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.
With a swift upward backslash across the Hollow's back, it screeched in agony like a banshee as it faded away. As the large Hollow faded away before Ai, just on the other side of where the Hollow once stood not more than ten feet from where Ai is standing is a man. The severed chain dangling off of his chest, while dressed in a business suit - the fear on his face visibly apparent. With a swift twirl of her blade, Ai sheathed the sword back into its scabbard, returning to its false black cane visage.
The voice of an adolescent girl irritatedly remarking within Ai's mind, "I can't believe you just killed a Hollow over something like this..."
Ai ignored the girl's voice as she approached the man, he could not have been much older than in his thirties. Finally she spoke up, inquiring to him in a monotone making it difficult to discern if she actually cared or not, "You alright?"
"W-Who are you?", the man stammered out of his lost shock and confusion from what was happening to him.
For a brief second Ai thought about explaining his situation to him, but realized there was not much point now. He could speak so he must well-enough in her view. She flipped her cane sword into a reverse grip were its blade drawn as she walked to the man without saying another word. Clearly afraid of what this unknown woman with a sword is going to do him, her stumbled backward out of his fear and landed flat on his rear. By that time Ai was standing in front of him, she pressed the pommel of her zatoichi blade against his brow. With the seal formed on his forehead sending him to the Soul Society, he begun to fade from view. She then requested with a slight smile, "When you get to the other side... Tell them Ai sent you."
"Tell'em Ai sent you", mockingly mimicked the little girl's voice, "Really?! Friggin' Shinigami-wannabe! Now you're saving souls and killing Hollows?", once again taking on a mocking mimicking tone, "Events have nothing to do with me, I'm neutral.", her voice then yelled in Ai's brain case, "Then stop getting involved, hypocrite!"
Despite all that, Ai simply ignored her Zanpakuto's spirit's mockery of her, and gazed out into the scenery, not necessarily out of admiration, but because she felt a spiritual pressure - a strong reiastu. It was near, very near - and she could feel their eyes upon her. She brought her Zanpakuto close to her defensively - just in case. The waves calmly crashed upon the beach - it was night - the sandy shores were empty. The city grounds keeper of the beach had not even cleaned the side walk off of the sand yet caused by the beach goers of the day. The lights of the city behind her were too bright for the stars to shine in the clear sky with its few rolling clouds.
Tilting her head downward a little, she moved her right foot a little bit to her back right side, pivoting on her left foot to shift in stance so she look over her right shoulder to see behind her a little easier. Her eyes flashed wide for a brief instant seeing the clothes - the uniform, they were all too familiar to her, "Who are you?", Ai asked, though with a tone more of someone expecting to be attacked at any moment.
Post by Shinigami Kyra on Jul 13, 2009 3:09:59 GMT -5
Karakura Town... a city filled with a strange sense of spiritual energy, far beyond any other city Kyra had been sent to. The crimson haired girl stood atop a high rise roof, over looking the vast city itself. A lot was going through her mind at the moment, her previous training session with Momo and Captain Hikaru... she had lost herself... lost control... she had revealed a version of herself she had never even witnessed before... never even thought existed. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and thought it best to keep such thoughts in the back of her head. She had a mission... a mission to find out exactly why so many souls were disappearing in the current district she stood in.
Her cellphone beeped, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She was still timid over the previous situation moments before she had been sent on the mission. Momo's words still weighed heavily upon her, despite the fact that she had brushed her Lieutenant off. She knew the moment she returned, Momo would be waiting... waiting for an explanation. The thing was... Kyra didn't have one. She didn't know why she lost control... for a moment, she felt like she had blacked out... like someone else was controlling her body, and she was merely there for the ride. By now, it was mere bits and pieces...
Again, her cellphone beeped, and this time, the long crimson haired Shinigami pulled the item from within her black robes. A Hollow... an average one, it seemed. With a quick use of Shunpo, Kyra launched herself toward the energy source. Nearly halfway to the arrival point, she checked her cellphone and was a bit surprised to notice the red dot had vanished from her screen. Was there another Shinigami positioned to this district? She had heard of a few Shinigami in the area... as well as a Substitute Shinigami, some sort of human who had gained Shinigami abilities. She had only heard of him through stories and rumors... nothing more.
