Unexpected Visitors (Open)

[Senshi Odayakama (Crimson.)]

Relatively calm day in the Squad 7 Barracks. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, and all the squads within the Seireitei had to work harder following the aftermath of the Kuroi Invasion. It was at this time period that two Shinigami that were taking a brief break from their training took the time to speak to each other. “Say...did you hear? That newly promoted Vice Captain from Squad 8. Odayakama Senshi I think. She’s been killed in combat.” One of the other officers looked interested at those words. “Did she die from her wounds? I heard she was sent to whoever was left in Squad 4 for immediate medical attention.”

There was silence for a moment as one of them spoke up. “I don’t know, but the medics of squad four have been very overworked lately. Not everyone is gonna make it.” There was a shrug as both of them stood to go back to their training. Now...on such a beautiful day, for a redheaded Shinigami, everything was dark, It was hard to breath. It was hard to do anything. She was set to a heart monitor as the wounds she sustained were too great. Her Zanpakutou lay shattered and she was barely in a sustainable state. The medics were just...too busy right now and so she lay entirely unattended at the moment. Her left hand had been severed at the wrist, her body was bruised, sliced, and bones were shattered. It looked even breathing pained her.

They had hooked her up to one of those machines to help her as well. She had sustained heavy injuries in the battle against the sternritter Amalia Volbrecht and was now returned to the Soul Society in pieces. A large tarp had been placed over her body and if one were to remove it, they would see several parts of her body such as the thigh, feet, and shoulders, bones were sticking out. There was a large incision at the center of her bare chest as there were shattered pieces of bone that were... everywhere. However, from the fact that the heart was still beating signified she was still alive. However, she was as pale as a corpse and she was as limp as one also. Her legs were broken as bone stuck out in all the wrong angles. How she was alive was a fucking mystery! Lot of bones.

Finally, around her stomach, there was a gaping hole that went in from one end of her stomach out the other. It was only thanks to the Shinigami gods of luck and her durable body that she was able to survive this long enough for the medics to even...attempt to do something. The sight was sickening, and she needed to be covered up. Besides the heart monitor, there would be the buzzing of something in the room. A single fly would land on top of Senshi’s red hair of which mentioning was now also missing some as her scalp was caked in dried blood. Every moment of this person’s existence must be painful. It was...painful.

She was completely unconscious, and that was probably a good thing as the agony this figure would feel when awake would likely be unbearable. The medics just simply had too many to heal and not enough medics. Soul Society was working on that of course, but there was only so much they could do. The losses from Kuroi’s invasion was too great and without the lack of a proper captain to lead the medics, they essentially were a dysfunctional liability. The casualty and mortality rate was constantly increasing. With each breath she took, it looked like it might have been her last. However, despite her condition her right fist was clenched. She...refused to die despite these wounds.

She was unfortunately completely alone as it seemed nobody had visited her as of yet. She had arrived only the previous night. The medics have done what they could for now, but they had to get a proper team together to deal with something of this magnitude. They were medics and magic users, not miracle workers. There was only so much that a medic could do. However, in Senshi's case her wounds would have been worse if she had not used majority of her remaining reiatsu to attempt to heal the wounds around her. She was alone as of yet, and in her state of unconsciousness, she wouldn't know if anyone were to come see her. The newly promoted Vice Captain of Squad 8 nearly being killed immediately...this was a bad time for the Soul Society.

