Deathonly

[Administration] Game Closure

2007-02-19T09:08:20Z

This is the final administration notice for Deathonly.

With the final arc wrapped, the time has come for DO to be officially closed. The LJ community will remain up until such time as the archives are transferred to the eFiction version on the domain. The domain will also remain up for the time being, so the Quotefile will remain immortalised, the oekaki will still be up and running, and people will still be welcome to read up on the adventures of the characters in the Deathonly plotline.

The game was delightfully fun while it lasted and never as a mod have I ever been so proud to see such an awesome gathering of writers all working in one game. There are so many thinks I wish to make that I cannot list them all for fear of missing one. Thank you to EVERYONE who was ever involved with this game, from prior members straight up to administrators. This has been a wonderful experience and so many new and old friends have been met and made here.

Will miss you all and hope to see each and every one of you around! ♥

Take care, everyone!

[Final Compile & Complete] Hitsugaya, Renji, Shunsui, Komamura, -Adaro

2007-02-19T09:01:29Z

Hitsugaya drew further back from Adaro as Renji and Komamura both attacked. The last thing they needed was to get in each other's way. He didn't fancy getting in the way of Renji's ban kai. When had the vice captain achieved it, anyway? Not that he was entirely surprised: the redhead had always seemed like one of those most likely to get it...

His icy wings stirred the frozen air around as he hovered, just watching Adaro sharply for a short time. He tried to shove all his anger and grief over Unohana's death out of his mind, focusing simply on strategies for the fight.

It wasn't working too well.

He glanced over at Komamura as the captain started the kidou. Lifting his own hand, he started muttering a kidou of his own. "Echo of the arid deserts, sandy grave for the unwary. Treacherousness abounds, tread lightly lest you fall. Hadou #75: Myrmeleontidae's Feast!" The ground around the pillars of stone, where Adaro might land if she jumped away to avoid getting impaled, started to shake and tremble, rapidly forming into a large patch of quicksand- not deadly, perhaps, but perhaps it would knock her off balance enough for someone to score a hit...

Tonnes of rock and dirt were lifted with the kidou, five spires of earth too great to ignore. Adaro could have leapt away had there been the time and had the vines relented with enough to spare. With no venue to escape unscathed, she instead braced herself to counter what she could. Versus a captain-level kidou, even she faced difficulty in that. Two spires were cleaved to harmless lengths by the swing of Osovenenoso, two others evaded as she twisted her body to escape the sharp edge of earth, but the fifth hit its mark in her shoulder.

No sound, nothing more than a gasp swallowed under the shudder of earth crashing against itself, came from the red-haired woman as the spire dug deep into her shoulder. It was kept from ripping the limb off by the force of her other hand striking it, shattering it before it could do further damage. What it had done was enough, blood welling from the wound, her arm dropping to her side, rendered useless.

Adaro gritted her teeth beneath the mask, Hollow-darkened eyes flashing with anger. When she moved, it was not to leave the ruins of earth that had fallen around her, but to stand on them when the ground began to shift under the touch of the little ice captain's kidou. "Lucky shot, taichou. Care to attempt a repeat?"

With her footing held on the rocks churned up from the earth, Adaro narrowed her gaze upon Komamura once again, the thorn in her side for this battle. The reiatsu that hung heavily about her spiked that much more with her disgust for his actions, the white power of cero that built up in her fist that much stronger when she raised her hand to unleash it in his direction.

The others had stood idle enough, they would get to watch his execution before she tended to theirs. And naught but ban kai would interest her to move them up on her list of priority.

Why she was focusing on Komamura exclusively when there were two other captains one in released bankai and himself with is own bankai. She was either incredibly over confident or incredibly stupid. Perhaps a little of both. Renji would give her that she was powerful, but she couldn't hold that level for much longer could she? He had no way of knowing. They knew so little about Arrancar and faced with revealing information that Adaro was not one of those but a Vaizored, changed the game.

No matter, Renji would exploit her seeming distraction and attack her dead on with a hungry and fully charged bankai release. With Adaro busy with Komamura, Renji wasted no time sending Zabimaru after her. The unwieldy seeming beast charged at full speed toward the woman hoping to knock her off balance before the cero could go off.

