Bleach: Fade to White- The Mortal World

[Innis Cabal]

1, Don't God Mod

2. Don't Argue

3. Have fun


Blah blah blah, take it away first poster.

[riccaru]

A friendly enough looking youth travels along the lonesome road. Well, not so lonesome as boring. Along the streets are the typical cars and pedestrians and such, but for Ginhei Aoki, not a lot goes on here. It was time to shake things up.

Although, one wouldn't tell by the way he walked, or smiled, or even stared eerily at the man behind the coffee counter. Ginhei was a killer. He'd fought and won against the worst the world had to offer, or so he thought. Nothing quite equaled the feeling of the scythe pushing through the monster.

As he hands the puts te empty paper cup back in place his smile widens. Someone would get a nasty surprise in the form of a needle hole in the bottom of the next cup of searingly hot coffee. Next stop: the pharmacy.

No, that wouldn't do. He's much too clever for that. "I wonder where all my little friends are today?" The boy asks no one in particular, as his hand reaches back to pluck a single ringing note through the city streets, loud enough to be heard by all in the area, not that Ginhei would care about the stares and whispers.

[Hyooz]

He never could stop looking over his shoulder.

Ten years now, it's been since the war. Since he left Soul Society. Left those damn assignments behind. He still checked all the angles, noted the exits. Probably never would stop, likely for the better. They still had enemies here, plenty of them. Splitting up wasn't his first choice, but they'd just be too easy to find all in one place. Maybe that was why he was still so paranoid. Got too used to Eiji watching his back for him, and now the vice-captain was two towns over, leaving his back sorely lacking.

For now, though, the only blade he held were his pruning shears, and the ficus he was nurturing was good to go. On to the others. He appreciated the work here. Delicate. Precise. Another reminder of the old days.

The people were good though. Mei's grandchildren were visiting again, which always brightened the mood. Shizuru manned the storefront, as usual, and he kept the plants looking their liveliest. The only thing that concerned him today was an odd blue leaf that appeared in the bottom of his favorite bamboo plant. A signal he knew well.

The day continued, and, in time, he was finally secure again. The safehouse could have been more comfortable, for sure, but he still felt it was necessary. The new Captain Commander wouldn't be any more forgiving ten years later than he was ten minutes after the fact. His computer booted up quickly, and he found his email, opened the junk folder, and clicked the first penis enlargement ad he saw. Vulgar, to be sure, but effective.

Eiji's face flickered onto the screen. "Here's the coordinates for the dead drop. Not sure how much we'll be able to depend on these people, but you're right, there's something there." Orochi nodded. Even from where he was, Eiji's information would be perfect. It always was. "I'll make the pickup by sunrise. Excellent work, as always. I think these Fullbringers will be exactly what we need. It won't be much longer before we can move forward."

He backed out of everything, and shut down the computer. At long last. Who would have thought their vindication might lie in the hands of humans?

[El_Pablo]

A bead of sweat ran down from the old man's chin. It ran down his cheek, past the wrinkle's in his eyes and fell two meters between the two mop handles upon which he was balancing. With a silent exhale, the man pushed himself upward completing another repetition of an old push up exercise. The mop handles trembled slightly, and the sight ran the old man's memories to times some centuries past. He remembers his old shifu teaching him as he performed this exercise before. You must remove all distractions, he had said, if your pain trembles your balance, heal yourself. If your fear trembles your balance, grow courage. If your breath trembles your balance, halt it.

The old man paused at the top of his movement until the quivering stopped, and he lowered himself slowly once more. Sekkuan Jing maintained his focus while within his fake body. He enjoyed the difficulty of training again, and his memory slid again. This time to soul society and the shinigami academy: his classes, his pursuit of kido, his attempts to enter into the sixth division, his failure. His body was lowered, but the handles were trembling again. Jing tried to clear his mind, but the memory hung in his mind.

Why did his training now remind him of then? Why not the hundred years since? He had always trained even after leaving the academy. Training and improvement had always been part of his life even while running errands for the seated officers, even after becoming an officer and running messages for all of the gotei 13. Yet, they all seemed a blur somehow right now compared to the times when his instructors pushed him to his limits. Perhaps it was the school. Whenever he was at Yukisun Academy, he felt like he was back in the monastery that was home to his youth in both the life and afterlife. Something about it was so familiar... the sticks were still, now, and the old body pushed itself skyward again.

Thoughts of the monastery kept his memory in the past. He remembered feeling isolated when he was the only shinigami. At that time, hollows had been a constant threat though now he was much more prepared to deal with them. Also, now, there were the quincy and those other humans with the strange powers, Fulbringers they called themselves, who fought back against the hollows. Still, there seemed to be an endless supply of the beasts, and he had to be ready to purify the unclean. Every moment not chasing the beasts in spirit form were for training in his gigai. Strong body, strong soul was another saying of his long dead shifu.

The broom handles were wobbling again. I wonder what shifu would say if your memories tremble your balance, he chuckled because he knew the answer, forget them. Jing was denied the chance as he heard noise outside the small hall where he was exercising. Footsteps and voices were approaching the door to the old room. Jing pushed gently off one mop, balancing on the second as it slowly tilted over until he could cartwheel off onto the floor. He landed like a forgotten feather. With one leg, he kicked up the dropped mop and then kicked up against a far door so it landed propped against the frame looking dejected and unused. He hunched his back looking tired an old as he mopped up the small amount of sweat his body had dropped and started mopping toward the door.

A group of kids led by Kanada Kazuho burst into the hall. Calling out for gramps to clear out of the hall so the martial arts club could practice. Jing chuckled as he thought of the teens calling their shouting, gossiping, and pretend punches martial arts practice, but he left anyways. Work was almost over, and, today, he had more training to do with a group of fire dancers. He almost chuckled at that as well, but their leader was the only person he had found who was actually competent with a meteor hammer. His presence kept Jing in Nanto town in the first place, but he had grown fond of the high school. For the first time, his thoughts turned to the future and what he would do if forced to choose between the two...

[Nicklance]

Saigyoji Youki sits at his desk with his feet propped up, enjoying a lolipop. It was a gift from a little girl who paid him a candy to find her lost puppy. Youki considers it a good trade. A man must be paid for his work, but a real man will decide how much his work is worth, and how much his client can be comfortable with for payment.

And this is a good week too, a hundred grand is good business, especially during this time of the year. It almost seems like a season for extra-marital affairs. Wives of successful salarymen suspecting that their husbands' late nights are more than just after-work socializing with colleagues, or over-time. But it does not matter if those suspicions are allayed or confirmed, what matters is that he worked hard and he got paid.

But Youki is not willing to work hard on paperwork. Perhaps he should put up an ad to hire a secretary. Taking up his phone, he calls Marukusu Usucha.

[userpay]

(ooc I'm presuming the time frame is just after classes or somesuch)

Miharu watches from her classroom window as the martial arts club enters the dojo. Not that they were liable to get much work done. She sighs. That was the problem with club activities, while a few actually did get together to work seriously the vast majority only serve as a hang out for people with vaguely similar interests. Course not like she could take over the club or anything, the whole group is rather devoted to Kanada Kazuho and neither did they like her much after she beat the snot out of a few wannabes for a slight.

Now she begins thinking back to her own training, of her mother and uncle. How unforgiving they were during training yet caring afterwards. Of the inking of her tattoo. Of those things. Miharu gives an involuntary shudder as she thinks of those monsters. Of how strange things have gotten these past two years.

[LordBlackadder]

Usucha too was at his desk, tapping at some keys as he wrote up his article on the 'lewd self-pictures' that had been sent from Mayor Yoshino Renji's Twitter account to a local female citizen he had never met before. Of course, the mayor had claimed that his account was hacked. But his protestations, to one with the experience of Usucha, seemed too much.

Some talking with the representatives at Twitter, and convincing them to investigate fully... had born interesting fruit. Apparently, there was a pattern such pictures being sent before from Yoshino's account, but no complaints. By their opinion, the man had sent them all himself.

Usucha had never liked Yoshino anyway. So he gleefully put the finishing touches on this paper bombshell- when the phone rang. With a mite of frustration, he answered it: "Marukusu speaking."

[Nicklance]

Usucha too was at his desk, tapping at some keys as he wrote up his article on the 'lewd self-pictures' that had been sent from Mayor Yoshino Renji's Twitter account to a local female citizen he had never met before. Of course, the mayor had claimed that his account was hacked. But his protestations, to one with the experience of Usucha, seemed too much.

Some talking with the representatives at Twitter, and convincing them to investigate fully... had born interesting fruit. Apparently, there was a pattern such pictures being sent before from Yoshino's account, but no complaints. By their opinion, the man had sent them all himself.

Usucha had never liked Yoshino anyway. So he gleefully put the finishing touches on this paper bombshell- when the phone rang. With a mite of frustration, he answered it: "Marukusu speaking."

"Hey its me. Didn't occur to me to ask you last time, but how much to put up an ad for recruitment on the paper?" Youki speaks smoothly, and one could almost see the Cheshire cat grin behind that voice.

[El_Pablo]

Jing finished putting away the cleaning supplies as he toweled off the sweat. The old man had no time for a shower. He shouldered the bags with the martial arts supplies for his upcoming class, and began shuffling down the hall. It was a mismatch, the hunched old man, and that heavy bag, but Jing found pretending too hard was even worse. He smiled at clean floors and friendly students as he made his way out of the main building. The sun still hung well above the mountains as it dripped golden light over the school's entrance way. A cool breeze brought a reminder of summer's impending end. Jing would have to change the flowers in the planter's soon to prepare for the autumn bloom.

The sound of caster and wheels brought his attention to one planter in particular. "Takeshi-kun. Please be careful around my gardens." He called to the young skateboarder who hated his own family name.

The short haired rebel gave him a snort. "Better your flowers than my clothes."

"I will make you a deal Takeshi-kun. When you fall off that planter, I will replace your clothes if you will replace my azaleas."

"Whatever, gramps. Your flowers aren't worth half of what my clothes are worth."

"Today, perhaps, that is true, but, in two weeks, finding faded jeans and a torn t-shirt will still be simple. Finding azaleas in bloom will be impossible. Do not think there will be know consequences if you fall."

That half-grown boy tried to wear an all-knowing smirk. "I don't fall, gramps."

Jing only walked past him and spoke slowly to himself with the weight of experience no mortal man possessed. "We all fall." However, he had no time to argue. He pushed forward toward the street. He needed to catch the bus down the river road down into Nanto city proper for his class. He put his bag down at the bus stop, surprised to see it empty. He must have just missed the last bus, and, now, he will have to wait for some time. He might still be on time to practice...

[LordBlackadder]

"Hey its me. Didn't occur to me to ask you last time, but how much to put up an ad for recruitment on the paper?" Youki speaks smoothly, and one could almost see the Cheshire cat grin behind that voice.

Usucha groaned, as he recognized that voice. "I've got better things to do than to do Classified's job as well as my own. But since you've forced it... keep it under 500 words, and it'll only be 2410 yen. Mail a check and the text to the newspaper office, labeled for Classified."

OOC: That's $30 equivalent.

[Nicklance]

Usucha groaned, as he recognized that voice. "I've got better things to do than to do Classified's job as well as my own. But since you've forced it... keep it under 500 words, and it'll only be 2410 yen. Mail a check and the text to the newspaper office, labeled for Classified."

OOC: That's $30 equivalent.

There is definitely a grin behind Youki's voice now. "Thank you for the information sir and you sound very tense. Tell you what, dinner is my treat. What say you?"

[userpay]

Glancing at the clock Miharu gathers her things and stands. Not much point in staying after school with nothing to do. She walks through the halls filled with passing students. They go about their lives, ignorant... Often not seeing past the skin of those closest to them. Miharu feels as if she's not a part of them. Detached. Mulling over these thoughts and more its a surprise when Miharu finds herself already at the bus stop, and sharing it with someone else. "Ah, Jing-san... Good Afternoon." Miharu knows of the elderly janitor, having exchanged pleasantries every now and again in the hallways. She eyes the large bag upon the mans back. "If I may ask where are you headed?"
(ooc and I'm out of practice with the honorifics so if theres a better one I should use just say so)

[Innis Cabal]

Ichi sits out on a bench, glancing at the passer by's as a cigarette hangs from his lips. He idly flicks open his pocket knife as he taps his foot.

"This town sucks...there's nothing to do."

He grumbles, looking up at the smaller boy next to him.

[Hyooz]

Fullbringers... there certainly were enough of them in this town. They'd kept the Hollow population low which allowed him to operate in the background, and demonstrated a fair amount of competence on their part. Excellent signs, altogether, but he needed to know more. A full demonstration of their abilities, especially working together, was in order.

His mind turned again to the wafer in his hand. Something he'd gotten through a contact in the Quincies. Having it was questionable enough, but using it would literally invite Hollow after Hollow into this place he called home. Reckless, at best. Downright insane on the roof of a high school.

His thumb pressed down, and the wafer shattered, spreading into the air around him. He had to know how they would perform under real duress. Maybe this would bring out unknown elements, but his investigations of the city had been thorough. The winds of change were blowing indeed. It wouldn't be much longer now before they could make their move.

He turned and shunpoed away, keeping his presence as low as possible. They couldn't know he was here, it would alter their performance. He would be nearby, of course, to observe, and intervene if absolutely necessary. He hoped it wouldn't be. If these Fullbringers couldn't handle some Hollows... they might not last through the looming war.