[Kaen Youji]

Seireitei was on the road to recovery. The Mod Soul attack had been devastating, in scope, and countless lives had been lost. It was telling, the damage that had been inflicted, that even now Seireitei was only "on the road to recovery". Squad 4 had been virtually decapitated by the attack, severely weakening Soul Society's ability to put officer's out in the field, due to injuries that could not be easily treated. Still. Progress was being made. Buildings were refurbished for the remainder of Squad 4's medical purposes. Walls were being rebuilt, new recruits were trained. Defenses were being honed, and there was talk that Squad 12 had begun deliberations with Squad 10 and 11 on how to avoid such a disaster a second time. Proactive defenses of Soul Society were a necessity. Overall, while Soul Society certainly bore its scars from the battle that had ensued, it was a difficult beast to bring down, and was making steady progress. But some damage didn't heal so quickly. Senshi was a testament to that, her own injuries being so brutal in nature that it would have required Captains or Vice Captains of Squad 4 to patch them, it seemed. Unfortunately, Squad 4's Captain had been slain in the battle, his remains having been found during the aftermath. But there was another who was not healing so easily. Though Senshi's wounds had been inflicted long past the battle, there was another Shinigami who was still carrying the wounds he had suffered that day. Not only his physical injuries, however, but mental ones as well. Wounds that reached far beyond the surface and had been etched into his very soul.

The sound of combat emanated from the Squad 7 Barracks, as a trio of Shinigami ganged up on a fourth. This fourth Shinigami was of medium height, wearing a black sleeveless gi. A short sword was sheathed on his back. And his left arm was in a cast. Indeed the limb was bandaged well, and braced. Yet despite his injury, and lack of an arm, this fourth shinigami was beating back his three assailants with terrifying ease and efficiency. And not for lack of trying on their part. The three did not come at him one at a time, but as a team. Two would flank him and attack while a third would attempt to cut off an escape route. The flankers were met with a flurry of blows from his right hand and left left respectively, one of them hurled aside into their third comrade. They attempted to surround him and attack from three directions at once. The one armed fighter simply rushed one of them down, dropping him in a single savage palm strike that sent the unfortunate shinigami hurtling across the room, slamming bodily into a wall, and leaving a shinigami-shaped crater there. They continued to come at him in varying combinations, angles and strategies and each time they were brutally rebuffed, until all three of them lay, panting. One of them, having moments prior received a full side kick into the gut, was vomiting his lunch up. The fourth Shinigami glared at them. "Pathetic. Is this what Squad 7 is becoming? Three of you together can't even take a one armed man?" He growled. "Takahiro, your punches are sloppy, wide and you drop your guard when you attack! Tighten your punches. Keep your hands up, and stop telegraphing! Lien! I thought you were a Hakuda adept. Your blows are coming in so slowly I could dodge them in my sleep. SPEED! Sakura! You're too timid! Be AGGRESSIVE, and don't forget your legs! You're only throwing out punches and grabs. Half-assed grabs at that!" The one-armed Shinigami snarled. "Fighting like that, the lot of you will get yourselves killed the moment you fight a serious opponent. Get back to training! Dismissed!" He growled out, turning his back and stepping out of the room.

This was a new person in Squad 7. In terms of appearance, he was Kaen Youji. In terms of attitude..... He could not have been more different from the Squad 7 Vice Captain. Kaen had been renowned as an encouraging, and enthusiastic instructor. Always eager to aid his subordinates. Always ready to help fix their flaws, which he had done with an optimistic attitude. Fighting back doubts in his training partners and helping them to find their strengths. He had changed in that battle. Something had changed in him. He'd been a harsher and more cynical man returning from that fight. Nobody had known exactly what had happened out there, when he'd deployed himself against a Mod Soul detachment that had assaulted Squad 7. Only that when he had been found after the battle, he was in a state of near death, one arm completely destroyed by strain and heavy impacts, and suffering from severe internal bleeding, and murmuring to himself. Since his initial recovery however, it had become clear that something more than a simple fight had gone down. Kaen had become more acerbic with his subordinates, and there was a dullness in his eyes that had never been there before. Where once he had been open and friendly, he was now cautious and guarded. Where once he had been gentle and optimistic he was now abrasive, sharp and cynical-- quick to criticize any mistake he saw in a subordinates technique. If not for the fact that even with one broken arm, Kaen still possessed the ability to floor half of Squad Seven in under ten minutes with nothing but his martial arts, some might have suspected that a doppleganger had come back instead of the Vice Captain.