As soon as the kidou successfully landed massive damage on the woman in front of him, Shunsui was darting forward in precise flash steps, scimitars bared and lips pursed. He paid no attention to Renji's ban kai as it was sent forth. He paid no attention to Adaro as she yelled challenges at them and charged a cero, arm limp at her side. All the captain saw was a target, an obstacle, a thing of hatred, a job he had to finish. He saw the blood of his mentor, the body of his friend, the land he grew up in, the death and destruction, and he flew toward her with more killing intent than he could remember having before.

It ran into his spiritual pressure, expanding and darkening it, making everything seem faster and more tunnelled in on Adaro. Her cero fired off, and he absently hoped it would be dodged or blocked, but didn't move out of his way to tend to it. He knew Renji's attack was coming up behind him, and he hoped he wouldn't be caught in its aftermath, but still he went forward.

When he was close enough to her to see the rough gore of her wound, the bone and tendons and torn muscle, he struck out hard and deep with both swords, aiming for the heart and neck. There was no hesitation, no intent to try and prolong the battle anymore for any reason, no desire to pick away at her any longer. Shunsui had had enough of everything now. It would end here, one way or another.

The shinigami were finally getting into the battle, adding to the fervour that Komamura fought with, compounding the enjoyment of the red-haired woman in finally facing a challenge, simmering still beneath the anger of being injured by these petty shinigami.

Adaro snapped her head up when the heavy reiatsu preceded the thick ban kai of the vice captain. Osovenenoso came to bear, but all that she could do was hold it in a guard before the fangs of Zabimaru struck the bared blade with force even greater than that which she had expected. Adaro snarled and struggled to hold her ground, but it was the instability of the ground that proved her error, a stone slipping beneath her that pushed her off balance.

What followed inched by as though time slowed, but her body slowed to match it. Adaro could feel the painful twist in her foot as she slipped, felt gravity even at it pulled her down. She saw as the cero missed its target, the built-up power firing into the air harmlessly. Then she saw the eighth division captain and his drawn blades as he approached and though her eyes narrowed and her reiatsu flared higher than it had yet, it did not allow her to knock away the ban kai soon enough, keeping Osovenenoso locked in that combat as the two blades bore down upon --

-- bore down into her.

Adaro managed a choked gasp before the sharp edge cut even air from her throat, and her body jerked back beneath the twin blows.

Impossible.

Blood poured from the wound, her grip on Osovenenoso going slack as the blade was knocked away, allowing the thick fangs to add their bite to her body as she fell to her knees. Hatred and anger stared back up at Shunsui, but beneath the venomous look, the blackness of her gaze had begun to lighten, the whites of her eyes returning against her will.

Adaro stared in silence, unable to comprehend the slow numbing feeling that spread across her, the way that her hands did not respond when she willed them to move, to steal the swords and gut the captain that stood before her. The only warmth that she felt was that which spilled from her injuries, a coldness creeping over her limbs as the life drained from wounds mortal.

To fall to shinigami --

The thought did not finish itself. Adaro shuddered, her palms resting on the ground as the mask shattered into nothing, the strength of her reiatsu fading with every heartbeat, more and more and the heartbeat slowed. For an instant there was something beyond the anger, a flicker of thought for her arrancar and the shinigami who waited with them for her triumphant return, but the numbness crept over her thoughts as her arms buckled and her body struck the ground.

With a shudder, it was over. The war, the exile, and the agony which the Gotei-13 had suffered those long months. The mistress of the Hollows had been destroyed, her body laying cold upon the ground, giving rise to new hope for the shinigami, giving opportunity for their return as the barrier faded without her presence to support it.

Against all odds, the shinigami had survived and won their disadvantaged war.

[Previous Thread]

OOC: This is the final compile of Deathonly's twentieth and final arc.

[Compile & Complete] Hanatarou, Grimmjow, Edorad, Luppi

2007-02-19T02:31:27Z

A shiver of tension ran up Hanatarou's spine as the word 'joke' fell from Grimmjow's lips but he steeled himself, not letting the insult bother him. Such a thing couldn't bother him. The arrancar had been raised to despise shinigami. Just knowing one was Adaro's closest ally wouldn't change their viewpoint on one. If he let such words about himself from them bother him he'd never make any headway with them.

Predators preyed on the weak.

The flash of Luppi disappearing and reappearing out of the corner of his eye caught Hanatarou's attention and he turned his head faintly to gaze at the arrancar and then back at Grimmjow. What he knew of the arrancar, he knew of them, literally, from Adaro. Various aspects of their personalities, and his bits of exposure to them so far. And what he knew of Grimmjow made him doubt he'd turn down from a challenge, the one that Luppi was presenting, especially with his other option being to stay put and be healed by Hanatarou.