[Da Mongoose]

Nezumi sits slightly slumped on the bench beside Ichi, pulling his hood down so that his mouse, Chaia, can settle within the folds of the fabric near his head. He opens a packet of chips, offering smaller pieces to the mouse and eating some as well.

"Well.. quiet isn't necessarily a bad thing...? We could see a movie or something?" He murmurs, offering the bag towards Ichi curiously.

[Innis Cabal]

Ichi shakes his head at the offered food, shrugging a little.

"A movie? They'll probably just kick us out or something. But we can give it a try I guess...just to many damn people ya know?"

He exhales slowly, standing through the cloud of smoke.

"We should just get moving to another city...this place doesn't have a whole lot of hollow activity."

[El_Pablo]

"If I may ask where are you headed?"
(ooc and I'm out of practice with the honorifics so if theres a better one I should use just say so)
OOC:Like I know the first thing about Japanese honorifics. I just wing it. Just like a shinigami's reiatsu, Confidence is king. However, Oji-san is the more common translation I use for gramps.

"Ah, Miharu-chan. So good to see you." He greeted with a small bow from the waist and a wrinkled smile. "Oh, this?" He looked at the large bag, and sighed a little. Jing was a terrible liar, so he stuck with the truth. "It is my equipment for my fire dancing martial arts. It is an old hobby, and our group puts on performances. Though you youngsters probably wouldn't enjoy watching a bunch of old men twirling ropes and sticks" He was always kind to all the students, and he never made comment on appearance only behavior. On that point, Miharu had always been impeccable.


His thumb pressed down, and the wafer shattered

The old man's smiles were interrupted by the sound of an electronic gong. He frowned slightly, and reached into the pocket of his striped dress work shirt. A small cell phone pulsated as it sent out a second gong. "Excuse me Miharu-chan." He flipped open the phone while hiding the screen from the young woman. A small map of the nearby area with elevations appeared with a variety of white dots... too many white dots. As he looked, the cry of a hollow, loud, screeching, malevolent tore through the air.

A few beads of sweat gathered on his forehead as he looked up at the young Fullbringer, fully aware she had heard the same thing. "Umm.... the, uh... I mean, principal Toihsuto-sama needs to see me." He smiled weakly and stood up with another small bow. "Seems I will have to catch the next bus." He tried to appear calm as he headed back toward the school, but he flicked that heavy bag over his shoulder like a child's backpack. He hurried onward, This place has never drawn so many hollow, so fast, so early. He looked around the campus. So many children are still here. The old man hurried more.

[Nicklance]

His mind turned again to the wafer in his hand. Something he'd gotten through a contact in the Quincies. Having it was questionable enough, but using it would literally invite Hollow after Hollow into this place he called home. Reckless, at best. Downright insane on the roof of a high school.

His thumb pressed down, and the wafer shattered, spreading into the air around him. He had to know how they would perform under real duress. Maybe this would bring out unknown elements, but his investigations of the city had been thorough. The winds of change were blowing indeed. It wouldn't be much longer now before they could make their move.


There is definitely a grin behind Youki's voice now. "Thank you for the information sir and you sound very tense. Tell you what, dinner is my treat. What say you?"

It wasn't until the third Hollow that appears that the ripples of Hollow reiatsu begin to reach Nanto City Private Investigators. Youki's eyes widen in shock as his grip nearly crushes his phone. "There's Hollows in this city, I'll call you back. Dinner is still on me."

Hanging up very abruptly, Youki rushes upstairs towards the roof access with his Bringer Light, knowing fully well that nobody bloody uses the stairs. Reaching the roof, he quickly stretches his senses out, trying to determine the source of the Hollow reiatsu. Feeling the familiar reverberations of Hollow reiatsu as it echoes and bounces off his own Hollow-based reiatsu. Where is it...there's more than one...where is it!

There it is, distinctly shorter ripples originating at the high school! Gathering reishi particles on the ground of the roof as well as the surrounding air. Youki coaxes the souls of the objects and particles to resonate harmoniously with himself. Executing Bringer Light, Youki begins to speed from rooftop to rooftop towards the high school. This being after lunch time, most people are either back in class, or work and hardly anyone every looks up at the sky.

[userpay]

Miharu looks thoughtful for a moment. "Well... I don't know much about using fire with it but I've studied a bit of martial arts myself. If you don't mind perhaps I cou..." Even as Jing's phone rings something about the air gives Miharu pause. Then the cry comes forth crystal clear. Those monsters. Here. Not good. Trying to keep a straight face Miharu roots around in her bag as if searching for something. "Thats to bad... Ah where is it? I must have left it at class. Oji-san I'll be going ahead!" She turns and sprints past Jing towards the school gate. Palming the stun gun that she'd pulled from the bag so it would be difficult to see. Unnecessary perhaps but more easily explained... Miharu stops in the courtyard to look around, trying to appear as if she were thinking about where something was.

[El_Pablo]

Jing waits until Miharu has entered the building ahead of him before he breaks into a trot. He pays no heed to the students that greet him as he passes. Upon entering the main building he quickly turns down the first hall, and fumbles in his belt for his janitor's master key. She doesn't realize how many there are. She'll be eaten... I might be eaten. The old man's hands trembled with the key as he tried to open the first storage closet he had found. Grow Courage!

The key is still, and the door opens. No sooner is Jing's gigai inside then he twists the bead necklace around it's neck, and the skull symbol pulls his spirit body from his fake one. "Bakuda 26: Kyokko", the kido spell warps the world around him, making his spirit form as invisible outside his gigai as it was inside. Without the incantation, the spell wouldn't keep him hidden for long, but, perhaps long enough to find a good point to defend without revealing himself. He burst out of the closet and into the courtyard. Seeing Miharo, he leapt onto the roof to get a view of the surrounding area and out of hers. As he landed, he only saw a strange man leaping from a nearby roof directly toward him. Jing had to dive and roll to get out of the lightning fast Fullbringer's path.

[Nicklance]

Jing waits until Miharu has entered the building ahead of him before he breaks into a trot. He pays no heed to the students that greet him as he passes. Upon entering the main building he quickly turns down the first hall, and fumbles in his belt for his janitor's master key. She doesn't realize how many there are. She'll be eaten... I might be eaten. The old man's hands trembled with the key as he tried to open the first storage closet he had found. Grow Courage!

The key is still, and the door opens. No sooner is Jing's gigai inside then he twists the bead necklace around it's neck, and the skull symbol pulls his spirit body from his fake one. "Kyokko", the kido spell warps the world around him, making his spirit form as invisible outside his gigai as it was inside. Without the incantation, the spell wouldn't keep him hidden for long, but, perhaps long enough to find a good point to defend without revealing himself. He burst out of the closet and into the courtyard. Seeing Miharo, he leapt onto the roof to get a view of the surrounding area and out of hers. As he landed, he only saw a strange man leaping from a nearby roof directly toward him. Jing had to dive and roll to get out of the lightning fast Fullbringer's path.

Saigyoji Youki skids to a halt as he spots the strange man. "Who the hell are you?" Youki asks, his hand holds a strange triple-barrel gun.

[Da Mongoose]

Ichi shakes his head at the offered food, shrugging a little.

"A movie? They'll probably just kick us out or something. But we can give it a try I guess...just to many damn people ya know?"

He exhales slowly, standing through the cloud of smoke.

"We should just get moving to another city...this place doesn't have a whole lot of hollow activity."

Nezumi frowns a little and nods as he takes the bag back to himself, eating at a slow pace, seeming just to need something to nibble on and distract himself with occasionally. He waves away the smoke from himself discreetly as he stands, looking around briefly. He tries to coax the little mouse to shift so he can safely pull up his hood, leaving her inside to huddle up against his neck and peek out of the hood.

"You haven't given it very long.. Maybe we should just go explore a bit more?" He gives a small smile, looking hopefully at Ichi.

[El_Pablo]

Saigyoji Youki skids to a halt as he spots the strange man. "Who the hell are you?" Youki asks, his hand holds a strange triple-barrel gun.

Jing is stunned the fullbringer could still sense him through his kido's obscurement until he realizes he rapid movement had ended the spell. He keeps his hand off his zanpakto, and keeps low to the roof. The less he was seen, the better. He realized the man was pointing some kind of spirit gun, and his demeanor demanded an answer. "A man without a mask. So, I do not seek to eat you, and I am here to stop those that would. If you want to talk later, come find me. For now, I will hold the line past there." The chinese monk spirit wrapped in all black points toward the old abandoned building, and he quickly shunpo's from one roof to the next. He doesn't even give Youki a chance to respond before diving down from the roof and drawing Hisame in his saber form. Before he touches the ground, he sees three hollows materialize across the sports field.

Jing begins to chant...

[userpay]

Naturally unaware of what was transpiring on the rooftop Miharu continues to scan the courtyard looking for any trace of the hollows. Bad bad bad bad ba... Hears a thump then a scream that shatters the windows on the first floor. There. One had materialized just outside the gate though it conveniently gave her the cover she needed for the already confused students that were still around. "Terrorists! Everyone inside!" Perhaps a little to effective. Miharu notes as she becomes jostled by screaming students. The high schooler almost didn't the spike headed for her before it was to late.

*scrch**shatter*

Glancing behind her, safe momentarily from her hastily summoned scale, Miharu sees that it deflected into an unshattered window though thankfully into the ceiling. Smooth. Miharu glances at the glittering, and possibly laughing, eyes of her tattoo. "Oh shut it." At least it would keep their heads down. "All right ugly, time to dance." Miharu growls, flicking the stun gun on and rushing forward. Dip under the swinging arm into it's guard and... Lightning cracks as Miharu pantomimes sticking the stun gun into the hollow, the shock instead blasting from her hand into the hollow dispersing it. Even with the quick kill a pit begins forming in Miharu's stomach as she turns. Seeing more hollows already beginning to manifest. Ooh boy...

[Nicklance]

Jing is stunned the fullbringer could still sense him through his kido's obscurement until he realizes he rapid movement had ended the spell. He keeps his hand off his zanpakto, and keeps low to the roof. The less he was seen, the better. He realized the man was pointing some kind of spirit gun, and his demeanor demanded an answer. "A man without a mask. So, I do not seek to eat you, and I am here to stop those that would. If you want to talk later, come find me. For now, I will hold the line past there." The chinese monk spirit wrapped in all black points toward the old abandoned building, and he quickly shunpo's from one roof to the next. He doesn't even give Youki a chance to respond before diving down from the roof and drawing Hisame in his saber form. Before he touches the ground, he sees three hollows materialize across the sports field.

Jing begins to chant...

As Jing moves away quickly, he could sense the Hollow-based reiatsu coming off from Youki. While appearing in all aspects human, it appears that Hollows were responsible for this Fullbringer's power.

"#@$@#$ Shinigami" Youki curses as he moves to the edge of the building facing the high school. Slamming one foot down on the raised curb that rings the roof, Youki waves Chimera as it glows and lengthens into a sniper rifle. Resting his elbow on the raised knee, Youki leans forward with his arms tucked in and the rifle butt nestled in his shoulder, his face and eye flush towards the sniper's scope.


Naturally unaware of what was transpiring on the rooftop Miharu continues to scan the courtyard looking for any trace of the hollows. Bad bad bad bad ba... Hears a thump then a scream that shatters the windows on the first floor. There. One had materialized just outside the gate though it conveniently gave her the cover she needed for the already confused students that were still around. "Terrorists! Everyone inside!" Perhaps a little to effective. Miharu notes as she becomes jostled by screaming students. The high schooler almost didn't the spike headed for her before it was to late.

*scrch**shatter*

Glancing behind her, safe momentarily from her hastily summoned scale, Miharu sees that it deflected into an unshattered window though thankfully into the ceiling. Smooth. Miharu glances at the glittering, and possibly laughing, eyes of her tattoo. "Oh shut it." At least it would keep their heads down. "All right ugly, time to dance." Miharu growls, flicking the stun gun on and rushing forward. Dip under the swinging arm into it's guard and... Lightning cracks as Miharu pantomimes sticking the stun gun into the hollow, the shock instead blasting from her hand into the hollow dispersing it. Even with the quick kill a pit begins forming in Miharu's stomach as she turns. Seeing more hollows already beginning to manifest. Ooh boy...

Miharu turns to spot three Hollows along the school hallway manifesting from ripples in the air, but silvery blue bolts of energy penetrate the flimsy glass windows through the masks of the three Hollows.

Very familiar bolts of energy.

Youki ***** his rifle, a redundant but very stylish move, as Miharu turns to find the source of the shots, and spots Youki perched on the roof of a building right beside the school.

"Miharu! Get every student out to the bomb shelter! I'll cover!" Youki shouts as he continues to fire shot after shot at manifesting Hollows, who are spawning quicker by the minute.

[userpay]

Miharu gives Youki a slightly irritated wave. "I'll get it started. But your more suited to covering them once they start moving than I would." Youki could at least disguise himself or otherwise stay out of sight, her abilities were a little to showy to use effectively in front of normal people. Dashing inside the building she turns a corner only to find a smaller hollow beginning to manifest there. Oh for buddah's sake... Jumping as she nears it she plants a fist into it's head, or perhaps more accurately the dragon bites through it. While normal humans might not beable to see her powers in action they would see her dragon tattoo disappearing if it decided to lash out at something, and thats not getting started on the lightning. Finally she arrives at her destination. The intercom room. Stepping in she sees one student huddling in the corner. "Useless." Miharu mutters as she grabs the mic. "Attention all students. The school is currently being attacked by an unknown group, please make your way to the bomb shelter for your safety. I repeat. Please make your way to the bomb shelter" Announcement done Miharu turns and grabs the student with her. "That means you idiot, get your ass moving." And shoves him out the door. As the sound of running feet fills the halls Miharu flicks out her cell phone and composes a text to Youki.