And it wasn't as though Kaen had been blind to these changes. Even as he walked away from the training area, he felt conflicted. He hated being so callous to his subordinates. He knew, not even that far deep down, that they were trying their best. That he was being significantly more brutal with them than he had ever been in the past. It's necessary.... I can't be soft with them anymore. I want to be but.... The image that the Mod Soul Commander placed in his mind surfaced. Not the one that had initiated the scarring, but the one of his fifth seat... the one that he knew had been the heir to his predecessor's will. The one who inherited the will of the Empress, falling in battle. He hadn't the heart to go and confirm if that was fact or fiction. He was scared to. Scared to read that she had died in battle, and that his failure was complete. "Kaen you've let my Squad become weak... You've become weak. Why are you such a disappointment to me?" Kaen clutched his forehead, as if in pain. The image of the Empress, and her biting words replaying in his mind endlessly since the battle. "....I will reforge it..." He whispered, an unbidden promise. He would not lose anymore comrades unjustly. If he had to become hard and cold to do it, then so be it. He would make SURE that they were prepared to handle the threats that came their way to the best of his abilities. He couldn't afford to be kind. Couldn't afford to hold back anymore. They had to know what they were up against. And if fighting at the limits of their ability to survive in sparring was how he would do it, then so be it. "....Forgive me Squad 7...." He murmured quietly.

He knew it wasn't their fault. He knew that. The fault lay with him. He'd been damaged in that battle. Unquestionably. Maybe irreversibly. Kaen was terrified now of losing another comrade to battle. So it was extremely bad timing that Kaen happened to be passing by a pair of gossiping Shinigami, and overheard Senshi's name.She'd been promoted to Vice Captain? A pleasantly surprised smile flickered across Kaen's face for an instant. Possibly the first smile he'd made in days. Of course he remembered Senshi. Kaen didn't forget people easily, and especially not the girl that had been so guilt-ridden about what she had done that she had briefly thought herself worthless. She'd become a Vice Captain, huh? That must have been extremely validating for her, and Kaen was glad for her. That smile swiftly disappeared and the color drained from Kaen's face when the shinigami finished his sentence, however. Kaen froze in place. The moment he'd heard her location, he was gone. The two gossipers hadn't even noticed Kaen had gone, and by the time they heard the "swish" of a Flash Step, and turned to look, Kaen was already miles away.

Kaen was a fast shinigami. And when he pushed himself, clearing Soul Society itself in a handful of steps was a surprisingly simple, albeit fatiguing task. Kaen was at the temporary Squad 4 Barracks within minutes. "S-Senshi Odayakama..." Kaen panted to the nearest medical attendant. "Where is she?"

After a few minutes longer, Kaen was led to Senshi's room, and found himself a seat beside the injured girl, and glared at the medic. "Get a medical team in her treating her. Immediately. Make it a priority!" He snapped. "Why the hell haven't you been treating her!?" Kaen was no stranger to Squad 4. He had always taken his training to extremes and had hurt himself in training on hundreds of occasions. Squad 4 had gotten to know Kaen well enough in the past, that his new attitude was a complete shock to them. Hearing Kaen snap an order so uncharacteristically, sent the medic that had brought him here scrambling to grab others. Kaen looked at Senshi, a vulnerable expression on his face. He had befriended her. ".....Dammit Senshi.... Don't you dare die.... Not you too...." Kaen said, holding his head in his hands. He'd handled casualties before. He'd been close with members of the squad that had died in the line of duty, and had always maintained a professional stoicism, allowing himself to properly grieve. But the ghost of Rin that had been summoned against him had torn a hole in his guard. One that he couldn't close off, and now he was threatened with drowning in a sea of negative emotions.

[Senshi Odayakama (Crimson.)]