Not happening any time soon.

Shaking his head softly, Hanatarou reached back into the pack and dug about for something. "Stubborn," he murmured softly before pulling out a square adhesive bandage. "If you don't wish to be healed by my hands, very well. But at least use this, lest you present an already bleeding wound to Luppi-san and his game." He extended his hand, offering the bandage. A specially devised bandage utilized for the 4th division for those who were injured but not fatally so. It sealed the wound and slowly over time drew from the person's own reiatsu to heal it. It would heal more slowly since Grimmjow was an arrancar, part hollow, but would work because he was part shinigami as well.

If he accepted it.

He held the bandage out. He really didn't know if Grimmjow would take it or not... He knew he couldn't force the arrancar into being healed, not this arrancar, even with what Adaro said. But he also knew he couldn't just back down and walk away. He didn't have the power behind him to order them. But he wasn't in a position to let them walk over him.

There was no one in his sights except for Luppi who had disappeared on him to end up behind him which was something he could feel on the back of his neck. It almost felt as if he could feel each breath hit the back of his neck even though he was certain Luppi was far enough away. But he kept his eyes on where his brother had been, the blue circles still picking up on the playful smirk that always seemed to be plastered on.

"If that's what you want to call it," he answered, his mind telling him to kill the guy. Not so slowly, Grimmjow turned around and let a foot step out to make that kill happen. Actually, right now, it was just going to get as far as a severe beating, but the intent to kill was definitely there, embedded in every punch he was ready to throw.

His right hand formed a fist. He was ready to throw that first punch and then something stopped him, something small who didn't know when to stop bothering him. Now wasn't the time to keep pushing him to get touched and healed with shinigami knowledge. Now was the time to get the point and move on.

"Didn't I tell ya to back off?" Grimmjow turned his attention toward Hanatarou for a brief moment. It was just enough to turn that fist toward the new edition and smack it into the hand that held the bandage out to him. The Arrancar's body wanted to keep going and use his other hand to finally send that message home, but his mind, something that many of the people in the room didn't think he had, told him to hold off. Grimmjow was sure hurting Hanatarou in any way would be a death sentence and he wanted to stay alive long enough to see victory. After that, all bets were off. "I'm just fine fightin' that. I don't need any of yer help."

“Huh,” Edorad sighed as he exhaled loudly. Grimmjow was starting to froth around the mouth again, and it could only lead to more gratuitous violence. He was all for some blood and fighting; it was way too boring here without any orders from Adaro; but did that mean he would be the only one getting healed by Hanatarou? Edorad liked that prospect much, much less.

So instead of staying out of the looming fight, Edorad spoke up.

“Oi, Adaro-sama’s not gonna like you rejecting the bandage like that. She said we needed to be healed and ready before her return for missions she’s gonna send us on,” he said to his already volatile brother. He didn’t know if reason could reach his temperamental brain, but he was going to try at least.

He didn’t mention the second part of her orders, to listen to Hanatarou’s words as if they were her own. Edorad didn’t like it much, and he doubted Grimmjow would like it any better. There was only so much he could do to push his brother before the blue-haired arrancar snapped. But since he was the only ‘sensible’ one close by, he felt he needed to say something before things got too out of hand.

“And unless both of you want to stay here when she comes back, I wouldn’t go too overboard with this little argument either,” he glanced at both Luppi and Grimmjow meaningfully.

Seeing that his words had little to no effect on the warring pair, Edorad snorted in disgust. Well, he’d said his piece, and if those two idiots didn’t listen, that wasn’t his problem. As for him, he’d had enough of the oppressive atmosphere around here; he was going to his quarters to sleep and would only return to the 1st Division room when Adaro did. Seeing how keyed up she’d been when she’d left, he figured he would feel her considerable spiritual signature when she came back to Soul Society.

Ignoring every arrancar and shinigami in the room, he left his place near Adaro’s throne and headed for the door. He hoped Grimmjow and Luppi would keep their fight down so he could grab a little shut eye, but knowing those two, probably not.

[Previous Thread]

[Compile & Complete] Hachi, Kensei, Shinji, Tousen, Lisa

2007-02-19T02:28:59Z

Hachi chuckled at his newest brother's statement, wondering if they would escalate to that in a 'friendly' spar. Or whether the new vaizard would even be able to push Kensei to use his sword without releasing himself. Kensei was fairly strong in direct kidou combat, considering that nasty explosive punch he had. Hachi watched as Kensei let the first kidou punch, as if in response to his thought.

