is amazing how many memories come back to you when you're just floating, being carried by a current in a lack of speech and animation. This is what humans must have meant by "seeing your life flash before your eyes".

Her memories became jumbled in a mix of stars and lights and....potatoes. Well, just great, she had really gone crazy in the end. She squinted in an attempt to see something else besides potatoes. But they were still there, kind of mocking her. They told her, "You are our enemy, and we have vanquished you. You thought you could run, but you could not. Could you not understand? We are all. The meaning and the reason, the beginning and the end, the question and the answer. And who were you? A trespasser. A skeptic. Do you now see, or do you remain blind? We are not blind, and we see all." Finally, she closed her eyes. She couldn't take seeing those spuds anymore. Again and again they repeated their scoffing. Her hands clasped over her ears in frustration. She would be content to be alone with her thoughts and memories. The potatoes could still see her, however. She felt sick.

The current carried them for who knows how long. Either way, she was both dazzled and confused when she was ejected from the pool into a real, physical location. Iwa emerged, gasping for breath. Her eyes started to adjust to the new surroundings and a brief respite from being previously overworked. The location looked all too familiar. A damp and dingy cave still surrounded them. Their environment was as uninteresting as ever, however, there were two new figures hovering over them in the dark. One was noticeably a Shinigami, but the other was unrecognizable. He was shrouded in as much darkness as he was in mystery. An intriguing development it was. She studied both of them closely, gauging their strength and hopefully, their thoughts. Trying to regain her composure, she stood up nonchalantly. The dark figure started to speak.

He spoke of another... Another hindrance certainly, if things started to go bad. No, they were already pretty bad. There was no guarantee that these people would be very hospitable. She inspected her surroundings once more. The cavern seemed to be getting smaller, or her sight was simply getting better since she could see walls in the back of the cave that had appeared invisible before. Black circles lined the walls, and that intrigued her... She remained silent for a while, but curiosity compelled her. "May I ask where I am? Or are "prisoners" not given any courtesies? The black figure was obviously in charge; it was best not to anger that one. The other was of no importance as of now. Unless he too wanted to oppose her. In the end, there would probably be a fight. She wasn't going to stand by quietly and let herself be a prisoner. She would break free, survive. She kept close watch of her foes, as well as that other Shinigami that had fallen with her. So far, anything could happen.

[Itou Kasui]

(OOC: I apologize for this sub par post.)

They were rushing at him. Itou was wondering if maybe he should ditch fighting these guys and flee again. But that was... such a blow to his pride. First he flees from little moles that he could’ve killed easily but run from these guys? Maybe no one would know about it, at least he hoped he wouldn’t. But now here was the problem, these moles could see. Itou was shaking, his knees were shaking but he tried to keep a strong stance. I-I can do this. I’m a fighter. A warrior. A shinigami. With that Itou braced himself for the mole to come and attack him but then something happened.

Suddenly he felt a huge weight crushing him. He felt like someone was trying to force his insides out of his body by squishing them into liquid. Suddenly the moles came at him, knocking him away and then he was... falling down a pit. He was actually falling, he couldn’t tell what he was doing, he couldn’t see. He couldn’t move, he was... helpless. Was he really going to die here? All he wanted to do was get some real life experience being a Shinigami. Why was he going to die like this? Dying before his military career could even begin.

Itou hadn’t noticed the mole man. He had been too distracted with the other moles that had been attacking him. Then all he saw was lava, boiling hot lava, he couldn’t feel it but he could see it. Oh fuck. Am I in hell? For all the crimes I’ve committed? Is this what hell feels like? Is this where I’ll spend the rest of eternity? Falling into an everlasting pit of flames? Never to see sunlight again? However his questions were answered when he fell into the end of the pit with a huge splash. He didn’t see it clearly. He looked down and saw that Zetsumi Senzai was fine and so was his sheath. The shinigami felt the liquid feel but he managed to reach over and grab his sheath and sword. I promise I won’t ever let you out of my sight again...