The redheaded lady found herself in a forest. However, this was not just any forest for it was something extraordinary. The masks along the trees had been awfully familiar to her. She was within her inner world and the Hollow Masks that had been adorned on each branch had been a memento of each fallen foe. Then...there were the locked away beings that were so foul that they could not openly be called upon. Reiatsu that was too foul for Shonin Joka to allow to be within the open. In here, she looked down to see that she was not harmed. She was not missing a hand, and she could walk. “Shonin Joka.” There was no response other than the vast emptiness of her psyche.

Normally, Shonin Joka was a lot more talkative and would come to confront her. However, as of now there was no response. She stepped on the dry soil, looking at the breeze in the trees and closing her eyes. “Failure…” She opened her eyes and reached for her side to see that she was bladeless. Another whisper hit her ears which said, “Worthless.” Senshi looked all around her, but she couldn’t identify what this voice was. It was not a voice that was either male or female but seemed to be made from the wind itself. “Disgrace.” It was at this moment that Senshi shook her head. Don’t listen to the voices. She was Vice Captain of Squad 8 now. She was past her stage of worthlessness.

However, as she wandered she heard a different voice soon enough. A series of murmurs as she suddenly felt a shift of movement around her. In this moment, several of the masks would slowly begin to grow bodies of energy as they formed a mass of limbs. However, upon the finishing whisper, the masks had all screeched as their bodies were forced to recede into the branches. The masks lay still as she knew exactly what was happening. Shonin Joka was a Zanpakutou that was a priest as well as a guardian. He had chanted in order for the masked beings to be kept at bay. All of these masks were made from the reiatsu of every Hollow Shonin Joka had ever absorbed and the forest grew more and more ample with every passing day.

“Senshi. You came, and we need to talk.” A voice called from the forestry and Senshi turned her head to see her Zanpakutou. He was in a state that was horrid. His left hand was missing...and his feet were battered and broken. He had a gaping hole in his stomach and yet, he looked peaceful as ever. “S-Shonin Joka.” She felt sick to her stomach as her eyes were glued to the state of her Zanpakutou Spirit’s body. The spirit walked to her as he bled before placing a bleeding hand on her shoulder. “You’ve failed me so much. You’ve broken me too much. You’ve betrayed my trust too much.” Senshi had began to shake and shiver like a candle in the wind. What had she done? WHAT HAD SHE DONE?!

She had raised her right hand to her mouth as her breathing became unbalanced. Her dainty hand clenched around her jaw as her fingers dug into her left cheek. Her eyes moistened then shook as tears filled her face. She was distraught. She had failed everyone. She failed herself. Did this happen every time Shonin Joka was broken?! “No more tears. You have to listen to me Senshi. I’m not going to let you use me any longer. I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep being your shield like this and being torn to pieces.” She opened her mouth only for a perpetual silence to come from her mouth. The blade spirit had then slowly leaned into her arms for an embrace. “I...just can’t.” The spirit leaned into her arms and fell seemingly unconscious as Senshi embraced him. “No…”

In the real world outside of her mental essence, while the medic had left Senshi’s fingers would twitch ever so slightly. Then, her wrist relaxed as her clenched fist slowly began to weaken. The heart monitor beat slower before a high pitched noise had filled the room. The sound of a flat line. The medics gathered immediately at the sound. “She’s failing. Shit! We need to resuscitate her!” The most experienced medic, one of the few survivors of the Kuroi invasion had pushed himself ahead to the fallen Senshi before lifting and tossing the tarp which sheltered her body revealing the grotesque frame to all. “Oh my god...”

The fly at this moment had risen from Senshi’s hair and would flap its wings before attempting to land right on top of Kaen’s broken arm. “Shonin Joka. Please...forgive me and give me another chance. Please forgive me one more time! I promise you I’ll never break you again! Don’t give up on me!” There was a last series of words that had sounded from the male spirit’s mouth. “Then...take my burden just for a little. Understand me.” Miraculously in the real world, Senshi’s right fist began to clench as her heart monitor began to restore itself. Within Senshi’s inner world, suddenly she found howls beginning to roar as the medics immediately started to get to work with the most serious wound. The gaping hole in her stomach.