Hachi glanced carefully at Tousen's movements. To him it was still rather a mystery how the blind vaizard's lack of sight did not become a hinderance. All senses, of course, were used during a proper fight. He pondered on it some more, and decided that reliance on reiatsu to see and move was quite the feat. Hachi took another look up at the fight, closely following Tousen's reactions, to see if his sight caused any difference in reaction time

Kensei took the hit in the knee. Felt it coming though he had, his braced himself to hold his ground against it. Pain flared up at contact, but it sparked something of a cocky grin on his features when it failed to knock him to the ground. The point, disregarding the ache in his knee that remained after Tousen's kick had connected, was to prove that the body could take a pounding, that there was more to real fights than just kidou and shining zanpakuto.

Ain't no worth in fighting if you can't take it like a man. That was what Kensei figured on as he straightened, shaking out his knee and hiding the winces of pain that came with the motion. That hurt, hell it did, but he could take it. Kensei was one hell of a man in that respect, a damned iron house at times.

"That all the pretty girl's got?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Kensei glanced at his fellow Vaizored, eyes narrowing at the manga that the bookworm among them had drawn out. Was that porn? Aw, hell, she was reading porn right in front of him? That wasn't fair! 'Oi, Lisa, why don't you come take care of prissy boy out here?!" he called out, jerking his thumb at Tousen. "I'll keep yer place in that book yer nose is stuck in!"

The tone in the other's voice caused the Vaizored to drop his stance and fold his arms behind his back. He had a sudden case of deja vu, with the exception that his sparring partner didn't decide to end it early over reading. Tousen never took the thuggish one as much of a reader but he was mildly surprised.

Until the thought of what said reading material covered.

"Kensei-san I don't think that pornography is a valid excuse to leave after being kicked in the knee."

Still Shinji leaned by Lisa, bored expression on his face despite the rising aggression on the makeshift battlefield, and when she whipped out the reading material his eyes drifted downward and followed along with hers as she turned the pages. His expression didn't change and he didn't move, but he was amused at Kaname and Kensei's reactions to the new development.

"Pretty easy fight to break up, guys," the blond drawled loud enough for them to hear, examining the dark haired woman groping the innocent-looking blonde beneath her in one of the panels. "If Kensei's ever on my ass, I'll just find some porn."

He was mostly unconcerned with how Tousen had learned to become proficient in fighting without his vision; he simply assumed that when one did without a sense for the majority of one's life, they learned to manage in all the important ways. Those who wished to survive enough would usually survive, and those who wished to excel enough would usually excel.

[Previous Thread]

[Compile & Complete] Tatsuki, Akon, Kenpachi, Jinta, Mayuri

2007-02-19T02:25:37Z

Tatsuki didn't reply to the child; no use arguing with him about the finer points of turning tail. "Knowing when to run" meant knowing when it was safer and when it was more dangerous, but it wasn't up to her to teach that to every kid on the street that talked tough.

"I tried to fight Adaro myself, but she stopped me with her reiatsu before I even got close," Tatsuki replied to Akon. "So I was a little preoccupied when she was fighting Tousen. There were more people there, though, who might have notice something useful. Hitsugaya-taichou, a shinigami named Hanatarou, another named Rikichi, and..."

Mayuri was suddenly standing behind the kid. Tatsuki retched.

"What... Why are you..." Tatsuki couldn't form complete sentences. It's just as well, though, as she was completely ignored by the captain at any rate.

For the first time - as it was the first time she had seen Mayuri since she had become acquainted with the Shinigami divisions - she noticed the insignia on his shihakushou. It matched Akon's. Suddenly her opinion of the horned scientist turned sour.

Completely confused and unsure of what to do, all Tatsuki could manage was to stand out of Mayuri's field of vision. This was the wrong time place to draw attention to her vendetta. Even so, she was on edge, her hand resting on her zanpakutou hilt conspicuously. She wasn't sure if Mayuri had even seen her during Hime's rescue, and in that context she knew she should try to act casually, but her pent-up anger and tension made it impossible.

With the new scraps of information, Akon temporarily abandoned his seemingly indifferent attitude. Eyes slightly narrowed, he searched the girl's face with an intensity that suggested that he was attempting to look past her eyes into her brain. In earlier times, when such acts could be accomplished more discreetly, there's a chance he would have entertained the thought of opening her skull himself rather than relying on her recollections.