He felt so weird, as if he was submerged in liquid, it was as if he was swimming but he could float so easily. He tried to swim, kick with his legs but nothing happened. He was purely at the mercy of the current. His hair was wet, half naked in that thing, man this was the weirdest situation to be in. He looked around and saw... potatoes; so many of them, all clumped together. What?! And it was a... throne. Itou decided to forget about that girl who he had bumped into, they just weren’t speaking to each other it seemed. And then a light appeared.

He was thrust right out of the potato soup. He was so confused, he was being thrown all over the place. Now he was in some sort of cavern. He looked around and saw that blue haired girl was still with them. He then saw Aramis was there. Itou spat out some potato soup so it came out of his mouth like a small fountain. He raised his left hand. “H-hey. A-Aramis!” He calls out as he coughs and sputters a bit more. "Ah... I guess he decided to let out some other prisoners instead of show himself. But don't you worry, he will come..." Itou then looked at the guy who said that and scowled. “Fuck you. Where are we? We just want to know what happened to all the damned potatos. Is that seriously too much to ask?

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength - 250 (375)Points

Speed - 250 (375)Points

Spiritual Pressure - 150 (110)Points

Reiatsu Strength - 200 Points

Light Aura - 20 Points

Dark Aura - 80 Points

Instinct - 100 Points

Senses 100 Points

Energy sensory - 50 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points


Total SP: 1100 Points



Swords 2

Two handed fighting 2

Strength of will 2

Battle analysis 2

Hakuda 2

Pain Tolerance 1

Itou is class 4 with shikai

[Aramis Tezuka]

How annoying. More people had arrived. That meant they were going to ask their own useless questions, like where they were. Or what happened to the potatoes. Questions Aramis had already covered. Useless questions. Aramis had many other questions that were more important, even if they were shinigami. They were also Academy students, which meant that by order of ranking, Aramis had the floor. Numbers would be an advantage though, if things turned violent. This character seemed unstable at the very least.

Oh, but there they went already. Asking those silly questions. "Where am I?" Aramis looked at them, with a gaze that seemed to sigh for him. "If you are here, we must be headed toward the climax." He said. "I may ask you to avert your gaze." No explanation or anything. However, the being here was clearly, extremely powerful. At least compared to their relative level. Aramis observed "Kyomei" again. "How soon, may we expect to see him?"

There was a strange feeling as Aramis awaited the arrival of Kyomei's zanpakuto. He could feel his power slowly increasing. A feeling of violence and fury clutched him tightly for a moment. It did not register on the Nakabakki's face, however. Aramis had felt such urges before. It was a sign of power. It was not just a feeling. He was becoming stronger, just by standing here. That surge of darkness, his demonic heritage trying to abuse it almost immediately. It was unmistakable for Aramis. How odd. Another phenomenon he would have to inspect. Indeed, Kyomei Kuchiki would have to be examined, following this adventure.

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength: 100 (70)
Speed: 200 (140)
Reiatsu Strength: 170
Spirit Pressure: 100
Light Aura: 100
Dark Aura: 0
Senses: 70 (105)
Instinct: 120 (180)
Energy Sensory: 70 (105)
Healing Expertise: 0
Total: 830

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

OOC: Boss Battle! Posting order is still wibbly wobbly, meaning anyone can post.

Itou and Iwamichi both showed up and started to ask a bunch of questions. The Shade glanced over at Aramis, with a "can you believe these guys" look, and he refused to answer any questions that the newcomers asked. He felt no attachment to them, as the real Kyomei had never met them, so he ignored them and turned once again to the Nakkabakki. He whispered so softly that only Aramis could hear. "Enkuroja brought them here for a reason... I don't know what it is, ever since he stopped talking inside my head..." The bubbling pit in the middle started to glow red, and the dome ceiling started to drip water over just the pit. The cheshire smile once again appeared on the Shadow's face, and he cried out with a loud voice. "HEEEEE'S HEEEERRRREEE!"

A shower of water exploded, leaving the new entrant standing high above the rest. Standing at easily twenty feet tall, and occupying half of the center of the room, the dark spirit gazed at the three occupants of the room with a blank, emotionless face. Enkuroja was a tall, blue man with no clothes, but no genitals either. He had large black wings that looked like they were solid metal, and had no feathers. Floating around his body were four solid steel rings, two that were five feet in diameter, two that were ten feet in diameter. Out of his shoulders emerged two sets of purple hands that looked like a cross between claws and tentacles. He was a very intimidating figure, especially with his size. "This is my prison... and you are intruders... You will be terminated."

