The Calm (Kyra)

[Ai]

The industrial park of Karakura just the edges of its housing districts, several abandon and shabby warehouses lay within the old industrial sector of the city. One abandoned warehouse in particular Ai knew of used by some of past acquaintances of hers, however, they were no where in sight and Ai knew they would likely not be showing up there. Idle boxes and dust, tattered tarps littered about the place. While Kyra slept, Ai watched over her while nonchalantly flipping through a kind of picture book that was idly left behind there, but eventually reaching a part in the book that even got her blushing she set it aside.

Ai had no intention of waking Kyra any time soon, suffering under the strength of a Hollow as it attempts to take over your body, especially in the midst of fighting a powerful opponent like an Arrancar. All she did all through the night is watch over Kyra, almost dutifully, which these days is quite out of her character. It seemed Ai's current cast of empathy or dare one say... sympathy... for Kyra was getting to her. On the bright of things, as she watched over Kyra while she slumbered, Ai's zanpakuto Keizen never said a word within Ai's mind - a bonus.

It was morning by now, sunlight beaming through the small windows nearly at the ceilings edge, while a little more sunlight peaked its way through small holes, cracks, and crevasses in the old walls and ceiling of the warehouse. Dust floated in the stale air itself of the grimy warehouse, the little dust fragments glistening a dash in the sunlight as they lingered in the air. Ai did not realize how long she had been up till then, but still - Kyra needed someone to watch over her for... just in case. Though, Ai herself had some of her wounds to treat and allow to some recovery before getting too active.

Though it was an hour or so after daybreak Ai heard a stir coming from Kyra, seeing her finally wake to the sun's rise in the early hour. Ai looked at her carefully from where she sat to make sure Kyra was fine and that Kyra was in fact actually Kyra, though with the lazy manner in which she rose, it was clear this was the peculiar girl she encountered last night and the beast within her, "You alright? Wounds may take some time to heal up", Ai stated, "If you're not scared or daunted by what you are by now... I'll put my blade through your skull right now, a crazy idiot who doesn't feel either ain't got the right to be what we are... At least now I know where all that reiastu comes from, but... still... if I'm going to stick my neck out helping you anymore I want to know who exactly the fuck you are... It's tough as hell for me to swallow you're some hapless 12th Seat out on a simple mission... No damn 12th Seat gets a fucking mission like that."

[Shinigami Kyra]

In her sleep, she was silent. Her dreams simple mannered; confusion images still, but incoherent nonetheless, an inability to be later interpreted. Those dark crimson strands fell partially over her face, a longer strand catching just beneath her nose, tickling it at just the right angle to break that dead-seemed sleep. Her hand reached up to scratch the itch, and she rolled over in... whatever makeshift bedding she had been sleeping in. She felt like she had slept for well over three days, her muscles sore and her mind in quite the fog. The familiar scent of waking up in her normal room didn't seem to drift by her, it seemed... the scent of nightly burned incense, and the flower bed that had been planted by some officer in her squad just a few meters from her door. Her hand lazily moved up to rub her eyes, not really wanting to awaken at first, but realizing the scent had changed, her mind forced her body despite that fact.

>>"You alright? Wounds may take some time to heal up."<<

Kyra blinked for a bit, still shaking the sleep from her eyes. She glanced around for a moment, uncertain of her surroundings. Soon, however, the memories of the past day had come back to her. Images, at first... but soon, her expression turned from tired to serious.

>>"If you're not scared or daunted by what you are by now... I'll put my blade through your skull right now, a crazy idiot who doesn't feel either ain't got the right to be what we are... At least now I know where all that reiastu comes from, but... still... if I'm going to stick my neck out helping you anymore I want to know who exactly the fuck you are... It's tough as hell for me to swallow you're some hapless 12th Seat out on a simple mission... No damn 12th Seat gets a fucking mission like that."<<

Kyra hadn't really thought of it until now. Certainly, if Soul Society had been uncertain of exactly what level of hollow was behind such activity, they would have sent someone from the Investigation Unit to survey the activity... not some random twelfth seat. Her eyes were focused upon her folded legs, having pushed herself to a seating position, the covers over her now piled over thighs and brought up over her shoulders. It seemed no matter where she awoke, she always felt colder in the early morning.

