With the Captains suffering casualties and heavy injuries on their side, all hope seemed to be lost... until Shinji Hirako appeared, along with the rest of the former Shinigami. Though the aid of the Vizards certainly helped to draw the battle in their favor, it seemed Aizen's power alone proved too much for them.
The air told an empty tale of the now deceased adversary. Victory didn't seem as far away. Arashi's blade had perhaps lost a few pounds. The dragon continued staring, contemplating, like Arashi was worth the consideration. This was his first patrol- his first Arrancar encounter. Surely just by the weight of his Reiryokou, he could be tossed out of the atmosphere by this demon. An ant to a boot.
Was the distant victory truly worth relief? He stood flabbergasted by this monster, unable to defend himself, unable to find the will to die for his outfit. As good as dead, without resisting. There was no glory for him. He won't be missed. He'd done nothing to make himself known.
End Arashi.
The roar shook his bones. Ached his heart as a wave of dread crashed his core. He would die for no one, no thing. Alone. His master blacksmith had forgotten him, surely since Arashi had left for the Academy. Darius, his childhood friend, abandoned him after he had been accepted. He had befriended no one new and remained as another face. Soul Society would never know. He was just another Shinigami...
Frozen in the moment, Arashi had not noticed the lieutenant, or had even marked the sound of his voice as he chanted his spell. The piercing light of the bind's fire held to be dull in his vision. He didn't register. The dragon was hit, struggled. Couldn't break the spell.
Another Shinigami had joined. Arashi's fingers had become white from his iron grip. He just couldn't hold it. It was too heavy... the tip of the blade met the rooftop. His eyes followed suit. He chewed his lips frantically. Pulse rose. Breath sped up...
"M-miss run! T-t-these m-m-monsters are t-t-trying to kill p-p-people. Ruuuuuuuuun!"[/color]
His eyes snapped up, angered, expanding slightly. The commotion had come from the huge voice of the Arrancar. Its roars were loud to Arashi, for he was painstakingly close to the beast. The Shinigami's expression now showed a crazed puzzlement instead of shock. Where was he again? What did the imprisoned thing say?
I'm the culprit? Does that even make sense?
"What the hell?! Like you're about to kill me?!" Arashi yelled, hurting his chords. "A fucking laugh if I ever heard one! I saw you-"
His neck popped quietly as it swiveled from that monster to the carnage it had wreaked and back. Arashi threw a furious finger to the dead below.
"They're dead! Not because I had anything to do with it!"
A tear broke from one of his eyes. He swallowed, gaze on the dragon faltering. The breaths from him became shallow and aggravated. The stress... it was breaking him again... Arashi collapsed, sword making a loud clang as his knees thudded the roof.
"M-miss run! T-t-these m-m-monsters are t-t-trying to kill p-p-people. Ruuuuuuuuun!"
Isamu turned his head, giving a small nod to his fellow Sixth Divisioner. To call Kaida Date his "subordinate" felt...disrespectful, after all, they were both of lesser nobility.
"Date-san," he said, acknowledging her presence there, "I'm glad to see you relatively unhurt. The hollows in the building have been taken care of?"
The blonde then walked around the dragon, keeping his kido up to ensure that the arrancar would remain immobile. If the spell faltered, it could send the arrancar on a rampage; it was already unstable as it is, there was no need to release him into the world until he calmed down. But since their new arrancar friend wouldn't be moving for quite some time, it was, perhaps, better to deal with a new set of problems.
Looking down at the crying shinigami on the ground, Isamu cleared this throat, tucking his bangs behind his ear with a small sigh. He must've been a new recruit. First patrol, and already, there was carnage. The sight of so much blood and death was certainly a sight that required some getting used to, but to break down in the middle of the job? That was incomprehensible.
"Get up," he said, in a rather commanding voice, "Shinigami aren't supposed to cry in front of their enemies."
Frowning further, Isamu sighed. "This arrancar is bound within my kido. He won't be able to move, nor will he hurt you. He will remain bound as such until we can all come to an understanding. Have I made myself clear?" he said, turning his head to face the arrancar for the particular question. Isamu was in no mood for fighting, and if peace could be settled between the parties, then the better the outcome for everyone.
"M-miss run! T-t-these m-m-monsters are t-t-trying to kill p-p-people. Ruuuuuuuuun!"
Kaida's brow furrowed a little bit at the Arrancar's warning. In a way, she was a bit amused by it. The dragon Arrancar seemed a bit dense though, aside from being a bit... obtuse and quite... simple... to put it mildly. She could feel Kageryuu's burning desire to fight the dragon, but by the state of things--Kaida held no interest in it. Two Shinigami already facing him, one of them being a Vice-Captain, and on top of which he was bound by a Kido spell. There was no challenge or honor to be found in joining the conflict. More importantly to Kaida there would be nothing to be gained within the self were she to do so.
"Date-san, I'm glad to see you relatively unhurt. The hollows in the building have been taken care of?"