No emotion. There was no emotion present even though the spirit had given a death sentence to three shinigami carelessly. And this had been a Zanpakutou Spirit? No, this had been a tormentor. And right now, the former shade that had been Kyomei Mitsukaru was still plagued by the jailer. The shadow sped up over to the face of Enkuroja and started to gesticulate wildly. He repeatedly pointed at Aramis, but the giant would have none of it. Swatting away Kyomei like an abusive master of a puppy, the giant spoke once more, in a loud booming voice. "You may all choose to run, or you may stay here and die. Your choice. I don't recommend staying." With a booming, and suspicious, laugh, Enkuroja waited to see what the three 'intruders' would do.

SPOILER: Click to show

{ Boss Stats}

Kyomei -> Class 4 Clown Type Rank 1



Strength - [100] Points

Speed - [100] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [200] (250) Points

Reiatsu Strength - [200] (250) Points

Light Aura - [70] Points

Dark Aura - [30] Points

Instinct - [100] (75) Points

Senses [100] (75) Points

Energy sensory - [0] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [800] Points


Kyomei knows many Kidou, has mastered all of the ones that he knows. He also knows all Shinigami step techniques.

Enkuroja -> Class 4 Genius Rank 1


Strength - [100] (50) Points

Speed - [200] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [200] (300) Points

Reiatsu Strength - [200] (300) Points

Light Aura - [0] Points

Dark Aura - [100] Points

Instinct - [100] Points

Senses [100] Points

Energy sensory - [100] (200) Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [1000] Points

Enkuroja's powers will be revealed as they come up

SPOILER: Click to show

{Enkuroja}

[Iwamichi Saeke]

Iwa thought she had asked pretty politely about what was going on, but it was apparently too politely. Neither her nor the other shinigami's questions were answered. She hated being ignored. Did they think she was weak? Oh, they would pay for that. The dark shade and the spirit that had just emerged from the ceiling had suddenly turned on them for the worse. The spirit's form was revolting and probably terrifying to most others. However, she was better at quenching any fear or doubts inside of her. Right now, things were going to get ugly. Looking around the room, she scanned each person (or thing). The shinigami were not the real threat or enemies to be concerned about as of yet. It seemed that neither of them had yet realized she was a rogue. She would need to play with that for the time being. It was possible to take them all on, but it wasn't the best option. If they all worked together, they could defeat the spirit that so rudely threatened them for "trespassing" (she still believed all this was their fault since she was transported/kidnapped against her will in the first place). Once the two biggest threats were gone, she could escape with a surprise assault to each of them from behind...something to that effect. Or for her help, she could bargain her way out of the situation once everything was over.

She started to brainstorm some strategy. She noted that right now it was best to conserve her release for when it was extremely necessary. For one, the two shinigami would probably be abl to tell her real identity if she released and could possibly turn against her, complicating things. Two: she needed to figure out if any of her attacks would be effective against them so she wouldn't waste the energy. Now was the time to put her analyzing skills to the test. She focused her attention mainly to the floating figure above their heads. By his previous actions, it was clear that he was the master here. That meant that the other one did not have the power or skill to overcome this one and so, he was the bigger threat. Of course, she would have to keep an eye on both of them.

The spirit was massive and exuded much force. He took up half the room, so there wasn't much space to run where he could not see. Well, she had already ruled out running as an option, but that reinforced her decision. At one end of the room was the shadow creature and at the other, the huge spirit. In this situation, the enemy would gain the advantage swiftly in a pincer-like movement. Defending against two attacks from the front and behind, especially when the three targets are in no way comrades with sentiments to help each other, would be difficult. The three of them were going to have to act first and divert their attacker's attention to just one or two individuals. The spirit would definitely be tougher. Its powers were still largely unknown. She studied it again. Its wings were large but not made of any feathers. They didn't seem to be able to be cut by her simple katana or the shinigami's sealed zanpakuto. What was the most interesting, however, were the metal rings floating around its body.