Students mobilized,
prepare to cover their path,
coming to replace you.

Sending the text Miharu begins fighting her way through the now crowded halls back towards the front of the school.

[Nicklance]

Unable to get his hands free to use his cell, Youki concentrates and uses minor telekinesis to flip open his clamshell and tap the buttons to check the mail. Good girl Youki grins as he puts the phone back to his pocket.

Dropping flat down onto the ground at the roof now that Miharu knows he's here, Youki takes the flat firing position for greater stability. Sighting several small Hollows emerging in droves, Youki begins to caress the trigger and fire a series of shots at them. Chimera rumbles in pleasure at the carnage Youki is dealing.

He sure hopes that its only mundane Hollows such as these that emerge. Even giant types are fine.

[El_Pablo]

"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Hado 33: Sokatsui!" The blue bolt of energy erupted out of jing's outstretched hand. It connected directly with the first hollow who appeared, and exploded. The students in the field couldn't see any of the spiritual creatures, but the felt the force of the kido explosion. They looked around questioningly as another explosion rocked the school. Cries of terrorists echoed from behind him where he could feel nothing but hollow reiatsu's behind him. Jing reminded himself he could not sense the difference between the fullbringers and the hollows, and he hoped the other two were working safely.

His worries were interrupted by the other two hollows advancing forward. A shunpo jump and a quick slash cleft the mask of the first hollow in half. It fell, rocking the ground near the students adding to their confusion and growing terror. The fallen hollow dispersed, and jing spun to slice the last. It was larger, and blocked jing's first slice. The shinigami was forced back, and the hollow pressed his edge. Jing swung again and connnected with the hollow mask, but to no avail. Only a chip fell as the hollow rammed the shinigami, and flipped him to the side with a toss of its head.

"Attention all students. The school is currently being attacked by an unknown group, please make your way to the bomb shelter for your safety. I repeat. Please make your way to the bomb shelter"
An announcement split through the air, directing the students to the bomb shelter in Miharu-chan's voice. Several students began to run, directly in front of the hollow. Jing was on his feet instantly, ready to shunpo, as the hollow ignored the children. Instead, it burst through a wall of the old building. Jing was confused for a second, then Hollows are attracted to beings with strong spiritual power... the Fullbringers!. Sudden resolve overtook the shinigami, and he shunpo jumped right over the rampaging hollow. The old monk raised one leg straight up over his head. "Hechi" Jing's hakudo strike brought his heel through the hollows mask. The force of his kick driving the rest of the hollow through the floor of the old building, collapsing the floor before dispering in purification.

Jing had wanted to avoid the fullbringer'a attention, but, now he realized, they would be the hollow's targets. He raced out of the building and into the courtyard to protect the two mortals.

[Innis Cabal]

Nezumi frowns a little and nods as he takes the bag back to himself, eating at a slow pace, seeming just to need something to nibble on and distract himself with occasionally. He waves away the smoke from himself discreetly as he stands, looking around briefly. He tries to coax the little mouse to shift so he can safely pull up his hood, leaving her inside to huddle up against his neck and peek out of the hood.

"You haven't given it very long.. Maybe we should just go explore a bit more?" He gives a small smile, looking hopefully at Ichi.

Ichi nods a little, standing and offering the rest of his slowly burning cigarette to Nezumi.

"Ya...you're probably right. But I wanted to get into a tussle...the last few were just to weak for me to get warmed up. At this rate we're going to get rusty and get killed. Do you want that?"

[Hyooz]

Watching the developing drama with increasing interest, Orochi smiled to himself, even Jing was in on the action. He recognized the shinigami, and wasn't entirely surprised he showed up to the "party." Jing's presence here was always a source of concern, though. While he wasn't in Soul Society when everything went awry, he might not be so quick to embrace a prodigal captain, declared an enemy of the Seireitei in general.

He would be dealt with when the time came. For now, at least, a primary concern was passing. So much Hollow activity in one place should have brought Shinigami here in some amount of force, but none were appearing. Perhaps the heavy Fullbring presence here was the reason for it - why defend a town with its own staunch defenders? Holding their own rather well, at that. He made a note of some particular physical capabilities, and released it, mumbling a simple Kido spell to send it flying to Eiji.

The Fullbringers... and Jing, of course, were handling themselves admirably, even finding a brilliant way to keep the students safe, and the situation hidden from the public mind. Their sheer power might not be up to par with the top tiers of Soul Society, but for what he had in mind for them... they might just be perfect. He couldn't contact them just yet, though. Suspicion would drive them to find the culprit, and being immediately culpable wasn't ideal.

---

The students had gotten away! Before he was even able to come and play... this made the scorpion-like Hollow very angry. Very angry indeed. His serrated pincers clashed together as he stormed toward the school, frothing in a new rage. Those stupid humans, driving away his playthings! He would kill them all!... but then reiatsu appeared in his mind. A shinigami! Shifting his scuttle from into the school to over it, he looked down at the creature. Yes! A shinigami! And some humans, but a shinigami! A stream of vile acid lanced from the stinger on his tail toward the vile thing. Melt! Burn! Die! He failed to notice the Fullbringer to his side, but his focus was fully on the shinigami below.

Meanwhile, the great sloth lumbered his way up the mountain, massive claws digging deep for support. The others were always so much faster... they got to have all the fun. Maaaaaaaaan... so much tasty reiatsu in the air, and he wouldn't get to have any of it. He let out a mighty yawn as he mounted the basketball court, noxious gas spewing from his gaping maw. Humans were fighting Hollows here... maybe they would be fun...

[Nicklance]

The students had gotten away! Before he was even able to come and play... this made the scorpion-like Hollow very angry. Very angry indeed. His serrated pincers clashed together as he stormed toward the school, frothing in a new rage. Those stupid humans, driving away his playthings! He would kill them all!... but then reiatsu appeared in his mind. A shinigami! Shifting his scuttle from into the school to over it, he looked down at the creature. Yes! A shinigami! And some humans, but a shinigami! A stream of vile acid lanced from the stinger on his tail toward the vile thing. Melt! Burn! Die! He failed to notice the Fullbringer to his side, but his focus was fully on the shinigami below.

Meanwhile, the great sloth lumbered his way up the mountain, massive claws digging deep for support. The others were always so much faster... they got to have all the fun. Maaaaaaaaan... so much tasty reiatsu in the air, and he wouldn't get to have any of it. He let out a mighty yawn as he mounted the basketball court, noxious gas spewing from his gaping maw. Humans were fighting Hollows here... maybe they would be fun...

Youki notices a pretty big Hollow rushing towards the Shinigami, but screw it, let him live or die as he wills. Turning his scope to sight other parts of the school for Hollows to snipe, he spots the sloth-like Hollow spewing gas. Not good. Definitely not good. Youki fingers the trigger as he pulls the sights right to the center of the Hollow's mask and pulls the trigger.

[El_Pablo]

The students had gotten away! Before he was even able to come and play... this made the scorpion-like Hollow very angry. Very angry indeed. His serrated pincers clashed together as he stormed toward the school, frothing in a new rage. Those stupid humans, driving away his playthings! He would kill them all!... but then reiatsu appeared in his mind. A shinigami! Shifting his scuttle from into the school to over it, he looked down at the creature. Yes! A shinigami! And some humans, but a shinigami! A stream of vile acid lanced from the stinger on his tail toward the vile thing. Melt! Burn! Die! He failed to notice the Fullbringer to his side, but his focus was fully on the shinigami below.



Jing moved out of the old building and throught the small grove watching as the students passed towards the bomb shelter. A quick look placed the gunner safe on the roof, but the scorpion hollow was close to the high school fullbringer until it saw him. The mask opened in an inhuman screech as the things wicked tail lashed up. The shinigami's first reaction was too leap back out of range only to find a stream of dark viscous liquid streaming toward him. "Bakudo 39, Enkosen." With a fling of his hand, a shield of pure reiatsu formed in front of Jing. It was too little too late.

The shield stopped the brunt of the acid stream, but Jing's kido was not large enough to cover everything. The scorpion's acid splashed onto part of his face, and onto the part of his chest exposed through his civara. Jing's face contracted in pain, though he made no sound. Holding his kido shield between him and the monster. He prepared for the next blast. His kido would not protect against many more strikes, but, when the acid comes, a quick shunpo jump would find Jing's blade coming for the stinger.

[userpay]

Miharu starts and turns at the scorpion hollow's scream, somewhat surprised that it had gotten so close. Yet glancing across its intended path her mouth drops. Jing. He's one to...? From where she couldn't clearly see the man's zanpakuto but she could certainly see the barrier he had apparently put up. "As if I'd let you!" She shouts at the scorpion hollow, the dragon tattoo coming completely off her arm and spewing a bolt of lighting at the thing.

[Innis Cabal]

Meanwhile, the great sloth lumbered his way up the mountain, massive claws digging deep for support. The others were always so much faster... they got to have all the fun. Maaaaaaaaan... so much tasty reiatsu in the air, and he wouldn't get to have any of it. He let out a mighty yawn as he mounted the basketball court, noxious gas spewing from his gaping maw. Humans were fighting Hollows here... maybe they would be fun...

Ichi could feel the Hollow's reiatsu suddenly, making a grab for Nezumi.

"Screw that...do you feel that?"

He growls, suddenly trying to drag the other boy with him.

[Da Mongoose]

Nezumi's eyes widen slightly as Ichi grabs him, remaining wide as he clearly senses the presence as well, growing tense. He nods quickly all the same, swallowing almost audibly as he hunches and tries to stick close to Ichi.

"Y-Yeah... L-Let's be careful still!" He urges, following along quickly as he's tugged along, trying to urge the little mouse back into his hood.

[Ganurath]

In hindsight, disciplinary action had been inevitable. Mani had been skipping classes, carrying around a baseball bat even when she wasn't playing. That she would be perceived as a delinquient was only natural. Picking a fight with a seemingly random classmate had been the last straw, and she was forced to transfer.

While they weren't from the same family, her former principal was a Quincy, same as the kid she fought. Even witnesses that didn't understand the context agreed that his language had been meant to provoke her, but... Ah, well. Hopefully this school would have less of a Quincy presence, if fate was kind to her.

She arrived late, thanks to some trouble with paperwork. She probably could have been on time had she ran, but she had gotten out of the habit of running for anything other than sports and Hollows. For example, the ones converging on her new school...

She had been slinging her bat on her shoulder like a vagrant would a bag on a stick. She tilted her head at the Hollows, and a canine breed took notice and charged at her. She pointed her bat upward, concentrating spiritual energy into the tip as the beast closed the distance. "White Flash."

A flare of white light, pulsing and visible only to the spiritually aware, shot skyward from her bat. It'd probably attract more of the Hollows, but if they were coming at her they were ignoring the spirit-blind. In the short term, it provided a nice distraction for the wolf Hollow just as it entered melee range, and she brought her bat down on its mask in an overhead strike.

The wolf was dropped by the spiritually reinforced bludgeon, but the connecting blow coupled with her flare drew the attention of others. Mani dropped her backpack behind her, and switched to a two-handed gripped. Fate is not without a sense of humor, it seems.

[Innis Cabal]

Nezumi's eyes widen slightly as Ichi grabs him, remaining wide as he clearly senses the presence as well, growing tense. He nods quickly all the same, swallowing almost audibly as he hunches and tries to stick close to Ichi.

"Y-Yeah... L-Let's be careful still!" He urges, following along quickly as he's tugged along, trying to urge the little mouse back into his hood.

"Hell no!!"

Ichi laughs as he races off towards the source of the hollow reiatsu as his bringer light flows under his feet. A large blade appears in his hands as he rockets into the sky, screaming bloody murder as he flings himself into the basketball court, ginning darkly as he lands with a loud thud.

"What's up mother----"

[El_Pablo]

Just going to take over some hollow fighting since Hyooz hasn't posted in a week or so, if/when he gets back I'll let him have full control.

The breath of Miharu's dragon sizzles and burns the scorpion hollows' skin, striking in the darker areas beneath the monster's mask-like armor. The creature turns quickly, Curses! Pain! Die!, lashing out with both pincers to tear apart the Fullbringer. It's mask splits at the front of its body revealing a sharp, wicked fate for anything those pincers could grab.

Jing slips out a short cry of, "Miharu", before appearing right before her. One of the creature's pincers shatters the shinigami's kido shield as it's deflectd downward and into the pavement. In a graceful arc, Jing brings his zanpakto down in the same moment as he moved the shield, parrying the scorpion's second pincer. The former monk stares into the dark maw of the hollow his face speaking of nothing but tranquility. "Be careful, use distance." Though, he looks to suffer from his own advice.

The scorpion releases a hiss after his attacks are blocked, but, instead of biting forward, he brings that wicked tail back up. He arches his back forward driving his tail toward where Jing and Miharu stand.