"I didn't lie about my position," Kyra stated without really looking up at the woman. "But... about... that... thing..."

Again, it felt just like that last time... it seemed it was the same situation. Her eyes closed momentarily as she remembered events, albeit most were simply blurred images.

"I think it happened a few months ago," Kyra attempted to call the memory to surface. "It was a similar assignment... unknown hollow activity in America. I was stationed there for little over a week... it was a full moon at the time, I believe. Thus far, it had just been some small fry; stray hollows that were easily taken care of. That night, I got another call... this one, though... it kept disappearing... then reappearing. It drove me in circles for a good hour. Then..."

Kyra blinked her eyes open, still unable to remember the full details of what had happened that night. Her brows furrowed, frustration appearing as silence followed her story. It was obvious she was still having trouble remembering the details of the even.

"I... can't remember much," Kyra explained, finally shaking her head in disappointment. "Whatever it was... it just came at me so fast; I didn't have time to react. After that, I woke up in Squad 4. They said they had retrieved my body after they had lost contact with me for days. I wasn't too heavily injured... but... since then... since that day..."

Her eyes focused upon her hands, which were hidden within the blanket that was wrapped around her body. They fiddled around with one another for a while before her face relaxed and her head tilted back.

"I don't know what happened to me," Kyra finally confessed. "And neither did their Captain. No one was able to explain to me what had happened... there were no traces of hollow activity, nor any damage done around where they had found me. Still..."

Her eyes trailed over to her Zanpakuto, which had been placed off to the side, leaning up against one of the walls and a pile of cardboard boxes.

"Everyone said not to worry about it," Kyra said softly. "Not to worry that I had messed up my first mission. I wasn't sure who to talk to about it, though... I felt like... something had changed. Kagutsuchi had noticed a change in me, though... she noticed the change in my reiatsu... and how much easier it was for me to control her. I was able to achieve bankai, to my surprise, and to her suggestion. So... I didn't think much of what happened... since I didn't have much to worry about... that is..."

Her eyes lowered again as her expression hardened once more. Until now, of course. What the hell was that... woman. That long crimson hair... those yellow eyes... that woman's power seemed to engulf her whole. Despite Ai's last query which questioned the orders Kyra had initially received, she was more concerned about her uncontrolled transformation, which she barely remembered.

"Can you..." Kyra turned her head, her features serious. Ai... she had said said something along the lines of... what you are now. Was there no way of turning back? What exactly had she turned into? And who was that red haired woman that looked similar to her ... yet, so far different? "Tell me who that woman was? That woman... who took control of me? Was she some sort of hollow with the ability to possess people? If so, why did she come out now? Is there any way to get rid of her?"

Kyra didn't understand what it was she had turned into... all that she knew was some woman was trying to take control of her now. She supposed she had always heard her voice, but it had been so faint, she could barely hear it. Now... though, it seemed it was far too loud for her to stand any longer.

[Rebel Raven]

Elsewhere in town a black blur moved across the roofs of Karakura like some western super hero that couldn't fly.
Slippered feet moved a small, light body rapidly. Long legs took efficient strides and pulled in for those roof to roof leaps.

Long tendrils of cloth sheathed hair ended with rings trailed behind the blur that sped about Karakura. Ponytails that were trademarked, practically, by Soifon.

Indeed, Soifon was sent on patrols -personally- thanks to the madness at the library, and she couldn't say she was not looking forward to making the kill.

She didn't wear her Captain's haori this time. She moved as an assassin, and not as a captain, and it felt good.
It felt good to be on the hunt with wind in her face, and she felt her blood as it ran in her body. She felt... alive... She felt so alive when she was bent on making someone feel just the opposite.

She even had a -little- smile on her face as she scoured the city on a mission of punishment.

The Captain hated one thing though... one part of this... that she felt some stupid juvenile pleasure in the roof top run. It didn't matter where it was, what era it was, it all had that same feel. Almost like she were flying.
Yeah, she hated feeling like a child even in the slightest.
But it still was fun.