Loosely judging the size, she thought that two were five feet long and another two were ten feet. The rings closely resembled those circles that encompassed the room surroundig them. That was probably chosen for a reason-the question was, was that just a design choice or was it significant? The creature continued to flap around in spasms and smile wickedly. She could tell it was not a creature one could reason with. It wanted death, plain and simple. It would be swift and ruthless if given the chance. She did wonder, however, why it didn't kill them earlier; it certainly had a chance. No, it brought them here, to this room. That made this room and its details even more significant. What was the reason they were brought here? Yes, to die, but why not somewhere else? The circles. They were the answer every time she thought about it. The circles in the room, the circles around its body, and the circle they passed through before they came here. They were all connected in a loop, like circles are. Now that she had realized their importance, she had to figure out what he used them for.

She decided that her time for thinking was now over. It was time for action. Which one should she go for first? David or goliath so to speak? She remembered the other shinigami and scanned each of them. The one she fell with looked like he was about to deficate his pants. It was amusing. But that didn't give her any confidence in his ability to execute a plan. The other one looked calm and collected. He reminded her of herself. And he was obviously the stronger one; she could feel it. But that meant that he would likely be the one to hand out orders. Already that ticked her off. She was not going to be told what to do. Unless she agreed that it was a plan worth undertaking. Even if that were to happen, she would work begrudgingly.

Unsheathing her katana, she finally got into a battle position. "Well, if you two aren't cowards, why don't one of you take the sinowy one behind us while me and the other take this giant. Unless of course that is too much to handle? I mean, if you can't or won't fight just say so now. I won't fight alongside weaklings." Her face was an emotionless mask, but she wondered if the shinigami would show his own feelings. He could take it as an insult if he wanted. But it was a valid question. It was no use relying on them if they couldn't be of any help. She stood poised to dodge or to strike, whichever was necessary first. No matter how much she would try to deny it, she felt a surge of anticipation, excitement maybe, for this battle. Her instinct drove her to become stronger. And this kind of enemy would certainly help increase her potential. She cracked her knuckles once and held her position. It was all about to start.

[Aramis Tezuka]

There he was. At last. It was a massive being indeed. He stood nearly four times the height of anyone in the room. Of course, Aramis was unconcerned. Whispers of his power crept into his head. The voice was... different though. Lighter. It reminded him of his mother. What a strange person to think of. Aramis reached to his side and drew his zanpakuto from its sheath. A fine rapier with a dull iron blade. Not the most impressive sword to behold. It did not gleam as some katana, but in many respects reflected its wielder. Simplistic, to the point, and a little different from the others. Aramis did not hold the sword aggressively, but kept it on stand-by, regardless.

Aramis took in all the details of Enkuroja. The Rings, the feathers, the tentacles, the claws. He did not comment, merely adjusted his glasses with his free hand. "Enkuroja." He stated with a tone that was.... surprisingly light. His eyes held a mysterious spark within them. But what it was couldn't be determined. It almost looked like amusement but there was an undeniable taint of malice. "....Are you afraid of the dark?" He asked it.

Then his gaze hardened and his mouth tightened. He didn't care about the Zanpakuto's abuse of Kyomei. It was irrelevant, their relationship now. What was also irrelevant was the prattling pouring from the mouth of that shinigami girl. "Do as you wish. But. When I tell you to look away. Do so. Or you will die." Aramis said sternly. A pause presented itself. "Just kidding." He stated, his strange and bizarre sense of humor presenting itself. "But the wise man knows not to look into the eclipse." He added, as if presenting a taint of warning to his words.

"No more questions now. The exam has begun." He remarked, knowing that battle seemed imminent.

[Itou Kasui]

(OOC: I apologies again for this sub-par post.)

This thing, what was this thing? It just burst out of the water, who the hell was this guy? The water rose up, he was blue and wearing no clothes. However Itou Kasui was not uncomfortable with the nudity, after all he was an academy student, not a trained shinigami but he knew during his career there would be uncomfortable or awkward moments in his life. And this was one of them. The big blue man was so abnormally tall, definitely not human. Itou scowled and drew his katana from his sheath, dual wielding his katana and sheath. Oh so you cannot kill some petty moles but you are going to fight this guy, humph, some shinigami you are.