What awaited the young twelfth seat was not Karakura's Substitute Shinigami representative, but instead, a woman, alone on the beach. She stood just a bit taller than Kyra herself, though appeared a bit defensive as she called out to her.
>>"Who are you?"<<
Her hand, which had instinctively reached for the hilt of one of her Zanpakuto, rested slightly against her side. This woman, whoever she was, held a strong reiatsu, and judging by the sword she carried, was some sort of Shinigami.
"Kyra," she announced openly. "Twelfth seat of the Fifth Squad..."
Kyra wasn't certain what to make of this. The girl didn't appear to be wearing the standard Shinigami robes, but the sword she carried was indeed a Zanpakuto. She wasn't a Hollow... was she one of the Shinigami that were stationed in Karakura town? If so, why wasn't she wearing her robes?
"I was sent here to find out why so many souls were vanishing around here lately," Kyra announced. "Who're you?"
The little girl snickered teasingly within Ai's thoughts, "Oh no, Ai! It's a Shinigami! She's gonna' slice off your head!"
Quietly within her own thoughts she told the little girl, "Keizen, do me a favor and shut for awhile...", while ranting in a tirade the little girl's voice faded from her mind, which enabled Ai to focus her attention to the Shinigami before. Letting out a calming sigh first, she relaxed in her posture, holding her zatoichi Zanpakuto loosely at her side as though it were an ordinary cane.
Turning to face the red-haired Shinigami, Ai's left eye closed while the right squinted a little as she tilted her head to the side a bit. While her stance is relaxed, her expression was still a clearly cautious and suspicious one. It was as if she were indecisive as to what to for a trice, it has been an extremely long time since she has encountered a Shinigami. For years having avoided them entirely, though by now she is likely nothing more than faded memory, a vague one at best perhaps.
Never exactly one to think things out or plan them, she did not analyze why she would at this moment finally interact with a Shinigami, she just decided to do it on a whim without really thinking about it any further than she had, "My name is Ai, 12th Seat Kyra... You have a much stronger reiastu than someone normally of your position... You being truthful or just trying to fool me?", she then shrugged a little, "But, this business with souls disappearing... Sounds like just rampant Hollows, nothing new to the Soul Society. Unless you're talking about something on bigger scale than what I'm taking it as."
Post by Shinigami Kyra on Jul 13, 2009 4:11:03 GMT -5
>> "My name is Ai, 12th Seat Kyra... You have a much stronger reiastu than someone normally of your position... You being truthful or just trying to fool me?"<<
Kyra chuckled hesitantly as she threw a hand behind her head, scratching her hair a bit as she then lowered the scarf she wore around her neck in order for her to converse and have her voice heard a bit more easily.
>>"But, this business with souls disappearing... Sounds like just rampant Hollows, nothing new to the Soul Society. Unless you're talking about something on bigger scale than what I'm taking it as."<<
"First," Kyra waved a hand. "It's just Kyra... and if it were up to me, I wouldn't even be a seated officer... as for my Reiatsu and it matching my rank... well, I guess I have a strong Reiatsu... but I'm happy as a twelfth seat... less responsibility."
Kyra took a moment to glance around. She had never really seen a beach before. They were far and few in Soul Society, at least, where she had grown up. The missions she had taken to the Human's world never brought her to such a place, and with the sun slowly setting near the horizon of the water's edge, she brushed a few strands out of air and took in a breath.
"As for the disappearing souls... well, I don't know much about it myself," Kyra admitted openly, as though she really didn't care about her mission. "I just needed... a break..."