[Ai]

Ai listened to Kyra carefully, listening to her story - trying to pick up any sort of detail of where this girl became what she is. She both got her answer but did not at the same time, "If I had to guess by your story, somewhere in that memory gap... you were Hollowified, though without any further details it's tough to say... But, someone harmonized your reiatsu within your soul to make the merger work. Maybe some time in your black out, or someone in 4th Division... Hard to say, the opportunity for either is there... If I had to guess, probably the former - a person suffers through a lot when their reiatsu is not harmonized with the monster spawned in them. Reason I say the former, is because 4th Division wouldn't be saying you'll be fine if they had to witness what you likely suffered before your reiatsu was harmonized."

Ai gently closed her eyes for a contemplative moment before remarking as she opened them again, "But... yes... that woman you described... she's a Hollow, she's you - the part of your soul that you would be were you to become a Hollow. We tend to call them our 'Inner Hollow', the evil and darkness of our soul given form. They're apart of us... I've heard from others like us... there's some crazy former Captain that is lookin' for a way to end the Hollowification... It's a load of shit to me.", she shrugs nonchalantly, "But everyone has their pipe-dream. Because so far, no one has found a 'cure' for it.", staring off for a long moment as if having a deep thought she remarked idly, "Though... at the same time... not so sure I want a 'cure'..."

Taking in a deep breath and letting out a slow exhale, she stood onto her feet, while the long length of white tattered and worn clothe she wears haphazardly folded in half over her her obi sash and belt around her waist, she pulled up as if putting it on like a coat, "It's only fair... sense you told me about your background... I tell you mine...", slipping the old worn clothe it became clear to anyone who had any affiliation with the Gotei 13 it was a Captain's haori, she turned to her left a little and the 8th Division emblem could be seen on the back, "Once upon a time... long time ago... I was Captain of 8th Division, Ai Kyōraku of Noble House Kyōraku...", though in the next instant she dismissively slipped the haori off letting fall around her waist once again as though it were nothing more than an idle piece of clothe.

Taking her seat again she uttered with a quiet tone, "Not all unlike yourself, I guess, I was sent on a mission, a decently ranked member of 11th Division. A 4th Seat of Kidou Corps and who was the Vice-Captain of the 8th Division went with me to investigate what was going on. In the outskirts of the Soul Society in the forests, there was - some sort of... blight... that was spreading, acres of the forest just rotting - dying off. It was being done by a powerful Hollow, though... we defeated it... still we didn't walk away from the incident unharmed. I was severely wounded and the Vice-Captain had his reiatsu sucked out of him... he never recovered. The Hollow's reiatsu lingered in the wounds it inflicted me with, its reiatsu was trying to merge with my soul - trying to corrupt it. The... 4th Seat of Kidou Corp... she... came up with a ritual to harmonize my soul with the reiatsu... Though, she did not understand the full gravity of what it meant to do that. It triggered a Hollowification that would lay dormant with me for a long time."

Continuing when looking back to Kyra she remarked, "But... just like you... I felt stronger... invigorated... more in touch with zanpakuto... reached Bankai... With his Vice-Captain out of commission, the 8th Division Captain in those days asked me to become his Vice-Captain... Unlike you with my new found strength - I wasn't lazy - I had ambition, so I took it... eventually even taking his Captaincy from him... But... not long afterward... the Hollow in me... it awoke, the... 4th Seat... of Kidou Corps... sacrificed herself... for me... to save me... I couldn't go back to Seireitei... it meant execution... So I went into exile, been such for the past three hundred years... So... these days... I'm just... Ai... I've heard no more than... maybe century or so... after my disappearance from Seireitei, another Kyōraku became 8th Division Captain... though I doubt it do to by that point becoming a distant memory to them, I can't help but think sometimes that was the Kyōraku Noble House's way of making up for my failure."

"But, I have to ask, what are you going to do now? What do you want to now?", Ai question out of curiosity, but then states quite sternly, "If you go back to the Seireitei, I'll call you an idiot. They'll kill you for being what you are. You're not a Shinigami, not anymore, you're not a Hollow either, you're something in between, what we call a Vizard. A Shinigami with a Hollow within them. It's not all bad, it has its perks. Like a greater reiatsu, like you've already noticed - feeling stronger, but also you can tap into that Hollow's powers and abilities for more power... Though... it's not... really the easiest thing to do. Still... it's part of what you are now...", Ai grinned widely, "... might as well enjoy it."