__

The sloth beast face seems to slowly follow Ichi as he launches himself onto the basketball court. The screaming fullbringer draws the sloth's attention... SOOoooo NNNooiissiieee. The creatures thoughts are interrupted as a silvery bolt of energy explodes on the center of his mask. The inertia carries the hollow over as it topples onto the ground next to the court. Downed, the sloth shows no emotion, but is maw opens again into a combination of roar and yawn. A billowy cload of miasma spreads out like the fog from a moor. Poisonous smoke covers Ichi and rolls quickly against the side of the school and toward Nezumi as he makes his way towards the court. The poison is slow like its master, but enough time and inhalation will make even the strongest opponent weak and heavy until they enter asleep impossible to escape alone.

___

Mani's homerun swing rings the wolf hollows head like a gong. The blow connected so solidly the holes for its eyes would be more appropriately spirals. A smattering of lesser hollow appear to be attracted to Mani's light, but none appear more than thin humanoid types. However, one hollow suprises her. Looking like a beetle with wicked serrated mandibles and four spindly legs, it shoots out quickly almost taking off one of mani's arms. However, when once of the creatures antenna strike's the white flash it instinctively bites up missing the delinquent and biting air. It's large bulbous eyes do not move, but where its attention lies would be the first thing to fall to its obviously gruesome bite.

[Ganurath]

Mani glared at the beetle Hollow, then turned her momentary attention to the fallen wolf. She manuevers so that the wolf was between her and the beetle, then hooks a foot under the spirit's torso. The beetle's attention would soon be drawn by the resonating clang as Mani bats back one of the tiny Hollows.

The plan was simple enough. Beetle turns to look at her, she kicks the wolf into the air. Beetle lunges, maw open, and she swings the bat to drive the wolf in. Wolf plugs the beetle's mouth, Mani interrupts the charge with a swing at one of the eyes. It was just a matter of making it happen. "Bring it on!"

[Innis Cabal]

The sloth beast face seems to slowly follow Ichi as he launches himself onto the basketball court. The screaming fullbringer draws the sloth's attention... SOOoooo NNNooiissiieee. The creatures thoughts are interrupted as a silvery bolt of energy explodes on the center of his mask. The inertia carries the hollow over as it topples onto the ground next to the court. Downed, the sloth shows no emotion, but is maw opens again into a combination of roar and yawn. A billowy cload of miasma spreads out like the fog from a moor. Poisonous smoke covers Ichi and rolls quickly against the side of the school and toward Nezumi as he makes his way towards the court. The poison is slow like its master, but enough time and inhalation will make even the strongest opponent weak and heavy until they enter asleep impossible to escape alone.


Ichi jumps back from the rolling fog, covering his mouth. He glances back at Nezumi, nodding once before throwing his palm out at the massive creature.

"Vindication."

He mutters under his breath, a dark blue cero racing towards the creature.

[Nicklance]

It seems that more combatants have entered this stage, and doing a pretty good job. Youki sighs in relief as he lets the others take personal attention to the larger and more dangerous Hollows, but keeps them within his firing arc. Choosing now to snipe at smaller or less powerful Hollows in order to prevent a swelling of numbers, which if done so would spell trouble at anybody, Youki begins to rain sniper bolts of energy down from his vantage point.

[userpay]

"No kidding." Miharu snaps back at the stranger even as she dives to the side. Once her feet are planted once more the dragon head rears up and lunges at the hollow's tail biting, trying to get a hold.

[El_Pablo]

The dragon tattoo's head chomps down hard on the scorpion hollow's tail. Sparks fly from it's cuved teeth at the moment of impact, and the hollow's body constricts. An involuntary gout of acid spurts out as its stinger is stopped less than a meter away from the shinigami. The splatter spills onto the death god's hakama and eats through, sizzling on exposed flesh.

Jing's face contorts again in pain as he releases a small groan. He spins quickly before the paralyzed hollow drawing his sabre-like zanpakto down into the creatures mask in a two handed strike. The blow only just cracks the mask before sparks erupt across the iron blade and he is knocked back from the hollow. The shinigami's arm rang with the force of the electricity coursing through the scorpion. Electricity? He had gone through some crash courses before going back into the mortal world on things he needed to learn. Like lightning. It is drawn to the earth.... He was struck with an idea. "How long can you hold the beast still?"

Two smaller hollows began to close on hollow and fullbringer locked in the dragon's paralyzing hold, but two silvery bolts blew holes straight through their masks.

___

What the sloth creature's face lacked in emotion earlier was restored at the sight of the building blue cero. Uhhh Ooohhh.... It had been slowly pulling itself up, but the creature instead pulled on both arms hurling itself to the side. The beast crashed through the school fence, rolling downhill. Ichi's cero struck just behind the creature's tumbling form in an explosion of dark blue reiatsu.
The hollow and cero's debris formed a mini avalanche rolling from the school grounds. The sloth crashed into the street below, the impact shaking nearby traffic. Many cars halted to a stop feeling the tremor but seeing no source. Still those cars were poised to fall victim from the scattered debris still rolling down the hillside.

___

Mani's battle plan was good, but, like all plans, none survive meeting the enemy. The beetle took another bite as Mani's white flash began its fading. It gave her time to position her upcoming maneuver. When she bang her about against one of the thin hollows, the clang did draw the beetle's attention, and it lunged. Except it lunged at the thin hollow, Mani still kicked up the wolf, but it wasn't lined up with the hollow's mouth. Still, when the wolf collided with the creature's antenna, the bettle instantly turned its head. Faster than Mani could follow, Mandibles dug deep into the wolf's body nearly severing it in half. The swing intended to knock the wolf into the hollow's mouth instead connected with those hard, bone white exterior jaws. The blow and the creature's quick movement forced it off balance. Its thin dark legs buckled and the beetle fell on its back for a moment.

The batter's opportunity would have to wait. The only problem Mani didn't foresee was the thin hollow. The clanging of her bat wasn't enough to knock it out, and it didn't seem to appreciate the assault. With her swing complete, Mani had no chance to get away as the thin hollow grabbed her firmly and sunk its teeth above her right shoulder.

___

Youki's shots thinned out the numbers as smaller hollow appeared to be crawling out of thin air. A dark blue light erupted from the other side of the building on his left, but he had no clear vision of what was going on. He only had eyes in the center courtyard and beyond the older building to the sports field, but hollows seemed to be avoiding that area and coming to where the action was concentrated. Still he felt a strong presence behind him, but taking his eyes out of his scope showed him his perch was still secure.

Then, a quick flash catches his eye. A large shadow was slowly circling the roof and courtyard, something he couldn't see through the scope. A look skyward reveals an owl masked flying hollow high overhead. The sniper takes easy aim to clear the beast from the skies, but it vanishes when youki pulls the trigger. Looking out of the scope, he can see the hollow had perofrmed a jump similar to bringer's light. It had another trick as well. The owl hollow opened his mouth, and ejected a dark mass similar to an owl's pellet directly toward the sniper.

OOC:I think that is everybody. Man, there are so many of you. :smalltongue:

[Ganurath]

Mani's bat was perfectly normal, with no spiritual powers whatsoever. The capacity the weapon had to strike Hollows came exclusively from an energy field that she armored herself in battle. At present, it armored her against the bite from the tiny Hollow that was nothing more than a distraction. An annoying one, though, and that deserved a followup in the form of a left-handed fist to the face.

A fist that, thanks to her energy aura, was just as destructive as her baseball bat.

The distraction was giving the beetle time to come about, though. Using her left had to grab the dazed and battered Hollow's neck, she used her bat to sweep its legs as she yanked it over her shoulder, throwing it at the beetle's mouth. Using the same motion, she followed up with an overhead swing at the same jaw location she had accidentally struck earlier, hoping repeated blows would be sufficient to crack the mask open.

[Nicklance]

Youki's shots thinned out the numbers as smaller hollow appeared to be crawling out of thin air. A dark blue light erupted from the other side of the building on his left, but he had no clear vision of what was going on. He only had eyes in the center courtyard and beyond the older building to the sports field, but hollows seemed to be avoiding that area and coming to where the action was concentrated. Still he felt a strong presence behind him, but taking his eyes out of his scope showed him his perch was still secure.

Then, a quick flash catches his eye. A large shadow was slowly circling the roof and courtyard, something he couldn't see through the scope. A look skyward reveals an owl masked flying hollow high overhead. The sniper takes easy aim to clear the beast from the skies, but it vanishes when youki pulls the trigger. Looking out of the scope, he can see the hollow had perofrmed a jump similar to bringer's light. It had another trick as well. The owl hollow opened his mouth, and ejected a dark mass similar to an owl's pellet directly toward the sniper.

If the assumption that Bringer Light only works on the Fullbringer's feet, that assumption has been crushed flat. Youki's body flares with Bringer Light as the loving soul of the rooftop sends him flying upwards and narrowly avoiding the dark mass by a few inches.

In mid-air, Youki executes Bringer Light again, this time the gentle soul of the wind pushes him back towards the rooftop. Looks like his position has been compromised. The fellas at school would have to contend with a lack of sniper support until he destroys this annoying Owl Hollow.

"Chimera, First Form, load Fire and Ice." Youki commands as the sniper rifle glows and shortens itself back into a triple-barrel revolver.

Taking aim at the Owl Hollow, Youki fires a Fire bullet which if hits, would erupt into a massive fireball.

[El_Pablo]

Mani's fist knocked the thin hollow off her shoulder, it's teeth tearing her uniform and leaving minor scratch marks. It was the most the beast was capable of against her spiritual power. It didn't get another chance to try for more as it was hurled on top of the beetle hollow's dark belly. The beetle let out a squeal and it's spindly legs moved in a flurry of action trying to move the hollow off top of it.

Mani's bat slowed its struggle as the blow sounded like a gong across the courtyard. Still, the blow didn't break the pincer. Multiple blows did begin to show a crack, but the beetle had already began to slow its struggles. The legs stopped struggling, and the body stopped wriggling. The only movement was from that thin hollow still huddled on top of the beetle. Mani watched as it slowly raised its head. The weaker hollows mask showed cracks from Mani's first few attacks, but a new fissure had appeared. This was a mouth, toothy and black in the form of a grin. From it hung the dripped the innards of the beetle hollow as it had dug into the shelled hollow's soft underbelly. It only seemed to barely notice the girl as it buried its head once again into a opened nest of gore.

___

The owl's pellet crashed into the pavement and stuck directly where Youki had been laying. The owl hollow hurked and jerked a second pellet into its mouth as the chimera changed its shape. It started to drop in a slow circling pattern as youki took aim. The result was the same as last time, the bird vanished with a quick jump similar to Bringer's Light as soon as youki pulled the trigger. The bird didn't move far, and the chimera's fiery shot exploded close enough nearby to tip the bird in flight. The turbulence ruined the owl's next pellet shot which landed far to Youki's right.

The owl hollow then twisted and turned into the air trying to regain the smooth flight path it had enjoyed before being seen. Unsuccessful, the avian hollow began flapping vigorously to stabilize its drop.

[Nicklance]

Youki grins as he fires two shots not at the Owl Hollow, but beside it on a left-right position, willing the shots to explode right beside the Hollow, sandwiching it between two explosions.

[userpay]

Miharu's face twists in concentration. Despite the dragon taking most of the strain its clear that its taking all she has to keep the thing contained. "Probably not long. It'll grow use to the shock if exposed to it continuously... If you're gonna do something you better doing it right freaking now."

[Da Mongoose]

What the sloth creature's face lacked in emotion earlier was restored at the sight of the building blue cero. Uhhh Ooohhh.... It had been slowly pulling itself up, but the creature instead pulled on both arms hurling itself to the side. The beast crashed through the school fence, rolling downhill. Ichi's cero struck just behind the creature's tumbling form in an explosion of dark blue reiatsu.
The hollow and cero's debris formed a mini avalanche rolling from the school grounds. The sloth crashed into the street below, the impact shaking nearby traffic. Many cars halted to a stop feeling the tremor but seeing no source. Still those cars were poised to fall victim from the scattered debris still rolling down the hillside.



Though Nezumi had lingered in the background somewhat, he has kept close enough to keep an eye on Ichi, both of which had been quite wide until the gas started to flow across the court towards them. He pulls his shirt up to rest over his nose, squinting a bit and trying not to breath too deeply as he dashes to catch up to Ichi finally, looking down the hill. It doesn't take him long to notice the path the debri is falling in, letting out a soft shout of alarm, pointing.

"Ichi!" He looks at him before stepping closer to the edge, holding out his hands.


Further down the hill but before the road, the air begins to shimmer before a crackle of energy tears open a portal in the path of the debri, Nezumi hoping to allow the majority of the debri to pass into it rather than smashing into the cars.

Mere moments after the initial portal appears, the air begins to shimmer and crackle in a similar manner only a few feet above the sloth creature. It is likely easy to put two and two together to judge that the debri hasn't merely disappeared, and is soon going to reappear.

[Ganurath]

Mani pointed the tip of her bat at the aforementioned nest of gore. Beetle was down, so a feeding Hollow was the largest threat. The process would be a simple subdue and strike. "White Flare."

The bright white light shot into the gore, causing it to glow with a brightness that would be visible from the other side of the schoolyard to those that were spiritually aware. A step away from the feeder to make a sweeping strike at encroaching animal Hollows, none even as dangerous as the earlier wolf, then a followup with an overhead swing at the feeder. [Explitive] ruined her uniform!

[Lord Syn]

Then...

The bow was raised slow, methodical. The arrow shimmered to reality as the string was grasped. The pull was smooth, patient. The string was released, and the arrow flew away with a whistling cry.