Kaida beamed widely with a lovely smile, "Haaaai, Fukutaichou... The battle was a pleasure. Came here hoping for another, but... hmmm... would be dishonorable to strike at the beast now. Plus... he doesn't seem to understand what's going on here. The Arrancar I just fought confirmed he wasn't with him or the other Hollows. Seems likely given the evidence of our friend here having made snacks out of a few. As for the other Hollows... there maybe stragglers, but I can't sense them. At least not as exhausted as I am anyway."
She looked back down at the trapped Arrancar dragon, unable to free himself from being trapped. It was not exactly pity she felt for him, perhaps it was a combination of her viewing herself as a kindred spirit to dragons--namely because her zanpakuto is one. Or maybe it was her sense of honor. Mayhap even a bit of both. But looking down at the creature she suggested candidly, "He should be set free.", then again Kaida never liked fighting someone whom she knew was unwilling to fight her. It was a perspective of not just honor, but understanding the gravity of battle--the weight of life and death in the confrontation. If one is unwilling to fight her to such an extent in true combat, then she has no interest in engaging. Training are another subject entirely to her, both may involve combat--but she sees them as utterly seperate entities.
As she sheathed her blade, it reverted back to its sealed form. She crossed her arms under her chest as she pondered for a second gathering thoughts in what to do next given the state of things. In a way it was a surreal sight. With all the destruction and carnage--the torn apart and half-eaten corpses of human and Hollow alike among the broken ruins of the building. Yet Kaida did not seem necessarily disconnected from it all, but rather in all the mayhem held a serenity in response to it. As though... perhaps, she even enjoyed it a bit--finding a calm within all that death and darkness.
Elliot continued to struggle ignoring the shinigami's blatant lies. Men were evil. EVIL! There was no way he could of been telling the truth, he was a fool for even thinking he could be trustworthy for a second. He was obviously with the hollows that harmed that woman. He almost trusted him and look where it got him! Trapped. Alone. Continuing to struggle but... it was no use, Elliot came to that conclusion too late it seemed. A single tear dropped from his eye. There was no hope, he couldn't protect the woman. She was in danger and he could do nothing. But... suddenly... the other shinigami began talking to her like a normal person. Was he with her? They certainly sounded like they knew one another. That much was certain. Was the other with them too? He looked at the man, on his knees... crying?
How could he be crying? He was not the one trapped or being harmed. The man went on to explain it was his... kido? What was that? Elliot wasn't sure at all. But, it seemed he had been the one to trap him. Elliot gave up the struggle calming slightly. There was no hope of getting out no matter how hard he thrashed it would seem. It was of course the woman who suggested he be set free. His eyes lit up, he knew she was a good person, he just knew it. Women had always been pure creatures in his eyes. A thing of beauty much like the flower gardens he grew. "I knew it..." He sniffled and then continued. "I knew you just c-couldn't be bad." Finishing his eyes streamed tears of happiness. He was still unsure about the other two however. He was just happy to be right about her. Though, he didn't really know her true feelings behind it.
Arashi held himself within his own bind, stilled by anguish instead of whatever ploy this stupid arrancar was pulling.
There was no way this monster held a legitimate care for anything. It's disregard had been plain enough when it chomped on an ally. When his original adversary had been defeated in an instant, it shook Arashi- who knew his demise would be just as swift.
He had known there wasn't a fighting chance against this beast from the beginning. Broken, breathing in the futility of his resistance. He trembled. His hands met the roof. Teeth grit, eyes wide and shot.
Now that he had let go he couldn't put himself together. It wasn't a case of maintaining dignity as the higher-up had put it-
"Get up... Shinigami aren't supposed to cry in front of their enemies."
The words felt like teeth to an already open wound. They added a shudder to Arashi's rampant breathing. The bastard only meant to hurt him, just like that thing. What the hell was he doing here anyhow? Arashi's death had become long overdue. The monster should have ended it sooner. Why did he hesitate? What use? What use...
"This arrancar is bound within my kido. He won't be able to move, nor will he hurt you..."
"He should be set free..."
"I knew it..." He sniffled and then continued. "I knew you just c-couldn't be bad."
Arashi couldn't think straight. The strain of his anxeity had not ebbed out or ceased flowing. It continued breaking into his eyes and pouring out by tears and heaves that were chopped up by irregular intakes of breath. He was a mess, and he knew it. He didn't care. At this point, he had fallen onto the ground, wrought with hysteria. All of his past defeats, his regrets and mistakes led up to this near death. His fault. His alone.
And their apathy. He knew strangers weren't meant to be depended on, but there were no shoulders to cry on here. He had to pick himself up. Somehow...
At the mention of the monster's freedom, Arashi coughed on his saliva, clawing into the cement with the anger arising from his cries. He managed to stifle his sobbing- yet his emotions continued to bound and rebound within his skull. He attempted to rise on his knees, and succeded in a glare towards the arrancar. Why should he be set free? What redeeming qualities of this creature allow it to exist any further? He had had his share of Hollow encounters- never met with remorse on either party. Why should this case be different all of a sudden? Why does it care so much about the woman?
Tears still clouding his anger filled gaze, Arashi grit his teeth harder, seething as the anger heightened.
"What do you know about ethics?" Arashi spat. "What could possibly be different between you and all your comrades?"