[Shinigami Kyra]

Kyra was silent for quite some time. She wasn't used to having to be so serious for so long... or even for something as intense as this. What the hell was she supposed to do? What the hell was she supposed to think? All this shit was way over her head; she didn't want to think of any of it! To not be able to return to Soul Society? To simply just leave? She couldn't do that, could she? It was less out of responsibility and more... of her friends... she couldn't just leave without telling them, could she?

"Gah," was all that she said after ten minutes of silence. It was too much for her mind to take in all at once. She did, however, ask for information, right? She had to at least tell some people what happened to her, right? They would just come searching for her, wouldn't they? A Vizard... so that's what she had turned into. "I'unno what I'm going to do... I mean... things have changed a bit. There's a substitute Shinigami that's running around here in Karakura Town that I believe is a Vizard... and those other Vizards... they helped out Soul Society not too long ago... maybe... I don't know..."

Sure, she was lazy... but did she really want to abandon Soul Society? Would they truly take her life because of what had happened? Kyra wasn't sure what to believe anymore, and instead, plopped herself back down onto that makeshift bedding, grumbling incoherent words with the blanket pulled over her head. Couldn't she just deal with this tomorrow?

[Ai]

"Hmph.", Ai grunted in response to Kyra's words, "I've heard about that Vizard kid, too... Vasto Lorde... Pshaw! My fuckin' ass... I been a Vizard for three centuries running now and I never anything like that kinda' crap before... As for the other Vizards who 'helped' out Seireitei, I'm guessing you mean Shinji and his band... I've... crossed... paths with them on a couple of occasions, I'm no friend of theirs nor they mine, I stay out of their way and they stay out of mine. That's about my extent of a relationship with them, I won't claim to know any of them really. All I know, like me, they don't give much of a damn about Seireitei or the Gotei 13... They seem to be more lookin' out for our own kind, Vizards... there's others out there, you'll see them from time to time."

Staring off a little distantly, Ai remarked quietly, "I'll... concede to ignorance about how the Gotei 13 do things these days with this Unohana woman in charge, and I've... separated myself from the Seireitei as a whole for a long time... But in Yamamoto's days - if they find out what you are - they'd kill you... I'm still dumbfounded that old goat is dead...", she then chuckles a little with a smirk, "In honesty, I kinda' liked him... I hated his fascist conservatism, but still... I don't know, I liked him..."

Glancing to her side seeing Kyra overwhelmed, her eyes fell downcast feeling a little guilty, "I'm... sorry... Kyra... I shouldn't be dumping all of this on you all at once... But, honestly, you should leave Seireitei... you don't need that place. Or the Gotei 13, no one does. What is there? Serve the nobility and save human souls? Pfft. As a former noble myself, they're not worth protecting. Humans? Hrm. Let the Hollows do their thing, simply the next step up on the food chain to them.", sighing a tiny bit, "I know you don't want to deal with this now. But, it isn't something you can just ignore until it's convenient, trust me, there is no convenient time as a Vizard."

[Rebel Raven]

Soifon would normally attack without a word, but she felt Kyra deserved something more. As if she deserved to know who beat her ass. A nice ass, she had to admit, but not as good as Yoruichi's... ahhh... Yoruichi-saammaaa... wait, no, no business! Business now.

"So, this is where you've hidden yourself, Traitor?" Her voice boomed across the room yet didn't achieve a shout's volume. It was a voice a Captain would have.

And, indeed, the voice came from a Captain!

Soifon stood atop a window sill of a tall window. Her small frame actually fit in the large window frame... Yet despite the fact that Soifon was a tiny, tiny woman she stood there as if she had the fight of a woman 2, or 3 times her size.

She watched the Vizards with angry eyes that were common to her. Her arms were crossed, and she stood with excellent posture. Yeah, she felt she had the authoritah, and she projected it as if it were spiritual pressure.