As Iori raised the bow again, he recited to himself the words his father had drilled into his memory again and again: A Quincy trains every day. There is no day a Hollow may not attack. Thus there is no day a Quincy may be in less than perfect form.

Another arrow flared to life as his fingers touched the bowstring. Slow and smooth, he drew the string back to his ear, remembering every step as it had been taught to him. There are Hollows which are fast. Thus a Quincy trains to fire fast.

Two days ago, he'd trained for two hours on firing his bow as rapidly as he could draw back the string. Once, training half that long would have left his hands torn and bloody, but now his hands were strong and supple.

Today, however, his focus was not on speed. Sparing a moment to sight down the arrow's length, he noted with clinical analysis no wavering at the tip. Satisfied, he mentally recited the third part: There are Hollows which are strong. Thus a Quincy trains to fire strong.

Yesterday, he had trained by drawing back the bow and gathering up as much reiryoku into his arrow as he could hold before he had to let go. He had fired twelve arrows that way, and only by the tenth had the arrow's resulting strength begun to wane.

Today, however, his focus was not on strength. Holding the bow steady, he slowed his breath until it was barely a whisper, mentally reciting the fourth part: There are Hollows which have armor with but one small gap. Thus a Quincy trains to fire sure.

This was the focus he'd set for his training today. Far off in the woods, as far as his arrows would fly, were ten targets arranged in an empty glade, each about the size of a tuna can. Six were pierced clean through, the edges of the holes charred from the heat and energy of the arrows he fired.

Sighting down the arrow towards the seventh target, Iori closed his eye and concentrated his awareness through the eyepatch he wore. The image of the target leapt to his view swiftly, locking itself in place as he made the subtle mental adjustments for range, wind and a dozen other factors that might interfere. He took one last deep breath, exhaling smoothly as he loosened his fingers on the string--



His thumb pressed down, and the wafer shattered

--the shot went wild as his concentration was shattered, missing the target by a good three feet. That failed to register as immediately important to Iori, however, as something much more vital had caught his attention. That was a Hollow Bait!, he thought in surprise. Another Quincy here? Could it be..?

His surprise quickly darkened, as other implications of the wafer breaking came to the fore. Summoning Hollows - Why now? Why here?? It's a populated area - there are innocent civilians down there! Knowing he would find no answers out in the woods, Iori abandoned his training without a second thought, calling upon his skill in Hirenkyaku and spiriting away in the direction where he'd felt the initial rush of reiryoku that accompanied the breaking of a Hollow Bait. Even as he sped along at full speed, he already knew he was too late to save everyone - all he could do now was try to limit the damage as best he could.

***---***

Now...

Swift as Hirenkyaku may be, the battle is already joined by the time Iori comes within range of seeing the threat. Pausing at the edge of town for a brief moment to assess the situation, he scans the nearby area for signs of Hollow activity. His natural eye sees the smoke and dust caused by the rumble, as well as the apparent landslide off to one side, while his eyepatch picks up several dozen Hollow-like reiatsu scattered throughout – as well as several other types of reiatsu, stronger than those of normal beings. Strange, he thinks to himself, No Quincy…But then where..?

His thoughts are interrupted once more by the sight of one particular reiatsu pattern he’d only seen a few rare times before – Shinigami. So… they are here. He frowns a little at the thought, and what it might imply, before making a decision. With the two largest threat-signatures both in approximately the same area – a school, if he recalled correctly – he takes a quick breath, extends his Quincy Bow from the gauntlet, and flash-steps in that direction. The fact that the shinigami just happens to be in the same direction certainly has no impact on his decision.

[El_Pablo]

"Oldest of Bones, Father of Weapons, rise from thy tranquil slumber. Sturdy and fair, tremble the world in thy rage, sunder thy self for justice. Hado #27 Ishiyarika." Jing held Hisame before him with pommel to the sky, and his spare hand at the base of the blade. As he chanted he ran his hand down the blade of the sabre filling it with bright grey reiryoku. At the end of his chant, Jing brought both hands to the grip of his zanpakto and shoved it deep into the courtyards concrete. The energy streaked through the ground as if following the lines of some invisible fissure before stopping below the head of the scorpion hollow. The ground burst in an explosion of stone. A spearhead of earth pierced through both hollow and mask while the creature remained paralzyzed.

As the body of the beast began to vaporize, Jing fell to his right knee. The left side of his body still red and blistered from the creatures acid. He felt exhausted. Closing his eyes just brought the pulsing pain from his skin straight to his head, but the shinigami navigated the fog to feel the reiatsu's of what was happening around him. Battles raged, but the auras told a stranger story. He looked at the young tattooed woman before him. Then, he shook his head, she looks a woman grown, but she is still just a child. Still, the words Hisame once spoke to him rang in his head, those who do not struggle, will not live. He looked the young fullbringer in the eyes, grey and gold (it was the first time he'd noticed), "There is a human in the courtyard... attracting hollows..." his words came slowly as his breath came quickly. "Be careful of there," he points to where the blue cero had come from, "we may need all of us," his eyes look to the sniper, "for whatever is over there."

___

The owl hollow repeats its dodge of Youki's first shot, ducking to its left. The first fire bullet explodes far to the beast's right, but the second fireball completely engulfs the black bodied bird. The damage sends the owl into freefall, spinning like a thousand points from Duck Hunt.

Accept it isn't the owl's movement that is now catching Youki's attention. He sees the second dropped pellet a far ways away uncurl into the skeleton of a lizard-like hollow with a half digested mask. As it begins to scramble towards him, the orginal pellet had unfurled into the skeleton of a rat hollow which was leaping up, fangs bared, behind the gunman.

___

Nezumi's portal scramble picking up all the debris sliding down the hill, but all the largest chunks get teleported over the sloth beast. The avalanche of rock don't seem to bother the beast much, but the nearby vehicles are left unharassed by the flash avalanche of earth.

The sloth hollow sits up, a stream of dirt and stone falling off its underbelly. Behinnd Agaaaiinnn... It lays it's claws into the hillside trying to climb back up toward the school. The mist from his first blast still flows over the basketball court and outward, covering Nezumi. The scent of the poison is almost sweet, like a banana, but those thoughts are interrupted as the fullbringer involunatrily coughs.

___

Mani's white flash keeps the grinning hollow occupied in the belly of the beetle. A few more straggling hollows wander forward. Many are humanoid, one looks like a dog. The baseball bat dents and cracks masks, or it just knocks hollows far enough away for its wielder to smash in the back of that grinning hollow's head. The hollow stops moving, but a few roars force her to take stock of her position. Her second white flash has now drawn almost a dozen hollows. It is more than she has ever seen in one place, and they all seem very hungry for her.

[Nicklance]

The owl hollow repeats its dodge of Youki's first shot, ducking to its left. The first fire bullet explodes far to the beast's right, but the second fireball completely engulfs the black bodied bird. The damage sends the owl into freefall, spinning like a thousand points from Duck Hunt.

Accept it isn't the owl's movement that is now catching Youki's attention. He sees the second dropped pellet a far ways away uncurl into the skeleton of a lizard-like hollow with a half digested mask. As it begins to scramble towards him, the orginal pellet had unfurled into the skeleton of a rat hollow which was leaping up, fangs bared, behind the gunman.

Youki moves his hand to the ammo chamber of his Fullbring and clicks it once, indicating that Ice ammo is being used. Coaxing the soul of the concrete he is standing on and the still moving breeze that caresses his face, he wills their love to be delayed until it is time to execute his move.

3...2...1...now! As the rabbit hollow is almost on top of him, Youki fires an Ice bullet onto the ground directly where he is standing just as he releases his Bringer Light. A huge sharp pillar of ice erupts from the bullet's target spot upwards, and the falling Rabbit Hollow is going to impale itself on the sharp pillar of ice.

At the same time, Youki's Bringer Light brings him moving at full speed straight towards the Lizard Hollow, where he resonated with the soul of his leather shoes, hardening it into a steel-like quality. Flashing towards the Hollow in the pose of a flying kick, the hardened shoe with the incredible speed of the Bringer Light brings Youki to direct melee strike against the Lizard Hollow opponent.

[Lord Syn]

Iori's Hirenkyaku brings him quickly to the school grounds, allowing him a better view of the battle as a whole. He spends a precious moment assessing the small skirmishes before him, considering where best to begin his sweep and clean this mess up.

The large scorpion-Hollow is considered for a moment, but Iori notes the reiatsu of the shinigami rather uncomfortably close to that beast, moments before it falls; no longer a threat, and thus not worth revealing himself to a Reaper so suddenly.

The owl-Hollow and sloth-Hollow are likewise noted and considered; however, it is the sudden white flash of light that catches his attention, and brings it to focus in on the swarm of Hollows attacking the bat-weilding figure. Frowning slightly, Iori makes his decision, and does so quickly.

Mentally cursing himself for not having more of his special equipment with him, Iori settles for the tried-and-true route of dealing with multiple Hollows. Leaping into the air, he takes careful aim, and fires three quick shots at the Hollows closest to the bat girl before adjusting his fall and, if all goes well, landing just behind the girl well clear of both Hollows and bat-range. Time to put all that Quincy training to good use, he thinks as he already begins planning his next shot.

[El_Pablo]

The death reaper slowly stands to his feet and begins moving to the nearby hollows brought down by sniper's bullets or Miharu's lightning. One by one, as quickly as possible, he whispers a quick prayer for the departed as he slides his zanpakto through the mask. The bodies slowly disperse into soul purification. He clears the area quickly, but two more minor hollows appear nearby. The wounded shinigami slashes one's mask in half as soon as it appears, and he speaks as he turns to the other, "I have this mess here. Help the others."

___

Youki's icicle maneuver completely obliterates the rat bone hollow. The growing ice spike shatters both bone and mask as it rockets skyward. Youki's own bringer light makes his boot a missile which has a similar effect crumpling the lizard bone hollow into a smaller pile than it was as a pellet. A small wave of relief comes as the current threat was easily overcome, but something itches at the back of the sniper's mind.

Fool! Tasty fool! The owl hollow had recovered from its free fall. It took advantage of the fall and its silent flight to close the gap between itself and its intended victim. Closing quickly, the owl tries to grab the fullbringer in the beak of its mask to carry him off the roof and over the side of the hill creating a long drop as quickly as possible.

___

Iori's first three shots hit home. The hollows didn't even sense the impending danger and are extinguished instantly by the quincy's spirit arrows. Mani only sees a quick flash of white as the three closest hollows vaporize and the older quincy with eyepatch and shining bow land nearby. Nine hollows still surround the pair, six non-descript humanoids, a dog-like hollow with a horned mask, and two slightly tall hollows with just legs and long pointy-nosed masks.

[Nicklance]

Unable to stop his momentum in time, Youki's jacket is caught by the beak. "Goddammit!" curses Youki as he communicates with his second favorite jacket, but the rocking momentum of his 'flight' disrupts his concentration.

As he manages to turn to face the Owl Hollow, Youki plants Chimera right on the face. "Eat this!" and fires multiple shots of Ice bullets, letting the formation of icicles erupt from within the Hollow and tearing it apart. Youki hopes that this time the Owl will stay dead.

[userpay]

Miharu's gaze lingers on the strange man for a moment. So familiar yet not... More gunshots draw her gaze upward. Momentarily panicked to see Iori in the clutches of a hollow even as he pumped a few shots point blank into the thing. He'd be fine. "Alright... The courtyard it is." She dashes towards the area, pummeling hollow whenever she comes across them.

[Ganurath]

Mani held her bat at the ready... And then the Quincy. She really hated having to call for their help, but she was slightly surrounded. She nodded her head toward the three abberant varieties of Hollow once she got a glance, moving to cover his back. "Freaky ones usually have tricks. I'll cover you."

[Lord Syn]

Iori spares enough time for a nod at bat-girl's words, aligning himself accordingly. Having allies in a fight is a rare occasion, and while he'd never fought alongside this one before, Iori's not one to complain. Still, he shifts just enough to keep the girl - and her bat - within range of his natural eye, just in case this is some sort of trick.

Not that he's actively expecting this to be a trick - it's just good practice to remain slightly paranoid until reasonably proven otherwise. Or so he'd been trained.

Tentatively trusting his ally with handling - or at least holding off - the six other Hollows, Iori studies the other three carefully. His earlier trick of firing off three shots worked well enough with unaware targets, but something tells him these three won't be caught off-guard so easily. Time for something a bit more direct.

The canine-Hollow looks moderately intimidating, but something about the two taller, pointy-nosed Hollows sets him off. Taking careful aim, Iori looses an arrow towards the one on the left, watching to see how the pair might react even as he nocks and lets fly with a second arrow towards the dog-Hollow.

He rather firmly restrains himself from making any witty remarks about Old Yeller or telling the Hollow to sit. He does, however, take the opportunity to introduce himself to his newfound ally with a quick, moderately polite, "Iori. You?"

[smittey]

Damn, damn damn! Sensui muttered, What is with all these hollows! loosing an arrow at a insectoid hollow on the outskirts of the town. Why did they attack such a well-defended town!? Do they want to die?" However, in the middle of these thoughts, a dog-shaped hollow scratched his leg. Gahh! he snarled, as he whipped away and fired a quick shot to the monster's head. Shinigami, Fullbringer, he could care less, though he wondered why any would leave the Soul Society. His job was to find the Quincy he sensed, and keep him alive. He won't let his comrade down. Damn!! Another gash bloodied his suit. Maybe, maybe I should have focused on keeping me alive first he panted, seeing more hollows mass.