Quite honestly, it did seem a bit weird. Why send a twelfth seat who had just recovered from ... well, what was written in the report as 'accidental training injuries,' on such a mission? Nevertheless, Kyra had opted to follow orders, which was completely uncharacteristic of her. Then again, if she hadn't, then she'd have to answer to Momo and Captain Hikaru on what had happened during their training session. Kyra shrugged it off nonetheless and placed the worrying to the back of her mind as she attempted to recall the details to the report that she had merely skimmed over.
"I believe they said that the difference with this occurrence was that they were unable to locate the Hollow responsible for souls being taken," Kyra muttered as she attempted to remember the correct terminology. "Something about being unable to track down the Hollow responsible... I dunno, I can't remember the exact details."
Kyra had been so eager to get the suspicious eyes of Hikaru and Momo off of her that she nearly jumped at the mission without even reading it over. Sure, she remembered the report stating that it was no standard Hollow situation, but there was something else... something she wasn't quite remembering... ah, to hell with it; if it was important, then she'll remember it eventually, right?
Crossing her arms under her chest, her head tilted once again as the expression on her face returned to her left eye closing and right eye squinting a little. In this case though it came across as more of being befuddled by the blood red-haired Shinigami, but she unconsciously managed a smile in response to the Shinigami in front of her, "Less responsibility, huh?", back when she was still with Gotei 13, such a thought was beyond her at that time. These days it is desire she admires in a person, and even secretly curses herself for not having so many years ago.
Though she looked a Kyra a little surprised by her next statement, Ai slightly arched her right eyebrow in reaction to it, "Someone who picks up a mission without looking into the details, simply because they 'wanted a break' typically does it to get the hell away from somethin'...", though in the next instance she shrugged nonchalantly as she continued to state dismissively on the subject letting it go as if she could not care less, "It's none of my business, though.", Ai never exactly being one to pry to begin with.
The smile remained for a little longer the moment when she noticed Kyra's brief gaze at the lovely beach scenery. Ai looked to the scenery herself as she listened to the red-headed Shinigami explain what details of her mission she could recall. The moment Kyra finished mentioning what sparse details she could remember, Ai pointed a thumb at the beach scenery with a bit of a relaxed, soothed smile, "Lovely, huh?", she recognized that Kyra may not have seen much of such sights within the Soul Society, neither did Ai really, until she left it.
Only a second afterward though she abruptly changed her posture, back to her arms being crossed under her chest as she held her Zanpakuto in her left hand. Shifting her weight from one leg to the other as she stood there for a second, "Typically, I don't like coming to Karakura... Moves weird... Too much hustle and bustle, reiastu levels get wacky, and the soul traffic just isn't normal... The latter is sorta' what sparked my curiosity lately... There's something... I dunno... off about this one reiastu spike keep feelin' from time to time... Can't place my finger on it... could be a Hollow... I dunno... Maybe I just got rusty with all this garbage...", she then waves her left hand dismissively at herself, but what she says next she fully expects to having to hear an ear full from Keizen giving her guff about it later, but ignores the likelihood of it all the same, "Normally... I don't give a damn about this crap, and would sooner ignore it... But, if your Hollow is the one with the peculiar reiastu I been feeling, I'd at the very least like to see'em... So... Kyra, right?... You mind if I tag along?"
Post by Shinigami Kyra on Jul 18, 2009 12:26:22 GMT -5
>>"Someone who picks up a mission without looking into the details, simply because they 'wanted a break' typically does it to get the hell away from somethin'..."<<
"Yea," Kyra muttered in agreement, obviously not caring too much about giving away any information on what had happened... or rather, what had happened to her. She had never lost control like that... not once. Still, her memories shot out to her last mission on Earth... the black out, that woman... that seemed to look like her. At first, she had thought it to be a dream when the two confronted one another... a very strange one, at that. But, it seemed that woman's voice traveled within her mind far too often than not, providing her with thoughts of mental disturbance... or worse; insanity.