Itou tried his best to ignore Tanran. But his words just seemed to provoke Itou so much. Who knew what was going on with Zetsumi Senzai while he was fighting. He would probably need to release, here was that stupid girl he bumped into and Aramis. And he didn’t trust either of them. ”I’m willing to work with you just this one time so we can both survive this.” He said. His voice carrying no emotion but a shaky hint of fear but excitement.

Maybe I should release her. I can’t fight this big thing with only a zanpakuto and sheath, I’m not that strong. But with my release I should to be able to combat it both close and long range. Itou then sighed, it would seem he would have to use it. He calmed his breathing down. He raised his katana and recited his release. ”Now grow, Zetsumei Senzei!” He said, his voice was icy but loud, clearly demanding attention. His zanpakuto glowed green and the blade curved slightly and turned green, a diamond was on the hilt of it. Itou didn’t grin, he kept his face straight, for the first time in ages he felt truly connected to his zanpakuto.

“As I said, I am willing to work with you two for now.”

Reiatsu: 900 (-200 for shikai)

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

"You should have run when you had the chance..." The tall spirit stretched out his hand, and one of the taller circles rotated. It was pointed at the Shade of Kyomei, who groaned but held up his hand. "But I like them..." "Objection Overruled. Order is not found in their presence." With a sigh, and with his heart not fully in it, Kyomei spoke. "Hado #50: Mabarashi Dangan" To Itou and Aramis, a white orb the size of a baseball would form around the Shade's finger and fire out at incredible speeds towards the center of the ring, and past it to Itou and Iwamichi. However, with no ability to sense energy, Iwamichi wouldn't see or hear anything. If she didn't get out of the way, then the Kidou would hit her dead on.

Or, at least it would if its trajectory didn't change. As soon as the baseball hit the circle, it ceased to be. Just vanished. And immediately after that, it came out from behind Aramis, just reappearing out of the tunnel that he had walked through to get into this cavern. If Aramis didn't dodge, then he'd be hit by the Kidou. If the Hado hit anything, it would explode into an eight yard radius burst of sharp reiatsu shards. So even if Aramis dodged, it was aimed slightly at the ground, aimed for a spot that all three of the souls would be pierced through if they didn't react and react fast. The speed at which the hado moved was extraordinary, so hesitating would mean the difference between being unscathed and being pierced through in multiple places. Still hovering off the ground, both Enkuroja and Kyomei waited to see whether or not the test shot could be dealt with well.

Kyomei's Reiatsu: 2350/2500 (-150 Mabarashi Dangan)

[Aramis Tezuka]

A whispering in his mind. Of dark desires ingrained into his very being. What were they saying? A single word. Aramis's katana began to quiver in his hand. The word? What was it? Despite the sounds coming from his mind, Aramis's ears strained to hear it. Itou was saying something. It didn't matter. A hiss. A soft rasping cackle. "Be quiet." Aramis said, with a tone of what might have been even construed as anger. Who was he saying it to? To Itou? No, not to Itou, though it may have sounded that way. The voice continued to rasp at his mind, and Aramis's eyes were drawn to the white orb that was forming.

No time.....

Aramis moved immediately as the orb was launched, moving at an angle towards the shade of Kyomei. As a result, the orb would miss its mark, as Aramis darted at Kyomei. But how could he harm him? If he was anything like the real Kyomei, then his cutback would prevent Aramis from wounding him with the blade. This was a conundrum indeed. Perhaps he should engage the other one instead? Hmmm. But it may also be more powerful than Kyomei.

"....nant...."[/i] "Shut up." Aramis hissed, as he attempted to move to Kyomei's left. Thanks to his quickfooted movements, the shards of reiatsu had largely missed him. One shard sliced across his right shoulder as he turned, drawing blood, but failing to cut him too deeply. Another cut a serious gash in Aramis's side. Despite these wounds, and with no serious skill in pain tolerance, Aramis didn't seem to notice them. He was too distracted by the battle raging in his own mind. Indeed, even the opponent before him was practically an afterthought.