[El_Pablo]

The sloth hollow continues to climb its way up toward the basketball courts from which it fell. His size makes up for his slow movements, and he is practically all the way up when he changes his climbing pattern. As he lumbers up with his right claw, his left goes in front of his mouth as if suppressing a yawn. A yawn which spews out into a ball of that sticky, sweet slow acting poison. As the sloth makes its next lunge upward, he hurls that cloud ball at Nezumi, the ball exploding as it reaches its destination.

___

The standard hollows move in on the girl and quincy standing back to back. Mani's bat knocks away two fairly easily, and kick to the groin sends one reeling back into the others. Combatting the group is tiring but not difficult. It looks like Mani's slugger is still saving the day.

Iori on the other hand did pick the harder targets. The dog hollow seems the most intimdating. His attention is drawn to it as the first arrow only scrapes off the horned mask and puts a cut down the canine body. The beast on the other hand starts to charge forward and an arc of lighting forms between the beasts three horns. As it gets closer, the parlysing shock of lighting reaches forward at the quincy to break his guard and hold him so the dog's horns can impale him.

Miharu races through the main building and sees the mayhem of the archer and batter as they fend off six man-sized hollows and a dog. A sonorous scream grabs her instead making her want to cover her ears. Two long nosed hollows have split open toothy grins to cry out as one is hunched over in pain. The noise sounds like no other sound she has ever heard from any hollow and fills her with a sense of unknown dread.

___

Click! Click! Click! Three bullets pass through the mask of the owl hollow. Chimera sends shots into the belly of the beast, and icicles erupt like the blast from a grenade stopped in blue a half second after detonation. The effect is devastating. The hollow is literally ripped in half and falls apart. Youki is placed into free fall with the creature's mask as it fractures into so many smaller fragments.

___

Click! Click! Click! Inside the bomb shelter of Yukisun High School, Tuchiro Wakana takes photos from an old film-style camera. She is having a difficult time managing the zoom and the focus on something she could barely believe. It appeared to be a man flung across the sky like in an action movie. The first shot was very blurry, and some strange fracturing of the light probably ruined the third. Still, she felt the second shot was the perfect moment to capture whatever it was she thought she had seen. It might make a good picture for the school paper, she thought to herself.

[Nicklance]

"Argh" Youki grunts as he drops down in free fall. Quickly pointing towards the ground, he frantically shoots all his remaining Ice shots, turning the ground into a huge plateau of ice. Switching to Fire, he blasts at the exact center of that block of ice, the heat melting and turning said plateau into a swimming pool, contained by ice.

This will still hurt like a bitch! Youki thinks to himself as he wills the soul of his coat to wrap around him and harden. Closing his eyes, Youki drops into the water with a huge splash.

[El_Pablo]

Shouting comes out from the area of the basketball courts which draws Jing's attention away as he finishes the last hollow in the main courtyard. In a hoho jump, the shinigami is on the roof of the old building looking over the sports area. A dark mist covers the area and is tainted with the stench of hollow. As the cloud begins to dissipate, Jing sees a young man with red hair cradling a younger blonde boy in his arms. The two whisper together in front of a dying hollow whose mask is covered in long bloody gashes. Jing's curiosity seems to go unanswered as the young boy raises up a hand. The taller red-haired boy seems to take a single step and disappears.

Not understanding the situation, Jing sticks to protocol. He leaps down from the building and buries his zanpakto into the strange almost monkey-like hollow. Purifying its soul and guiding it to soul society with a swing. He move swiftly through the mist, the effort making his burns ache, doing the same for a few smaller hollows seeming paralyzed by the poison.

His sweep is interrupted as he sees the gunner plunge from the sky, and shoot his gun creating a large amount of noise... from where his flowers should be.

___

Youki's temporary pool idea appears to be working as he fires the last shot right before landing. His jacket hardens, but it doesn't save him from the lick of his own flames. Nor does it stop the quick change from burning air to the scalding hot layer a the top of the pool, and the freezing cold at the bottom where he collides with the still frozen ice. A second passes while suspended in the cold until the side of the ice pool collapses and youki is dumped unceremoniously in a planter full of Azaleas.

Looking around he sees a young high school girl with a baseball bat back to back with an older quincy in a training uniform with a bow. Miharu is standing closer to the steps by the front door and a small crowd of hollows making a ruckus.

___

Everyone in the entrance garden. You see youki fall out of the sky.

[smittey]

"There! I finally got a good reading on the other Quincy. smiling, he begins to head over to assist when Sensui looks up, and sees a veritable explosion as a young man crash into a pool of water. Hearing a loud crack, it is obvious that the man did not land uninjured. "A fullbringer..." he muttered. It was plain to see that the fullbringer would be injured, and might need first aid, if not a hospital. However, this left him torn between coming to the aide of his fellow Quincy, or helping the injured man. "Damn! he shouted, as he started dashing towards the injured fullbringer. However, as he was running, he noticed that the Quincy was not alone. "Well that's a surprise, another fullbringer!" elated, he kept down his path at full speed. Helping the man was no longer an obligation, but a chance to repay the fullbringers of the town. Quincy honor demanded it!

[Nicklance]

"Aaaaargh!" Youki grunts in pain as he makes impact with the water and rolls out of the collapsed pool with the surge of water. It does not feel like any bones are broken, but there would be a hell of a bruising everywhere.

[Lord Syn]

Iori mentally lets loose a brief string of curses as his arrow fails to shatter the dog Hollow's mask. Not a good sign, all things considered. At least the second arrow hit ho--

--and then the long-nosed Hollows begin screaming. The unexpected sound washes over him, temporarily disorienting him as he falls back a step in surprise and sudden pain. THAT is also not a good sign, he decides, re-evaluating the relative levels of threat before him.

Almost too late, he notices the dog Hollow charging him, its horns arcing with electricity. As he's still whincing in pain from the constant high-pitched shrieking, Iori's smirk is difficult to notice at best - but even now, as the slivers of seconds fly away before the inevitable impact, Iori has a plan in mind.

Moving suddenly, the Quincy does what is probably the last thing the dog Hollow would expect - he turns and charges directly at the beast, collapsing and retracting his bow back into his artificial hand as he moves. Time is of the essence - timing is everything. One wrong move, one wrong shift, and this could be one very painful mistake.

He'll just have to not let that happen.

Scowling in concentration, Iori gets within mere feet of the fast-charging Hollow, then suddenly drops into a baseball-slide, aiming to dive right beneath the beast. Mad as this scheme already seems, it only gets better from there - for rather than sliding completely past the Hollow, Iori actually reaches up with his be-gloved hand, pushing his palm flat and firm against the Hollow's chest.

His voice suddenly rings out, strong and firm as he shouts, "Karas - Schild!" Instantly, a glowing half-orb of reiryoku blossoms from the palm of his hand, slamming into and shoving away the Hollow. As the dome grows larger, details become more clear and distinct on it, showing it to be made of several ever-expanding eight-sided 'panels', as opposed to being smooth and round as it first appeared.

Not that that's important just this second. What is important, however, is the fact that the sphere is expanding at a furious rate, so much so that the dog Hollow, trapped as it is above the dome, is suddenly lifted and thrown upwards by the rapid growth, becoming rather unexpectedly airborne in the space of a heartbeat.

Now, of course, comes the tricky part - for given the difficulty of the technique, let alone the millions of variables involving speed, angle and direction, there's only a small chance that the next step of Iori's plan might actually succeed. If by some miracle everything managed to fall into place, however, then with any luck, the lightning-throwing, howling canine may just manage to land right where Iori wants it - right on top of the two long-nosed, screaming Hollows!

[userpay]

Miharu is paralyzed briefly by the screaming hollows. By the gods what a sound! Thankfully her dragon tattoo needs little prodding to release its lightning bolt in the general direction of the offending hollows.

[smittey]

Gah!!! Sensui cried out as hollow almost tore a hole in his leg, before he turned and shot it in the head. Damn, I can't get careless, this is still a battle zone! Turning back to the fallen Fullbringer, Sensui does a quick scan of the young man. Seeing as he is able to stand up, nothing appears to be hurt that bad. After getting a quick look at his surroundings, he could see why. Still, it couldn't hurt to ask him his condition...Hey, I saw you fall, do you need any help? Can you fight? or do I need to get you out of here?

[Nicklance]

Gah!!! Sensui cried out as hollow almost tore a hole in his leg, before he turned and shot it in the head. Damn, I can't get careless, this is still a battle zone! Turning back to the fallen Fullbringer, Sensui does a quick scan of the young man. Seeing as he is able to stand up, nothing appears to be hurt that bad. After getting a quick look at his surroundings, he could see why. Still, it couldn't hurt to ask him his condition...Hey, I saw you fall, do you need any help? Can you fight? or do I need to get you out of here?

Youki coughs some water out of his lungs. "Gah! I'm ok, I just need some time to rest. Chimera! Form Change!" Youki commands as his weapon transforms into a fully-automated turret. Youki lays back down on the dirt.

"I just need five minutes." Youki coughs again as he closes his eyes to rest. The turret seems to respond to Youki's request for five minutes by materializing a large magazine drum and spraying spiritual bullets in careful precision and overwhelming amount of bullets at the same time.

[El_Pablo]

Water spills out over the courtyard pooling around the feet of the hollows and those near Youki. The gunners turret sinks its legs into the water gripping into the muddy ground below. Iori sees all of this expecting a large splash as he hopes dog and pointy-nosed hollow would collapse in a pile, but only the dog makes a splash, and he does so in front of a window pane of darkness.

The air before the screaming hollows seems to split apart opening a small flat space of pure darkness. The opening is strangely shaped like a mouth with perfectly rectangular teeth. Teeth with a tongue, as a white slimy tentacle grabs the dog hollow and pulls it in. The hollow which seemed so frightening only a moment ago lets out a tiny whimper as it is pulled through the gateway. A stillness fills the area despite the sonorous drone of those two hollows, and that pane of darkness seems stretched to its limit leaving a hanging emptiness. Until that emptiness is filled with something as large as any of the people standing in that courtyard.... A Hollow's Eye.

A flash of lightning breaks the moment and connects with the singing hollows. Their voices are stopped by the shock, but it is carried through the puddles to two of the good guys as Youki and Sensui feel the draining tickle of electricity flowing through them. The effect isn't strong, but compounds the current shock to Youki's system. His turret seems to silently respond to its creator's pain by firing harder and faster. Most of the hollows fall. Four cornering Mani get shot down, and the two singing hollows voices falter. The dark window slams shut as the piercing song stops, closing off the portal to that giant eye. The two remaining hollows try to flee. One flees toward the street, chased down by the turrets last remaining bullets. The other only makes a few steps before being cut down by a shinigami as he leaps down from the roof. The bald soul reaper has his left side covered in acid burns especially where his chest is uncovered by the black civara that doesn't match the usual shinigami uniform.

Jing looks at the water and mud all over the pavers. He sees the exploded pool all over his azaleas, and half his body screams with pain. He takes a calming breath and lets out a small sigh. At least the living seems safe....

[smittey]

"God Damn!!" Sensui shouted as he hit the ground. The crazy idiot! Summoning a reiatsu-firing weapon on him! he could have killed me as dead as the hollows in the area. he thought, at least until he noticed that even when it would have been easier to shoot through him at hollows, it swung and attacked others. "Damn.. thats some excellent control, to be able to control it like that! But, I wish you would have warned me, though. he muttered ineffectually to the prone fullbringer. "If this can surprise me that much, maybe I'm not ready for combat after all..." Sensui thought to himself.

[Lord Syn]

Iori notes the sudden rush of water, near-simultaneous with his attempted attack on the canine Hollow, only enough to elicit a raised eyebrow of curiousity - and then a higher raise to both, and a widening of the eye, at the implications of water and electricity mixing. Definitely, definitely not what he'd expected or intended, and as it's not a situation he's run into before, he can only hope the shield around him will hold in the face of electrocution.

Putting the matter out of his mind on the basis of being unable to affect it one way or another, he focuses instead on the arc of the Hollow through the air, watching it rise, then fall -

- right in front of a sudden split in the air. He'd heard about these in training and Quincy tales, but this was the first time Iori had seen a Garganta open up. To way that he's a little surprised and stunned at the sight is probably a fair, if simple, way of describing his reaction.

And then the Eye appears.

As Iori takes in the vision of an eye larger than he is tall, the world seems to slow, to go gray around him. His heartbeat accelerates until it sounds like a maddened flock of butterflies pounding in his ears. His breath is short and shallow, and for a moment he is unable to breathe at all. His fleshy hand feels cold and damp, his chest and spine drawing tight. His legs seem welded to the ground, unable to move.

In short, for the first time in a very long time, Iori is afraid.

Frozen in fear and unable to respond, Iori barely notices as he loses control over the ransōtengai allowing him to control his mechanical hand until, with a sudden flickering flash of light, the shield collapses around him. The equally sudden jolt of ice-cold, electrically tingling water rushing over his back as he lies on the ground serves, thankfully, to jolt him out of his moment of shock.

Acting on pure instinct, Iori reconnects with his artificial hand, extending his bow once more and, without the slightest bit of grace or finesse, he draws back the string and fires an arrow directly at the center of the giant eye.

About that same time, he remembers how to breathe.

[userpay]

Miharu jerks sympathetically as she realizes she'd forgotten one of the basic properties of water in her haste to attack. "Sorry!" She probably wasn't going to live this down anytime soon. Her gaze alights on the strange eye thing and a shock goes through her not unlike an electrical shock. What was that thing? Thankfully it didn't appear to be touching the water so Miharu directs another bolt of lighting at it this time.