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen had slipped back into the recesses of his own mind as soon as the medics came in there. Unaware of the sidelong glances shot at him as they went about their duties to help his friend. Unaware of Senshi's own inner battle. Rin's words echoed in his mind endlessly. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Was today to be the culmination of his failures? Kaen had become a Shinigami so that he could protect people. He had never cared about the war, or soldiers or battles-- okay that one was a lie. Kaen had always thrived with the thrill and excitement of testing his skills against another. But if that was the case, he could just as easily have put his efforts into mastering Go or Shogi. He could have trained as a martial arts instructor and practiced in the dojo. No. There were many roads to contests of ability, but Kaen had seen becoming a Shinigami as the clearest route to protecting people. He had never regretted his decision. He'd found a place here. Found respect here. Respect he had earned not merely been given to him because he was born to a family with wealth and prestige. Until now.... Was this all it amounted to? Centuries of protecting people only to find out all along that he'd been deluding himself? "And what of now, boy?"

Kaen found himself in a desert. A black starless sky spanned endlessly above him. The sands, normally so calm, and quiet were whipping up and about like a storm. Where was the oasis? Kaen turned his head to look, but he could not penetrate the storm. He could not find the quiet. Behind him, barely coming up to the height of his stomach was an old man, with a scarred face. "We've walked side by side for some time, boy." He said in a grave tone. "You have stood by me, and I by you. Partners. Comrades, you have always said, and I have always believed you. I felt the pain in your heart when you battled that Quincy Emerich and I was ripped from you, and the relief when I returned. Just as I feel it now. Look at this desert. It's your soul, and this violent storm that surrounds us..." "I understand the metaphor, Hachiryuu." Kaen said in his own weakened tone. The old man let out a sigh, audible amidst the howling wind and sand. "....Are we still comrades then? Things are changing in you. I'm not yet too senile to see it, boy. But I feel it in you. Something I've not felt since you were young. It's hate." "Of course we're comrades. I need you now more than ever." "But do you need me as an ALLY, boy? Or a tool? A weapon of revenge?" Kaen's eyes were dull and blank. "....I have to know what happened, Hachiryuu. ....And if what I was shown is true.... We both know that's the end of me." Kaen admitted. "One way or another, I'm going to disappear." Hachiryuu watched Kaen with stern eyes. "....Do you think that's what Rin would have asked of you?" "I don't know." The Shinigami snapped back, a bite entering his tone. "And thanks to Enma... now I never will." Hachiryuu's gaze softened in understanding. For all his battles and trials, Kaen had been given a soft heart. A welcoming one. The loss of his comrades had pained him terribly, but he'd never lost anyone as close to him as Rin. It was hardly surprising that it would cause an effect in Kaen. Still though, the Zanpakuto knew that down the path of revenge there was only devastation, destruction and darkness. The worst part of this, though, was that Hachiryuu understood that Kaen knew that too.

"....I am your friend Kaen." "Yes you are." "Have you considered then what will happen to this friend if you go through with this." Kaen was silent. "....." Hachiryuu pressed one more time. "Think things through carefully. You need people to help you. ....More than just me." Kaen answered softly, and gravely. "....If these medics fail, then I'll be down one more person that might." He said back bleakly.

[Senshi Odayakama (Crimson.)]

The condition of this location...she knew what was going to happen. A howl released itself as black mass began to combine itself, merge and grow as a long shadow into the ever expanding abyss of existence. A howl as a large white mask had formed with the glaring stare of giant red eyes upon her. Similar mass had began to amass in other places as the redheaded reaper looked down to the friend in her arms. The poorly abused and mistreated friend who had been overworked. She truly didn’t deserve such a companion, but he was part of her, and she of him. Suddenly, a masked face had come crashing down, a gigantic roar escaping as the mask of a Menos Grande crashed down upon the ground. However, that was all it would collide into as a blur of speed had allowed Senshi to retreat and begin to run with her spirit around her shoulder.