"Where's Vice Captain Hinamori, Vizards?!" she demanded of them with that barking tone. Yeah, now she was glad she didn't just assassinate them. They needed to know where Momo was. She was a valuable chip to use as leverage.

She didn't bother grasping her Zanpakuto. She expected them to go ape nuts, and fight, and if they underestimated her as they leapt into combat, then she'll be glad to enlighten them on the folly of it.

[Shinigami Kyra]

>>"I know you don't want to deal with this now. But, it isn't something you can just ignore until it's convenient, trust me, there is no convenient time as a Vizard."<<

Everything had been going good... well, sort of. Sure, she had lost a bit of control during her training session with Momo, but since then, everything had been fine. Now, it seemed, her entire life was turned upside-down. Quite frankly, it was making her want to go back to sleep in order to wake back up in the world she was once apart of... now, everything was different. Could she really not turn back to Soul Society? Would she ever see Momo again?

>>"So, this is where you've hidden yourself, Traitor?"<<

Those crimson hues focused up toward an opened window where none other than Captain of the Second Division, Soifon stood.

"S-Soifon-taicho?" Kyra blinked in utter surprise. Soifon was one of the few Captains she used honorifics for, despite her lazy nature. One was due to the fact that she knew the woman's lethal reputation, and inability to take even the lightest of jokes.

"That's Captain Soifon, of the Second Division," Kyra spoke softly to Ai, assuming the woman was unfamiliar with the new line of Captains.

>>"Where's Vice Captain Hinamori, Vizards?!"<<

Vizards? Momo? Did Soul Society already cast her away? Why were they searching for Momo? Had something happened to her? Confusion was washed all over Kyra's face, uncertain exactly what to do or even say in this type of situation. Everything was moving too fast for her... it was too much!

"What... what happened to Momo-chan?" Kyra shouted back, uncertain of one of her closest friend's current predicament.

[Ai]

Hearing the demands of what was clearly a Shinigami Captain by the way the thin set woman was dressed, Ai's shoulders slumped as she irritatedly remarked in frustration, "D'awww - what the hell! First couple jack off--... err... Ar-... Ackbar--... no that's not it... umm... Anar--..."

Ai's zanpakuto Keizen then screamed in her head finally speaking up, "ARRANCAR, YOU DIPSHIT!"

"Arrancar... yeah... Arrancar... first a couple of them dumbasses and now a fuckin' Captain...", Ai grumbled in vexation, she side glanced to Kyra when she mentioned that the Captain before them was the current running 2nd Division Captain; which oddly Ai cracked up laughing catching this piece of news and then her laughter was clarified as she remarked, "Oh man, this is too good... Which Shihoin was it who blundered enough to lose their centuries old strangle hold on 2nd Division?", clearly making this mocking inquiry utterly oblivious to Soifon's obsession with Yoruichi the last Shihoin 2nd Division Captain. Though her laughter was unconsciously more out of the perspective of a noble from a rivaling Noble Household from days now long past.

But her laughter subsided hearing the Captain's demands and Kyra's confusion leading to Ai's own confusion, "Hi--? Mo--? Who the shit are you two talking about?", clearly Ai appears to be also utterly terrible with names.

[Rebel Raven]

"You tell me, Kyra. You're the one that abducted Vice Captain Hinomori from the Seireitei as a hostage!" Soifon said angrily.
Damnit. Kyra asked that question in a tone that was able to register as the truth in Soifon's keen senses. But... She knew what she saw. Kyra dragging Vice Captain Momo Hinamori off by the neck like some wild perverted psychopath amidst the chaos.

She nearly actually -thought- about not killing Kyra off the bat! For all of .00000000000009 seconds then someone laughed at Yoruichi's family... and Yoruichi at that.

Soifon's eyes flashed with a frightening look. One could almost try and describe it... if it wasn't for the fact she just outright damn near vanished with a high speed Shunpou from her location to appear right next to the disrespectful Ai. By the time she reached Ai, and appeared, she had her foot cocked back, and it immediately was launched in a strong punt aimed for her jaw.
Ai would've been lucky to get off the rest of her words that followed the insult to her mentor, and her bloodline.

She dared not offer any more of an idea that Yoruichi is her weakness than that, but wow, that insult to her mentor ticked her off.