[El_Pablo]

Iori's arrow and Miharu's bolt both fire toward the large eye through that dark portal, but the song supporting it is interrupted. The portal closes, and the two attacks hit the pointy-nosed hollows instead. Iori's arrow vanquishes one completely into dust while Miharu's lighting brings the other hollow lifeless to the floor as the shock races through all the survivors still drenched in the pool's spill zone.

Silence hangs heavy in the air with all the hollow's gone. For a second the only visible sound is the labored breathing of the assembled warriors. Then, the splashing of footsteps as the shinigami muddied his sandals in the results of Youki's fall breaking technique. With a slight pained grunt, Jing raises his zanpakto up into a two-handed grip before driving it through the first fallen hollow he comes across. The sabre splits the mask in twain, and the corpse slowly evaporates into a cloud of softly glowing light. The soul reaper takes a heavy breath before walking to repeat the process for every fallen beast littering the entranceway.

[riccaru]

[Ginhei Aoki]

During the battle at the schoolyard, one Ginhei Aoki is absent. Not that anyone notices, but he has to be doing something, right?

In fact, he stood upon the roof of his apartment building, back to the scene of chaos at the schoolyard as he jumps around plays the air guitar (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnbvOi4SpSk&feature=related). As the song ends he kicks over a potted plant, causing it to crash down to the ground and winces. Then he finally feels it, pulling his headphones out of his ears he turn around slowly, in time to see the scene. "I think I'm missing something here." He blushes and then takes off toward the school, using his bringer light to travel quickly.

[El_Pablo]

After purifying the last of the hollow souls occupying the courtyard in silence, Jing surveys the mortals around him. Three of the children from the high school, the stranger with the gun, and an older powerful looking Quincy. It is a motley group of children in the shinigami's eyes. It is sad that they must endure such trials. He tries to fathom why there is such an outpouring of hollows on the school campus. The earlier fighting had been to pre-occupying for him to think, and he was little interested in the motives of beasts. Still, there must be a reason for there coordinated arrival.

His thoughts turn instead to the living. "Are you all uninjured?" the question is almost ridiculous coming from the wickedly burned shinigami. Jing's face shows genuine concern for those currently assembled.

[Nicklance]

Youki coughs a little as he wakes up, the turret stops swiveling when he does so, reverting back to its handgun form.

Opening his eyes, he spots the Shinigami addressing him and everyone else. A dull irritation rises up in his belly. "Yeah I'm fine. What do you want?"

[Lord Syn]

As the Eye disappears - as his arrow disintegrates the other long-nosed Hollow - as everything begins to calm down, Iori slowly returns his attention to everything around him. Blinking a little at the question, he covers his confusion with a cough, letting the energy of his Bow dissipate and the metallic base slide back into his palm, secure once more within his forearm.

He keeps his gaze focused on his artificial hand as his other reaches into a pocket, pulling out the concealing glove to cover the artificial limb's more obvious bits from view. Once he's gotten his mindset more centered in the mode of Cool, Collected And In-Charge (I.E. 'Quincy Personality #2), he then raises his eyes towards the elderly man.

His eyepatch tells him all he needs to know - as suspected, Shinigami. Keeping his expression carefully neutral, Iori responds, "Nothing I can't handle."

Noting the older man's own condition, Iori pauses for a moment, then makes a decision. Reaching into a pocket on his coat, he pulls out a small, green glass bottle with a rubber stopper, guesturing for the Shinigami's attention before throwing it lightly underhanded towards him. "Here - it'll help with the burns."

[userpay]

Miharu pauses in the space of time after the eye's disappearance, blinking. "Just what was that?" The dragon curls itself around Miharu's shoulders, her left hand reaching up to caress it's jaw. Turning her attention to he badly injured Jing she arches an eyebrow at the mans question. "Are you serious? Your practically the pot calling the kettle black though... I'm not hurt at least."

[El_Pablo]

The shinigami nods his bald head, and smiles in a way that swallows his chinese eyes. "I am glad, and this," he gestures to his burns, "well, the soul's body is more forgiving than mortal flesh." He catches the vial Iori tosses and turns it in his hands. The notion of physical items healing his soul form seemed a little strange, but he could feel the spiritual energy inside the bottle. "I am grateful for this." He bows slightly to the archer as he notes Iori cradling his bow arm. Slowly, the soul reaper unplugs the quincy ointment and begins applying it across his injured chest and arm.

"It appears we've left a large mess, and someone went over the school loudspeaker screaming about terrorists." His eyes slid to Miharu and her pet dragon. "You may not want to be caught standing in the middle of this mess or there may be a lot of akward questions." As if to accentuate his words, the slow drone of defense force sirens just start to become audible from far below. The street, though, is empty of bystanders or traffic as the sound of car horns indicate a traffic jam just downhill of the schools entrance.

[Nicklance]

Youki clears his throat loudly as he walks up behind Miharu and places his reassuring hand on her shoulders. "I told her to make the announcement, because it would herd the students perfectly to the bomb shelters where they can be safe. This building will be cleared of non-combatants and we can go ahead and fight knowing students will not witness what happened and nobody else gets hurt. Now if you have something to say about crisis management skills, perhaps you should be here earlier and with more men." he growls at the Shinigami.

[smittey]

"That's not the question that needs to be asked!" Sensui replies to Youki's outburst. "Why are the Shinigami even here in the first place? You were fine letting the fullbringers and Quincy handle most of the hollows before, why come back now? he asked the shinigami. However, upon noticing that the other Quincy aided the Shinigami, he knew he probably be so quick to judge. "Not that we don't appreciate the help." he added quickly. He didn't want to be told to leave, not now that there was a real chance to prove himself

[Lord Syn]

The ointment (or, more accurately, the unguent) in the bottle cools and soothes the burns quite well, and also, judging by appearances, somehow accelerates the Artificial Body's healing slightly; it's not instantaneous regeneration, but the wounds are definitely recovering.

As for the bottle's original owner, Iori says nothing regarding the old man's choice of tactics, nor the rebuttals from the rest. He simply looks at the old man, his expression carefully neutral. Just looking.

Without warning, he turns his gaze away, by all appearances completely dismissing the old man's presence at that moment. He does, however, pause in his turn to look at the other, equally unfamilliar combatants. His eye settles first on the emboldened man who seems insulted by the elderly shinigami's words.

Sparing a moment, Iori responds to the man's words, "Quick thinking and tactical decisions - a good combination. But it might be wise to guard the tongue a little more - criticism, even when wrong, can still be a good source of advice. Listen," he adds, half-nodding towards the sirens. "Quick and wise as your thinking was, we should avoid the inevitable side-effects." Strangely, open as his words and manner might seem, there is a very definite chill in the way he looks - no, almost stares - at the man with the toy gun.

Turning his gaze further, he nods to the younger lady with the dragon tattoo, similarly acknowledging her efforts with silent, but no less solid, approval. While he abstains from making a pretty speech at her, it's nonetheless clear that there's a modicum of respect there, from one warrior to another.

As his gaze turns to the older boy, however, it's difficult for him to hold back a start. As it is, his eye widens perceptably, his expression seems slightly less stoic and more surprised, and he whispers softly, "Another Quincy..?"

Mentally shaking off the moment, he turns away from the group, glancing once more at each of the warriors who shared the field this day. "We should disperse," he says simply, before looking directly into the eyes of the Quincy lad again. There's still no words, but the look in that eye is clear - he's expecting the boy to follow him. There's no question, no askance, no invitation, not even a demand - just a firm, certain knowledge that the boy will do as Iori expects.

The silent message delivered, Iori turns away again, and flash-steps away towards the forest from whence he came.

[smittey]

Sensui waited until the others left, and he dashed as fast as he could after the Quincy. I will not let this chance escape. I must not! He wasn't sure if he could catch him, but he felt, in that exchange of eyes, that he wanted him to follow. I will do my duty. The honor of the Quincy demands it.

[Nicklance]

Youki shrugs at Iori's words. His body gesture shows that he is willing to give some respect to Quincy at least, but he would give Shinigami far less than he would give to the Quincy in comparison.

[El_Pablo]

Jing is slightly taken aback by the words of the gathered warriors. He did not anticipate so much hostility. His initial response is anger toward the gunman, and even the younger quincy. Only the older archer showed any respect. A long breath brought back his focus, but, in listening, he realized that he had no answer for them.

He looks at the gunner, "Perhaps you are right about the other students. I apologize." He follows that with a quick bow. "As for your questions, child," he looks to the young quincy, "I can only speak for myself. That I am here, and I am simply performing my responsibilities as a soul reaper."

He watches as the older quincy says his goodbyes to the assembled warriors, and he nods to his advice. Then, he watches him dash away. "Yes, that reminds me. I have a body I should get back to before the mortals think I've passed on." The shinigami begins to walk back towards the school's main building.

[Nicklance]

Youki takes a step forward, almost to Jing's face and speaks softly. "And I'm very sure you have felt the Hollow reiatsu in mine, if you want to reap me like what your people did to my ancestors that had worked faithfully to protect this city, I'll not go down without a fight."

There is no outward evidence why Youki would be so hostile to Shinigami, but it is clear that he did not take very well in the presence of one. Patting his clothes to get rid of the dust, he nods at Miharu with a smile and a "Good work girl, you're getting better." and leaves.

[userpay]

Miharu stays quiet in the ensuring flurry of words. She'd heard a little of shinigami and quincy from Youki but not much more than that they existed and that the former were particularly dangerous. As Iori looks to each of the group in turn Miharu's dragon finally settles, curling about her arm in it's proper place. She's clearly confused at Jing's comment about a body but Youki draws her attention. She smirks. "Of course I'm getting better. You think I'm one to be left in the dust?" She does look somewhat nervous about the approaching sirens. "Time seems to be running out though... Took longer for them to get here than I expected though." Miharu begins to make her way towards the bomb shelter, hoping that her absence was overlooked.

[Lord Syn]

Unnamed Glade, Forest Outside Town

Taking this return trip considerably slower than his last, Iori carefully sets a balance between testing the youth's speed and keeping him from getting lost in the distance. This is somewhat of a test, of course, not an actual attempt at escape, outdistancing, showing off, getting the kid lost, or any of the other myriad sort of 'games' someone might play in his situation. In a way, the youth is probably very lucky for that.

As he nears the glade, however, Iori does take the opportunity to 'leap' ahead, making sure of the glade's safe environs before a distraction shows up. He also, being who he is and all, takes the opportunity to dust off his clothes, straighten his coat and eyepatch, and mentally curse at the lack of time to properly don his official uniform. Oh well, he grumbles to himself, Generations have gotten by without it on occasion; I'm no different, I suppose.

What the lad will see, as soon as he finds his way to the glade, is Iori's back, as the Quincy faces the other direction in a relaxed and patient standing position, as if simply contemplating the beauty of the trees or something equally separate from what just occured.

However, should the lad be looking much closer, he might very well notice the small, silver, rectangular tube in Iori's hand, held loosely at his side. If he's up to speed on his Quincy knowledge, he might just even be able to identify the Seele Shneider for what it is.

[smittey]

Just a little further, just a little... he mutters to himself to keep him going. His dashes were always unstable, and just fighting the fiercest battle of his life did not help in the matter. It seems just as he was starting to tire, that the Quincy slowed greatly. I guess it was just a little further, he sighed to himself, and sprinted to catch up to him.

He felt considerably overwhelmed by what just happened. Fighting alongside another Quincy, in addition to the Fullbringers, even a Shinigami! Despite this, he knew a formal occasion when he saw one, and tried to be as graceful as he could ending a dash in a kneeling position. Despite himself, he wanted to impress the other Quincy, even though he held some misgivings about what had transpired. He also saw it was an occasion of silence, so he held in his tongue the many questions he was burning to ask.

[Lord Syn]

Iori, naturally, is aware of the moment the young man lands; for the sake of the mood, however, he pretends for a moment to not even notice, simply staring out into the forest.

Inside his head, however, Iori's thoughts are a veritable whirlwind. Another Quincy, here after so long - perhaps the lad brings news? Or is this something else - is the child simply a survivor of some unfortunate tragedy, fled to this new land? Or perhaps, is Iori just seriously overthinking this?

His mind becomes rather clear, however, as he quickly remembers what happened to bring him to the school in the first place.

"Explain yourself," he says suddenly, his tone cool and professional as he continues not turning around. His finger lightly taps the Seele, unconsciously.

[smittey]

Sensui gulped audibly, and immediately cursed himself for it. He could sense the gravity of the situation, and, guessing the trinket the master Quincy was holding in his hand was a weapon, might be deadly. Focusing, he was able to gather his mind into something that could speak in a dignified manner, and began to explain.

I have left my home. The Quincy group I was born into believed that they had enough hollow fighters, as they live in a small farming town, that attracts few hollows. They had planned to have me work as a laborer in order to help free the time of the others to fight. When I had discovered this, in addition to the knowledge that I could not train further in the way of the Quincy, I ran.

He looks at the elder Quincy, but he looks as impassive as ever.

I am not a strong Quincy yet, but I believe that by training alone I could become one strong enough to help people by killing the hollows. I have no attachment to my home, and was traveling around, killing individual hollows in an attempt to improve myself. Until today, when I sensed the hollow bait. I realized there must be more of us out there, not just our one clan in a backwater, but enough so I might learn more of our way, and be able to truly help protect this world. And so, I hope that...