She would not let them kill Shonin Joka. Senshi Odayakama wouldn’t allow it! Dashing nearly ten meters down, she witnessed a swarm of various sized masked beings all seeking to devour her. An amalgamation of varieties as the woman chanted extremely swiftly a murmuring chant. “Hado no Ichii! Sho!” A gigantic pressure of wind had blown itself in the ways of several of these beings, sending them flying and clearing a minor path as the redheaded reaper quickly leaped through while she had the chance. However, the swing of a scythed hand on her left shoulder made her wince whilst passing through. She couldn’t let herself be surrounded on all sides. She needed to make a bottleneck, and so she ran on endlessly through the forest as sweat dripped from her head.

However, a gigantic set of footsteps put her to a stop as another gigantic masked being looked down upon her. It’s mouth released clear steam as it opened its jaw to nearly impossible lengths. A gigantic ball of reiatsu gathered, halting her as the masked being shut it’s mouth before looking down upon her. With a widened glance, she looked around her, the Hollows quickly closing behind. She could not go forward and she could not go back. The beam fired in an expansive blast of fluid destruction as red shined down where the Vice Captain stood, before quickly blasting behind her, shooting off beams of red at the Hollows that neared her. “Danku.” Curving the walled barrier, she allowed it to wash over and strike at those who sought to devour her.

With the death of ten of the few thousand Hollow she had killed in her time, she quickly ran to the skies using airground before delivering a quick incantation once more. Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado no Sanju Ichii! Shakkaho!” With the incantation, her impressive reiatsu strength had bolstered, firing a massive fireball of explosive power into the mask of the Hollow in front of her. An explosion massively wrapped around the head of the formidable foe as it stepped backwards once, almost falling before stomping down its foot as the black smoke cleared. Past the smoke was a mask, fractured with a part of the face broken entirely showing nothing but a black void. The Gillian opened its mouth, lurching forward, swallowing the Odayakama within its gaping maw and clamping tightly.

Somewhere within the real world, Senshi’s right shoulder had been torn, a fresh new gleam of blood sheening from a new wound that formed. The lead medic had quickly stood before drawing his Zanpakutou. “Give it your all, Seikatsu-hi (Living Expense:生活費)." There was a glow of a blade as the man quickly sliced at a plant, causing it to wither and seemingly fade away into nothingness before turning the blade at the fallen Shinigami’s chest, causing the wounds to meld ever so slightly as a fly now dead had also broken into nothingness. The head medic leading this operation at the moment furrowed his eyebrow before turning to the Vice Captain Kaen.

“You. If you’d like to be of use, get me as many of the largest plants you can. It doesn’t matter what they are. Hurry. Make sure they are living plants.” The other medics gathered had resorted to using their Kaido in various regions to heal other wounds from her shattered bones, to the torn skin muscles and vessels. The head medic himself had resorted to taking care of the gaping hole in her shattered rib cage and damaged intestines. Kaen had been given something to do whilst they attempted to stabilize their patient. Others were injured as well, so they had to be swift. As she was being healed, something was happening to Senshi internally as well. A sound body and a sound mind makes a sound soul.

The wound that had burst from her left side healed, she could feel it within the dark gaping maw she entered in. A gulp as she found it was dark. Everything was dark and she could not see. However, as she raised her right hand to grasp around the sword she so cared for, a hiss had been heard. She froze as she drew her blade. Flaring her reiatsu, the environment glowed as all around her, masks, hundreds of masks stared at her. Simultaneously all of these mouths opened as a resounding howl had reverberated all around her, infinity screams that made her shake as she felt herself being crushed. The evil around her resonated as they growled in vengeful cries of sorrow. They charged. 

[Musuhina Kesshino]

"Alright thats enough. We have a ton of more patients that you could all be seeing right now." Musuhina said as she'd entered Senshi's room with her zanpakuto strapped to her side. "I'll take it from here, the rest of you can help out wherever you can.". Her gaze darted over to the lead medic for a moment "Except you, you stay here, I could use the extra pair of hands. If we're fast we can make sure that she can make a full recovery.". From there she quickly walked over to a seat opposite from him before looking over her friend's wounds, or at least, the ones that were still around.