>>"It's none of my business, though."<<
The crimson haired Shinigami quickly shook her head, as if to shake the very thoughts lingering free from her mind in order to spill them onto the beach. Her gaze returned to the horizon, where the water's edge attempted to grip the sky. It was truly a sight to behold, something that Soul Society surely lacked. The sound of the water crashing against the sands in a rhythmic pattern. It was enough to calm her soul straight to the core. Still... there was something faintly... familiar stirring within her chest. A hand instinctively went to her chest as she felt a sudden pain developing within. It was as if she had felt a physical blow, not to her chest, but to her very insides. It took a moment, but she swallowed the lump in her throat.
>>"Lovely, huh?"<<
"... yea..." Kyra muttered, a bit confused by her own stir of emotions. She enjoyed the scenery... yet, why did she feel so sad? Curiously, she felt something wet on her cheek, and slowly, a hand moved up to trace the source. Was she crying? A single tear had falling from those scarlet hues and trailed down her cheek. Tears... why was she crying?
>>"Typically, I don't like coming to Karakura... Moves weird... Too much hustle and bustle, reiastu levels get wacky, and the soul traffic just isn't normal... The latter is sorta' what sparked my curiosity lately... There's something... I dunno... off about this one reiastu spike keep feelin' from time to time... Can't place my finger on it... could be a Hollow... I dunno... Maybe I just got rusty with all this garbage..."<<
As the woman spoke, Kyra had subconsciously turned her head, not really to be rude and appear as though she weren't listening, but to make certain her eyes were wiped dry. She used a bit of her scarf, and made it appear as though she were repositioning it. About halfway through the woman's words, she turned to face her to hear the rest.
>> "Normally... I don't give a damn about this crap, and would sooner ignore it... But, if your Hollow is the one with the peculiar reiastu I been feeling, I'd at the very least like to see'em... So... Kyra, right?... You mind if I tag along?"<<
Kyra was lazy; everyone pretty much understood that. So, hearing an offer of help, the short five-foot girl was certainly not one to refuse.
"Yea, I don't mind," Kyra shrugged a single shoulder while the other was placed upon her hip. Anything to lighten the load on her end. Still, it probably would have been better if she had paid more attention during the briefing; hell, as of right now, she wasn't really sure what the hell she was looking for. Still, she assumed getting whatever information she could from the girl about this strange reiatsu would be a nice start. "So about this spiking reiatsu; does it show up randomly, or have any sort of pattern?"
Last Edit: Jul 18, 2009 15:18:15 GMT -5 by Shinigami Kyra
Ai watched the Shinigami in front of her as she spoke to Kyra, it has been many years since she last ran into one, or even spoken to one for that matter. On the whole she had grown so far and wide distant from the Soul Society, she did not even have a clue what they were like any more, nor even if they were at all as powerful as she remembers them. She did catch the tear in Kyra's eye, but Ai was never one to pry on such a matter, and just ignored it acting as though she never noticed and prattled on.
When asked about the reiastu, she paused for a moment, and begun walking toward the city as she spoke presuming Kyra would follow. A move typically seen amongst commanders and such, old habits die hard, and even though Ai has tried to distance herself from hers as much possible, she still had lingering aspects she never seemed to be able to shake. Which on a certain level scared her, though she would never admit to such a thing.
She spoke as she walked answering Kyra's question, "Never felt anything like it before... It felt like a Hollow, I guess - certainly dark enough... but... with a Shinigami's reiastu as part of its own...It'd just pop up chaotically... and out of no where, then... poof... gone..."
Glancing about to either side of herself briefly she went on to say, "Lot more Hollow trouble, too...", shrugged nonchalantly as she commented, "More rampant than I've usually seen them, watched a few get their prizes... Decided to stop one from getting his... figured that was my good deed for the day."
Post by Shinigami Kyra on Jul 18, 2009 16:33:15 GMT -5
The woman walked, and Kyra kept up in pace. Her hands clasped behind her head, and her scarf was gently pulled up over her mouth, resting just under her nose, how she traditionally wore it. As the woman continued to speak, there was still a lingering question Kyra wanted to ask the girl. The way she spoke and presented herself... there was one thing that was on her mind and she couldn't help but be curious of it. She spoke as though she were on a mission for a long time... as though she hadn't been back in Soul Society for quite a while... either that, or she had left Soul Society all together. She didn't appear to be on any sort of long term mission by key points she had made earlier in her speech, so Kyra could only assume the latter. Still, she wasn't about to start asking questions. Whatever the hell the girl was going through, it wasn't any of her business.