But even an afterthought could be addressed. "......venant...." What was this rasping tone in his mind. Aramis's eyes focused into a glare as he lunged at Kyomei, thrusting his blade toward's Kyomei's ribs. Specifically aiming just below the ribs. Such a thrust would go up at an angle, sliding under the ribs and wounding more vital organs. "Disappear." The Nakabakki hissed. And then the word became clear to him, as his blade flew.

"Revenant."

As those words were spoken, in mid-thrust, Aramis's blade began to shift and change. An unearthly, and unholy blackness surrounded it for a brief instant and it changed in his hands. Aramis now gripped the golden hilt of a gleaming silver rapier. It's shining blade gleamed even in the minimal light of this dismal place. The tip glinted, razor sharp and prepared to spill blood. Of course, Aramis himself did not know what this blade was capable of. Not yet, at least. But depending upon the shade's reaction to his thrust he would know soon enough.

There was a change, not only in Aramis's blade, but in the Nakabakki himself. His eyes were no longer uncertain but clear and focused. The voice had left him. He was himself again. His analytical mind had returned. Armed with this new blade-- Revenant, Aramis was prepared to defeat his foe. This phantom sword. No. This was his sword. His Zanpakuto. It felt right in his hand, as he thrust it at his foe.

Hah, would Sayuri have had a field day with this bit of information.

Reiatsu Remaining: 800

[Itou Kasui]

Itou glared, Itou glared at all of them, Itou glared at both of them, the spirit and the shade of Kyomei, but Itou had no idea that this resembled a current Shinigami, even if he had known Itou probably wouldn’t have cared. After all, this guy was his enemy wasn’t he? Itou gave the two of them a death glare because he wanted to murder these two because they were trying to kill him, they were trying to attack him and there would be no mercy for those who tried to kill him. Itou would kill those who tried to kill him and that meant these two.

For anyone who didn’t know when Itou released his shikai it usually meant he was out to kill.

And so when the hado was spoken Itou was fully prepared however he was unfamiliar with that particular hado, Itou had been allowed to drop kidou because he was untalented at it, ‘untalented’ was only sugar coating it. He was horrible at it, downright bad, every kidou he tried put him in hospital, every time he tried he failed and he looked weak. So unfortunately Itou had no idea what that kiou was, maybe if he had taken kidou he would’ve known but unfortunately he hadn’t so he had no idea. However due to his 50 energy sensory he could see it clearly.

Iwamichi had no energy sensory but she would be aware of the kidou because of Itou’s action. His facial expression, it turned from a hard, threatening glare to one of surprised and shock, and secondly his quick but sudden movement, Itou leapt out the way of the kidou so she would surely know to dodge even if she couldn’t see it, any smart fighter would know that if someone dodged something that they couldn’t see it was some sort of invisible attack. But Itou had been doing that just to save his own skin not to alert her.

Itou didn’t care.

The baseball sized orb hit the circle and just seemed to vanish, just vanish, and this was strange in Itou’s book. Usually kidou’s would explode or cause some sort of damage, especially a hado which was a ‘destruction’ spell; so why did this one just cease to exist? Unless... it has some sort of twist to it. With a two in battle analysis Itou knew from this kind of stuff, from observing his classmates in spars he knew this kind of stuff. So of course when a spell was fired and nothing happened there had to be more in store or it was just a waste of reiatsu.

Aramis had already been running towards ‘Kyomei’ so the hado hit it the ground. And with his 100 instincts Itou knew to get out of the way, Itou was quite near to the spell and you never knew what could happen with shrapnel and explosions. So Itou used shunpo, he shunpo’d and reappeared out of the shard radius but Itou didn’t know there was a shard radius to avoid, he just used shunpo to go quite far away, and he came out unharmed. It was quite the lucky break for him. But Itou could still see Aramis was running towards him, with his sword, a lot of determination indeed. So Itou used shunpo to get behind him, and swung his sword down on him, Itou was aiming to split the guy's skull in two. Providing a moment of distraction, so Kyomei was sandwiched between two vicious sword strikes and Itou had his sheath in his other hand should he need a quick defense, he was prepared.