This was a pretty regular day for Musuhina, frantic and barking out orders without much in the way of authority to save as many people as possible. The squad 4 barracks weren't seeing severe patients 24/7, but they were definitely short staffed and they needed to avoid being clustered up like this. Taking a moment, she took a breath as she clasped her hands together, placing them over the gaping stomach wound. "Might as well start with the worst one first." she said as a shining green aura had enveloped her hands before placing them on her wound like a blanket.

As the flesh along the wound began to reform and stitch back together she'd finally taken notice of Senshi's other visitor. "Hello, Vice Captain Youji." she said as Senshi's organs had regenerated before functioning again "Here for a visit I take it? Or are you a bit worse for wear yourself.". After returning her attention to Senshi's wounds, Musuhina would briefly move one hand over to her scalp to quickly heal the wound around that before returning to the stomach wound. She gave her a smile with only a mix of sadness and sarcasm "And here I thought you learned that being reckless wasn't the best approach." she to Senshi's unconscious body as her stomach wound had finally closed "Heh, I guess we're both victims of that though, so I'm not one to talk. Oh well, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, but I guess the important thing is I'm here now.".

[Kaen Youji]

(ooc: It took me far too long to reply to this...)

Kaen noticed the fresh blood flowing and his expression darkened. It seemed the medics were doing all they could, one of them employing what appeared to be a life draining Zanpakuto, to transfer the vital essence of one thing into someone else. Was that.... really the Zanpakuto of a medic? It seemed horribly sadistic if it were the case, but Kaen wasn't exactly in a mindset to judge at the moment. But when the medic turned to him and demanded Kaen bring the largest plants he could, Kaen responded shortly. "If I'm not mistaken, your Zanpakuto transfers the life of one subject to another? It's a vampiric Zanpakuto, is that right?" He asked. "Then it'd be faster to use resources that are already here, wouldn't it?" He pressed. "So use me then. I'll wager that even in my current condition I have far greater vitality than any plant I could find." He challenged.

It was about this time another medic entered the room, and quickly took control of the situation, dispersing the other medics. Kaen's eyes locked onto Musuhina for a moment, admiring the assertiveness of the woman, and how quickly she took command. She immediately got to work, and only served him passing notice. She seemed familiar with Senshi, Kaen noticed, and recognized him, although he did not immediately recognize her. Still, he'd been a frequent enough visitor to Squad 4 that that was unsurprising. And you know. The whole Vice Captain deal meant at least a few shinigami outside of his squad knew who he was. "I'm here to see Senshi, yes. You know her?" He asked. The cast around his arm, he supposed, could have been misleading. "You did an exceptional job patching me up, now it's my responsibility to make sure it heals properly." He added. He was relieved to see a doctor this assertive and confident was working on Senshi now, as opposed to the others, which seemed overworked, almost to the point of apathy.

[Senshi Odayakama (Crimson.)]

It was dark. Dark as the screams of hundreds surrounded her. Inside the being, this hollow, dozens of masks looked around her. Yet many were kept at bay by the power of the gillian, keeping all of these souls together as one body. The howl filled her mind, and then the light vanished as the Gillian shut it’s mouth. “Shonin...Joka.” Within the darkness, there was suddenly the glowing red of a light before an explosion took place, so massive that it blew a gigantic hole through the chest of the Gillian, causing the thing to writhe in pain whilst blood sprayed everywhere. Leaping through the air, she used her sword arm to slice down a flying Hollow, using another as a stepping hold for a Shunpo. There were endless amounts of them.