His voice catches, as he realizes just what he is saying. "It's foolish" he thought. "He doesn't even know you" Nevertheless, he manages to finish his sentence.

Can you teach me the way of the Quincy?

[Lord Syn]

As the lad speaks, Iori listens quietly, weighing every word against itself. When the lad stops, he says nothing for a moment. He speaks the truth, he thinks to himself, or else is the greatest liar I've ever met.

He mulls this situation over. If what he says is true, then the boy had nothing to do with the Hollow Bait being activated, which in turn means that someone else, possibly even a non-Quincy, is responsible.

The implications of that thought are not pleasant ones.

"The way of the Quincy," he answers the boy. "You wish to learn what it means to be a Quincy..."

Reaching a decision, he makes a quarter-turn to his non-blind side, twisting a little more at the neck to look at the lad through the corner of one eye. His expression is hard, and mostly unreadable, but not obviously aggressive or violent.

With a quick movement, the squared-off metal tube lands just in front of the kneeling lad's foot. Reaching calmly and smoothly, Iori draws a similar one from his hip, concentrates, and lets the beam flare to life as the Seele Shneider awakens.

A heartbeat later, he suddenly turns and launches himself at the lad, weapon swinging!

[smittey]

Gah! Sensui shouted. Of all the responses to his appeal, he did not foresee this.

"Does he believe I drew the Hollows? Is it a test? Did HE use the bait?" Questions scrambled around in his head like bees. It was all he could do to remember that he was in combat, and couldn't leave himself open by thinking heavily

Instinctively, he materialized his bow, and used it to block the first attack. Then picking up the Quincy trinket at his feet, he tried to materialize a sword with it like the older Quincy. But nothing happened. Cursing himself he tries to focus on blocking the older Quincy's furious attacks.

Goddamn it! "If only he had more time!" he thought "I might be able to work it. It must work differently than mere materialization, maybe..."

His train of thought is shattered as the sword slashes down on him. He is able to get a closer look as he blocks, and sees the swords true form, similar to a mixture between one of his arrows, and a chainsaw.

That's it! he cried out, "It is not as a physical sword, but more like an arrow, maybe if I try to make an arrow through the thing..." He is deeply gratified to see his seele schneider spring to life.

With a grin on his face, Sensui begins to attempt a counterattack on the Quincy.

[Lord Syn]

Iori grunts with a grim satisfaction as the youth manages, finally, to activate the Seele Shneider. Shifting his stance and grip, he brings his own up to meet the counter, impacting the boy's blade only to subtly shift the energy within his own, temporarily merging and locking the blades together.

Scowling over the joined blades, Iori's eye locks with one of the lad's own as he nearly growls, "The Seele Shneider is not a standard arrow - you must modulate the energy within the blade. Let it pulse in time with your heartbeat - too fast, and the blade will shudder itself apart; too slow, and the blade becomes weak."

A moment's thought shifts the reiatsu in his own weapon back to its normal state, and a well-timed shove separates the two fighters, Iori himself dancing back several feet. Scarcely has he regained his footing, before he dashes in once more, crouching at the last moment and arcing his blade across in what could be a nasty slash to the youth's legs.

[smittey]

In time with my heartbeat... Sensui muttered as he blocked the downward slash. The older Quincy seemed to have known just how fast to swing it so that he could possibly block the deadly weapon, but not too slow to be an easy task. He felt more pushed than ever before, and it was a good feeling.

Trying to follow the instruction, as he realized now that this was, he was able to get the sword a bit more substantial, and also he begins to notice that the buzzing noise he heard in the others Seele Schneider begin to form in his, although not quite as loudly.

"Huh, it seems to function more like a chainsaw than a sword," he muttered to himself. How this would help, he didn't really know, but this small progress he was making gratified him "Maybe I'm not so worthless after all"

Thank you for training me in this new weapon. I have never seen anything like it at my home. he said, and immediately regretted it, polite as it may be. "I can't lose concentration! He has the skill to kill me at any moment!" Sensui scolded himself. "He probably would want me to focus, not chat! I can't lose this chance now!"

[Nicklance]

Youki hears the incoming sirens and agrees that it is a good time to leave. Executing Bringer Light, the young private investigator disappears from the school grounds and back on the rooftops of tall buildings, speeding his way back to his office.

[Lord Syn]

The look of satisfaction, however grim it might have been, fades quickly from Iori's face as the youth begins chit-chatting. Clearly, he is not making the seriousness of this fight clear enough. Scowling darkly, the one-eyed warrior pushes his attack harder.

"Save your breath for more important things than words, whelp!" A fitting comment, he thinks, and one he remembers having heard only too many times himself in the past. "If you have breath enough to chit-chat, you've breath enough to fight back!

"Watch the edge of your blade, boy! Or better yet, watch your opponent's blade - see how the reiatsu flows? That's because the Seele Schneider doesn't just hit things - it chews through them!" As if adding weight to his words, Iori suddenly lashes out with a vicious blow, aimed directly for the youth's own blade, neatly slicing the gathered energy in two.

Instead of going for the kill, however, Iori flips backwards, out of range of any possible wild attacks the boy might try to follow up with. "What now, boy?" he asks, his voice as calm, and as cold, as his gaze. "Your weapon is broken. What will you do? Choose quickly, pup - hesitation only brings death if you're lucky."

[smittey]

Dismay shone clearly on Sensui's face at what had happened. I failed. he whispered. All his hopes, his aspirations, his dreams, were falling down around him. Maybe, he thought, he didn't deserve to be a Quincy, and this was just fate enforcing it's decision. But then inspiration hit him.

I think you might be mistaken, master. He said calmly, as he gathered spirit energy around him. The weapon of a Quincy is his bow! Sensui immediately materialized his bow and fired off a volley of shots to try to slow down the older man.

Then, dashing away, he focused on trying to get the energy pulsing again. He didn't think it had suffered physical damage, but the weapon was completely foreign to him. His faith was rewarded, as he felt it come back to life. He then did the only thing that he could think of, sure that his opponent would come after him.

With practiced hands, and little wasted movement or time, he shot the seele schnieder. And it was a very rare occasion that he missed.

[Lord Syn]

The boy speaks, and more than that, speaks with confidence and pride. The sudden volley of arrows merely confirms the fire behind the words, the passion in the blood.

Even as he quick-steps out of the way of the incoming volley, Iori cannot help but show a smile. It is little, and it is grudgingly given, but the approval is no less real for it.

"Would you claim to be a Quincy then, pup? Well then, prove it!" Challenge or not, however, Iori knows far well enough not to be a fool - after all, not only is the youth armed, he's armed with a weapon Iori himself gave him. Wisely deciding not to go on the offensive just yet, he whispers softly to himself the first half of the command he knows for sure he will need to complete very quickly indeed. "Karas--"

And then the Seele Shneider is fired, aimed directly for his heart. As he sees the weapon readied and loosed, Iori's smile widens in approval before splitting into a shout, bellowing out the command-word, "--SCHILD!"

Immediately, the energy linked to the command crackles over the palm of his gloved hand, expanding and exploding outwards as he slams his palm into the ground at his feet. The protective shield-dome springs to life, growing outward around him just in time to meet the incoming arrow.

For a moment or two, all the world is focused on the meeting of the shield and the arrow, the power of the former forcing the latter to slow and stall midair - and yet, the Seele Shneider does not stop entirely, nor fall to the ground. Grinding relentlessly at the energy sustaining and maintaining the shield, the arrow slowly begins wearing down Iori's defense on its deadly mission.

Iori, of course, is prepared for this - he knows, from quite a great deal of extensive experience on the matter, that his shield won't stop the Schneider for long. What it will do - what it is doing - is causing it to slow down, just enough. Sweating slightly with the effort required to maintain the shield (especially after the earlier, gruelling battle), he nonetheless spares a little more power and concentration for his own weapon, bringing the Seele Shneider in his hand up in a heavy arc to contact the blade of the arrow, his mighty swing just enough to force the arrow off-course and into the ground behind him as the shield collapses under the strain.

As the light and power of the shield and weapons fade, Iori remains crouched down, his palm still firmly planted against the ground to support him as he catches his breath. His one eye remains focused, locked onto the face of the youth, his expression hard but not aggressive as he focuses on breathing for a little bit.

Once his breath has returned, Iori slowly regains his feet, his eye never leaving the lad's face - and he smiles.

"Now, whelp," he says, his tone that of every drill-master and instructor ever to walk the earth, "Tell me - what does it mean to be a Quincy?"

[smittey]

No one has ever asked me that before... Sensui said, as he walked up to the master.

I really never thought about it. We were all Quincy where I came from, and most the kind of people that were called by that name couldn't really inspire honor or respect.

But one man, one who did deserve that respect, showed me records of the Quincy's past. A time where honor, and above all else, a fierce will to protect those who could not protect themselves defined the Quincy. A Quincy is a man who sacrifices of himself in order to keep the other world from harming this one. And that, is the kind of man I want to be.

Sensui wonders if it would be respectful to offer, but he immediately discards that reasoning. Trying to be respectful just seemed to piss this master off. It was a huge difference from how he was raised. His old mentors demanded he be downright slavish in respecting them. Sensui now saw that only marked them as weaker men, needing their fragile egos stroked by someone they had authority over.

Sensui is honestly just glad that this master didn't seem to want to kill him for knocking him down.

So Sensui simply walks up to the fallen man and offers a hand.

[Lord Syn]

Iori's hard, stern smile remains in place as he nods to the boy's words. "Not exactly chapter and verse, but I can tell you mean it - and that makes it a truer answer than many have given." Glancing at the hand, he waves it away and rises on his own, quickly regaining his normal height, and a stance as firm and solid as his gaze.

"You have a name, boy?" he asks, still watching the youth's every minor tic and move, studying him just as closely after the match as he did during it.

[smittey]

Sensui couldn't think of much to say, so he responded directly to the question. Yes, master. My name is Sensui Shibata When Sensui looked up to the older Quincy's face, and saw he was examining him. Recognizing this, he tried to stop himself from flinching or invoking a false bravado. He knew that would only hurt him, and also, this man could probably see right through falsehood.

Striving to appear neutral, Sensui asked a question he held for a while, but forgot in the fight.Master, back at the school, the Hollow attack was caused by Quincy hollow bait. Did you release that hollow bait? If his master didn't release the bait, then there was another Quincy out there, one who was willing to risk innocent lives heedlessly. And if his master was the one... then he must have a good reason.

[Lord Syn]

"Sensui Shibata," Iori repeats, putting no unusual emphasis into the name. "Shibata is your family name, I take it? It's a strong name."

As the question of the Hollow Bait comes up, however, his attitude changes slightly, becoming a little more closed as he considers the issue himself. "The attack on the school was none of my doing," he says clearly, still mulling the matter over. "That you correctly identified the source of the draw is encouraging," he adds as an aside - still, faint praise is better than none at all. "To be honest, when you first arrived in this glade, I was slightly suspicious that it might have been you who drew them here."

Shifting back to the 'now', he meets the boy's eyes again. "And don't call me Master. 'Master' is a man with more knowledge than wisdom, who teaches because he cannot learn or do anymore."

[smittey]

Sensui tries to hide it, but shock and awe shows on his face. It finally hit him just how different this man truly was then those he had lived with previously. This one seemed to deserve the respect that the others demanded.

I apologize. What would you like me to call you then? You did not tell me your name, and it was the term all older Quincy I knew made me call them.

For the first time in a while, Sensui felt that things were looking up. He had helped save a whole town from a hollow attack, learned about a powerful new weapon that could let him fight stronger hollows if they appeared, and best of all, found someone who seemed to fit his idea of what a Quincy should be.

[Lord Syn]

Iori allows a slight, almost half-smile to cross his expression at that. "Case in point, I don't doubt." Dropping the smirk, he returns to a more neutral, Instructor-esque expression, while remaining moderately open. "If you feel the need for a title, you may call me Senpai. If not, call me by my name..."

Perhaps it's the pride of the blood, or perhaps a moment of weakness; either way, Iori allows himself a moment of dramatis, giving a slight pause to his words before finishing, "Iori Quincy."

Giving the lad just enough time for the name to sink in, Iori then turns and takes a few steps away from his new 'student', speaking simple commands once more. "There is a glade, similar to this, three kilometers further in from town. Collect what you will need for a fortnight. I will expect you at sunset." With that, and without a glance back, Iori flash-steps away in the direction he indicated, leaving the boy - and, not coincidentally, the Seele Shneider in his hand - behind.

[smittey]

Dashing to the town, Sensui makes sure to remember the way back to the clearing. It would be pathetic if he went through all that training from hell to prove himself, only to lose his chance because he was late. However, to gather enough food to last for 30 days...might not be very possible. He didn't have much money, and despite doing odd jobs for a couple days after his escape, he wasn't sure he could afford it.

Sighing, and mentally chastising himself that the chance to become a Quincy worthy of the name was worth missing a fair amount of meals, he plunged forward, doing his best to haggle, and was able to get his knapsack full. I had better get going. he muttered to himself.

As he was walking through the town, he couldn't help himself from examining the crowd he was navigating through. I wonder... do those fullbringers live in this town? Do they live normal lives in addition to their hollow-slaying? Is that what Iori-senpai does?

However, he couldn't find the fullbringers, and, he thought to himself, it was probably for the best. After all, he had a new path ahead of him now...