Reiatsu: 800 ( -50 from shunpo, - 50 from shunpo)

[Iwamichi Saeke]

Iwa didn't have much time to react. It was extremely unfortunate that she could not see the attack that was blatantly obvious to the rest of them. The only thing she could do was gauge the others' movements and react when they did. It was good that she had been watching her "teammates" closely as well. As soon as Itou dodged, she knew that it was coming her and Itou's way. By the way Itou dodged, she could guess the exact trajectory of the attack. She, therefore, leaped back a ways to escape whatever it was that was fired. it was possible that part of it scraped her foot, but something like that was not enough to get her attention. As soon as this was over, the two shinigami flew towards the figure called Kyomei. Maybe they had taken her earlier advice? No matter, they were both headed for a pincer like movement. It would be nice to believe that their attacks would hit (or at least one), but no of them fully knew what that figure was capable of.

She decided to engage the much taller one. Hmmph. So, did they decide to take the weaker one and leave me to the stronger one? Whatever. They can do as they like, as long as they don't mess things up. She had studied the creature a lot already. Her previous notion that he would be attacking them directly was both wrong and right. The path of the attack was designed to hit them all straight on, but it went about it in an unusual way. Kyomei uttered the kido while the other didn't make a move. At least, that's what it could only look like for someone with no energy sensory. She would probably have to ask the other two, who were by now, in no position to be talking.

Remember the circles... Yes, there was significance to the circles all around them. Query: did the attack come from Kyomei himself, or did it come from some other direction? The older shinigami was the one to dodge first... Did that mean that it came from that tunnel behind him? If that was so, then its initial trajectory must have changed. After all, if it had come directly from Kyomei, it would have hit Itou or Iwa, just based on where they all were standing. So, how did the attack change direction? It is natural that once something is moving, it keeps moving until some outside force acts on it. An outside force… Yes, something must have happened. She had a theory, but there was no way to know for sure unless she actually tested it.

She looked behind her and studied the circles along the wall. Iwa attempted to stick her arm inside the hole – just to see where it would end up. Of course, she might just be sticking her hand in a hole that goes nowhere. Or, it would come out of another hole. If it didn’t, then it must be that Enkuroja only had that power. Either way, she had a feeling that her hunch was right. The villain probably used all the holes to get his attacks exactly where he wanted them. That would make things difficult, not just for dodging. Regardless of whether or not she could see some effect, she retracted her arm and punched the wall above the hole. If she broke the circle in some way, maybe the effect wouldn’t work. It was worth a shot. For now, she kept her musings to herself. The other two were busy anyway. Only if it was beneficial to the circumstances would she tell them. Iwa made sure to keep her eye on Enkuroja - to study his reaction. Her hunch could be confirmed depending on his next action.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Itou and Aramis charged at the hovering facsimile of a Shinigami, one simply climbing with air ground and the other using Flash Step to get behind him. A pulse of reiatsu slammed into them as Hado #53: Surasutoeria was sent outwards. Itou and Aramis would be pushed away at 500 stat speed, which wasn't much but it was enough. With them flying away, Kyomei fired a Byakurai at each of them, his fingers shaped like a gun. Them flying backwards from their reckless charge gone wrong, they would probably have no way of avoiding the shot. Aramis would be pierced in the upper thigh if he didn't move somehow, and Itou would be shot through the right shoulder. Meanwhile, Enkuroja was laughing.

"Little girl... what do you think that you're doing?" When Iwamichi put her arm into the tunnel, she'd feel it pulling away from her. Enkuroja, a being who thrived on his own sense of justice, gave her a single chance to repent. "I could have pulled off your arm if I wish, but instead I will let you realize your mistake as you fall." Iwamichi's entire body would be pulled through the circle, and she'd find herself through the watery snot again, though it would be momentary. She'd find that she was now at the top of the cavern, headed downwards directly for Enkuroja. One of his rings was underneath her, however it wasn't poised for her to pass through it. No, it was set up that she would fall into the metal ring if she didn't do anything quickly.