"Shinigami and Hollow's presence, hu?" Kyra's eyes trailed forward, spacing out a bit as she muttered after the woman had finished her analyzing speech. That bad feeling began to rise within the pit of her stomach... that familiar sensation that seemed to alert her whenever her path began to stray from its protective course along the journey of life. There were many belief's Kyra had, some far different than the ordinary Shinigami. She had this... faint, distant feeling whenever she felt her life was riding a bit off course, or teetering toward a more dangerous path. Such a feeling started at the pit of her stomach and forced her concentration to lessen.
The crimson haired girl's head shook, as though attempting to shake the thoughts free from her skull once again. Her eyes reflected toward where they were heading... then, she felt it...
While none of Grimmjow's other Espada liked to go out and get their hands dirty for the hell of it, Nina did. Not that he cared that she did. The new Primera and "King" didn't give a damn who she killed while on her little hunting trips.
Which made her life as an Arrancar oh so much fun.
Gracefully, she tore open a Gargantua in the skies above Karakura and lithely stepped out. Her chin length black hair danced in the wind, the violet streaks glistening brightly.
The Tercera wore a vest and skin tight white pants as her uniform, revealing half of the hollow hole in her abdomen, and showing off the rest of her toned stomach. Her zanpakutou sat in a purple sash on her waist. White, fingerless gloves completed the outfit.
Masking her reitsu and landing on one of the roof tops, she homed in on her prey. Two decently strong reitsu signatures popped up, and she flashed a feral grin, teeth gleaming in the sunlight.
Nina Matador was a skilled hunter, able to move silently through the cityscape at high speed without being detected. It didn't take long to reach the beach.
She managed to arc around the two supposed shinigami on the beach, positioning herself to come at them from across the water. Well maybe she wouldn't just eviscerate them. She could have fun with this.
Stopping in mid air above the water, she flared her massive spiritual energy, causing a large wave to crash in to the shore, and a whirlpool to form beneath her feet. Water rose into several spiraling twisters around her, and her golden eyes glared dangerously out at the two warriors on the beach.
Walking along with Kyra, suddenly she heard the voice of the little girl that is her Zanpakuto's spirit utter flatly, "God... you're so dumb, Ai...", narrowing her eyes a bit suddenly hearing the girls voice as she walked. But her attention returned to Kyra hearing her quickly reflect on Ai's earlier description of the reiastu she had been feeling. Ai arched a brow in response to it, she could not really tell if Kyra took some thing from it.
But then there was that voice again mocking her, "Oh. My. God. You are so damned dense."
Ai was a bit irritated at this point and scolded at the girl within her mind, "Keizen, I told you to shut the hell up earlier. So... do it."
"Psh, fine... dumbass...", retorted the child's voice, "Don't blame me when you get your ass kicked..."
Ai just shook her head again as she was about to say something but became distracted feeling that reiastu flicker again, "Any--... Huh... There's that reiastu again... Only now it feels like its right behind--", she says as she turns around seeing this strange Hollow judging by the cylindrical hole running through the female as her reiastu built to astounding extents not far from behind them. Ai's eyes nearly popped out of her head in shock as she muttered in shock, "Oh shit.", immediately she drew her Zanpakuto feeling the powerful dark malevolence within this Hollow - yet there was that Shinigami reiastu entwined within it - the creature was an odd sight to her, "Tenshi Higure. Awaken."
The zatoichi zanpakuto turned blinding white as it begun taking a larger form while increasing her own reiastu as much as possible before being struck at from the ambush, but then there was that damn girl's voice again, "Oh sure... now you need me... jackass...", Ai's eyes narrowed in the midst of this in reaction to the child's voice.