Landing, panting by the trees that previously kept the Hollows at bay, she looked upon the army before her as they hungered for revenge as well as flesh. The Menos Grande in front of her, the Hollows of all variety at her front. No longer did they surround her. “I will make things right Shonin Joka between us. Whether I die or not, it doesn’t matter. Because without you, I’m truly something worthless. You’re all I have.” The words of Yetsuna Yshmir were correct. She had something that many other Shinigami had died trying to attain, and she had that. She took it for granted, her partner. Now that she was in this situation though, she would do anything to keep her blade here with her. Focusing her vast amount of spiritual energy, it only seemed to excite the creatures ahead.

“Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness.” The Hollows immediately howled, charging towards the two, a disabled Zanpakutou spirit and the wielder. “Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky.” The footsteps became louder as the rushed at her, getting closer, and closer. “The roads basked in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together.” The Gillian proceeded, lumbering in reckless abandon, stepping on their own kin, desperate to devour this powerful meal with no logical mind for fear. “There is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders. Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items."

They were entering the forest line now, and the Gillian seeing the obstruction began to open their mouths, charging their foul energy into balls of destruction. “Book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly when fired.” The beams had fired, rapidly approaching the redheaded reaper as she pointed out with her left arm. “Hado no Kyuuju Ichii...Senju Koten Taiho!” Ten orbs rapidly fired as the basking light of the cero were about to slam upon her. The orbs continued on their destructive paths, ripping through the trees as a massive blast took place. This was where she was going to die. She couldn’t block the Cero. However, it was a victory still sweet. Closing her eyes, she prepared to be wrapped in death. “Gomen…” A clash. There was the burning of a thousand forges as she opened her eyes to see the destruction in the distance, her arm had raised instinctively to defend her.

A great burden was lifted from her shoulders, and it was then she realized her Zanpakutou Spirit was no longer present. “Sometimes...we can’t accept defeat. To improve and reach new levels is what we all strive for.” The sound of thousands of agonizing howls went silent as her arm pushed against the Cero. Why? With a grunt, she was pushed back slightly from the sheer force, but digging her right heel into the ground, she halted, the blade pressing against the force of all these beams of death, forming a massive blast. “I think you’ve figured it out now. The reason why people try, is because there’s something that’s so important, that they’d keep on fighting. To live another day.” The voice rang through her mind, and images of a burning Soul Society flashed through her mind.

Images of how a foolish Shinigami dared to confront Kuroi Naito at the gates and lived. A foolish Shinigami that dared to face an Arrancar in Okinawa when he had killed several seated officers and she was unseated. A foolish Shinigami that was depressed and yet kept going on with her life. Biting down on her teeth, beads of sweat dripped from her face as she raised her second hand to face the Cero. “Extend above the heavens and fly...SHONIN JOKA! HAAAAAH!” The Cero in that moment split, destroying the trees behind her. It ripped through them, destroying her guilts, her insecurities, her weakness. The blade glowed a new color now...a burning red of forged determination. Stumbling onto her knees, she used her ally to stand. Head to the ground, she raised her head and saw him.

In that moment, everything seemed to fall. The delusions, the Hollows, the destruction, the bloodied friend. He stood there, looking down upon her with a stern look on his face. However, it slowly turned into a grin. “So...I guess you did learn something. I learned a little something from you too. Now...go out there and do something with your life. You still have a lot of it left to go. Oh...and don’t mind the left arm.” A sudden flash into the real world as Senshi’s eyes fluttered open, a gasp of air as the medic Musuhina and the seated officer were doing their best. A cough as she felt the pain, but the pain meant she was alive.

She seemed to be in some sort of shock for a moment, until she looked around the room, and her mouth closed. Looking as if she was shocked to see what had happened, she slowly burst out into a laughter. A smile on her face as she felt the pain with every inhale and exhale. It was a tired, but friendly one. “T-Thanks...for coming...everyone.” Taking deep breaths, she looked to Kaen especially most surprised. She continued to laugh lightly, tears dripping from her eyes. ‘I promise you Shonin Joka. I’ll do something with my life. After all...without me doing anything, I guess you get bored.’ Shuffling, it was then she realized her left arm was...missing at the elbow.