Kyomei's Reiatsu: 2150/2500 (-150 Surasutoeria - 50 2x Byakurai)

[Aramis Tezuka]

WHAM[/b]

Aramis was shoved back by an invisible wave of force. How irritating! "....B." He commented, and then noticed Kyomei pointing his fingers like a gun. Indeed, Aramis had no way of completely dodging, but he was not unable to maneuver. As the white lightning bolt crackled towards him, he turned in the air, so that it lanced by him, impacting the ground a moment before he did. Regrettably, his own landing was not so graceful and Aramis did tumble across the ground.

Disgraceful! You shame our blood." Aramis's eyes blazed with a sudden anger again. "You and I are.... one. You are not... my zanpakuto." He said, still seemingly talking to himself. "It is not.... your power to give. It is... mine to take." He said. It was pretty apparently Aramis wasn't in his right mind, as he charged towards Kyomei again, sword held aloft. He was poised to strike--- then immediately launched into a Shunpo.

Using Shunpo, Aramis completely altered his trajectory, moving away from Kyomei and towards Enkuroja! His rapier blade slashed a sudden double cut at the zanpakuto, the first slice, a foreward, horizontal cut with the tip of the blade, aimed at his shoulder, and the second a backhanded cut with the tip at his head. Though not one person present knew it at the time, if the first blow connected, Enkuroja's entire arm would seemingly cease to be! And if the second cut landed to his head, so too, it would seem to be, with his head. An ability to instantly dispatch an opponent with a single blow, regardless of their defenses! Of course, Aramis did not know this yet. He was still unfocused, and in some small state of frustration as he slashed about.

His movements were not so much wild-- they were controlled and refined. But there was no elegance in his strikes, no greater purpose. This was not an artform as his usual swordsmanship may have appeared to be. This was little more than refined violence, directed at Kyomei and Enkuroja. Violence that stemmed not from Aramis's mind, but from his very soul. The very blood that ran through his veins, and the hatred that was a part of his being by nature of his heritage.

Reiatsu: 750
Shikai: 2/10

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Kyomei prepared to deal with the charging Shinigami, only to find no attack coming from Aramis. Instead, the man changed directions and charged at Enkuroja in a fury. The spirit laughed as he didn't feel threatened in the slightest. "You fool. You think that you can take down someone as giant as I, a powerful Zanpakutou Spirit in a domain that gives him the most strength? You try to upset the order of things, but this pecking order stands!" Suddenly, the slight scratch into Enkuroja's shoulder caused his entire arm to disappear. Not fall off, but just to disappear. Using speed far outclassing Aramis', one of Enkuroja's wings lashed out and buffeted the man to the ground before he had a chance to cut at his head.

"You... Haven't done anything that I can't deal with! Do you think that I need my arms? Space itself is my domain!" There was a hint of fear in the Spirits voice. They were not invincible, nor were they Divine. They were simply ethereal. And what could bleed, could die. Enkuroja hadn't bled in the literal sense, but he felt threatened by the sudden loss of an arm by a single scratch. Downwards he descended into the circular pool at his feet, vanishing for a moment. His voice, however, could be heard broadcast from all directions. "Consume..." The rings that were supposed to try and bisect Iwamichi sucked into the pool at the center, and then all of the circles around the room turned into howling vortexes. The Shinigami would be pulled towards the closest one, while Kyomei was unaffected.

"You shouldn't have done that... If you get sucked into one of those portals, Enkuroja may never let you leave his warp dimension. And he has it out for you all. Look at how he spares me from his wrath. Hado #1: Sho!" The specter would fire three blasts, one for each of his enemies in the room. If they were struck and thrown backwards, it would be nearly impossible for them to avoid being sucked into a portal. Iwamichi was still falling, so unless she both stopped herself from falling directly into the hole in the center, and defended against the Sho, she'd be sucked in. Aramis would only have to deal with being knocked aside by a massive wing, and then defend against the next Hado. Itou first had to dodge or defend against the first Byakurai Kyomei had shot, then deal with the Sho next without being devoured.

Kyo's Reiatsu: 2075/2500 (-75 x3 Sho)