His arms were folded in the sleeves of his lab coat, and one hand clenched around a wrist until it felt as though the bones were about to shift. Hitsugaya-taichou, Hanatarou, and Rikichi. There may have been more, but apparently the arrival of his captain effectively shut down her ability to speak coherently.

"Kurotsuchi-taichou," he murmured in greeting, bowing slightly. He glanced back at the girl, noting how her hand had suddenly moved to her zanpakutou.

"Thank you for the information," he continued, in a lower voice. "You've met my captain?" he asked, feigning mild surprise and suppressing the smirk that almost slithered up one side of his mouth. He spoke as though he couldn't see the look of utter disgust on her face.

Kenpachi was just beginning to drift into another coma-like slumber (albeit a slightly healthier one this time seeing as it wasn't caused directly by more massive blood loss) when he noticed the arrival of another individual. Normally he would have just ignored whoever the hell it was, but to his dismay, it was Kurotsuchi Mayuri, captain of the twelfth. There was no way in all three worlds that Kenpachi was letting his guard down around that man, lord only knew what would happen to his body if he did. His subordinates were bad enough.

"Th' hell're you here for, Kurotsuchi," he grunted, hoping that the other's requited distaste for him would drive him off quickly. That stupid girl had better stop giving them information, too, or they would be here all day. Maybe that kid would end up bugging her until she left too.

[Previous Thread]

[Compile & Complete] Kisuke, Aizen, Yoruichi, Ururu

2007-01-22T18:57:38Z

His cane tapping lightly on the floor as he headed into the room, Kisuke settled by the low table in a lazy kneel. Wordlessly he took his teacup from the tray Ururu carried when she entered the room. A cute little set of cups that matched the teapot, a gift to match the teapot Kisuke had given the girl on her last birthday.

The day she thought of as her birthday, at least. There were many days that could be considered her birthday. The day the thought of first create her entered Kisuke's mind. The day he finished the plans. The day she took her first breath. The day he completed work on her. The day he sent her out of Soul Society into the living world to survive and not be destroyed as the Chuu-ou 46 Shitsu decreed. The day he found her again after his exile.

Dates that were vivid in Kisuke's mind, but had yet to be mentioned to Ururu.

One day...

Glancing over as he sipped his tea, he noted Aizen looking about the place and smirked faintly. Ah right. The man had never been in his home. Very few shinigami had been, really. "So what was it you came to purchase today, Sousuke-san? And have a cookie, Yoruichi-san. You look far too... Well. You look like you need a cookie," the merchant said, tossing a glance to his old friend. There would be much to be said between the two old friends, two exiles. Later.

"Mm?" Looking away from the curiosities of the man's residence, Aizen turned to the merchant and smiled pleasantly enough. A brow quirked as Ururu stepped into the room. It was the same girl. The same unusual girl. Aizen's interest was on the girl, but he refrained from asking questions and instead picked off a cookie for himself. "Thank you, Ururu-kun." He turned to Kisuke and some how felt the man knew that his curiosity had been rankled and was expecting questions.

Yet Aizen asked nothing, nor would he. At least not in front of the girl and especially not to give Kisuke the satisfaction of being deliberately and annoyingly cryptic. "The usual supplies really. I also had a few questions about our recent sojourn into Soul society and wondered if you had anything to do with it."

Yoruichi grinned in Urahara's direction as she reached for the snacks Ururu brought. She nodded toward the small girl in thanks and indeed, grabbed a cookie to go with her tea. Times like these were supposed to make her calm and agreeable, but the last saying that came from Aizen made her look up. She had no hostility or confusion on her face; she simply had a questionable expression.

"Sorry to intrude, but we've been exiled for ages, Aizen, as you well know." The cat-woman paused, taking a sip of her tea and setting the cup down. "I was surprised myself when I heard about Seireitei." She wondered where this conversation might exactly lead them, but dismissed it as over-thinking the situation.

[Previous Thread]

[Compile & Complete] Chizuru, Nemu, Yumichika, Kuukaku

2007-01-22T18:51:55Z

Chizuru listened to Yumichika and the sad girl from Orihime's party talk, feeling discombobulated. She understood what they were saying -- she now had the background information to understand -- but she still didn't feel like it made any sense. A part of her didn't want it to make sense. It made the world far too big and far too scary.

The teenager finished up her friend's bandages with a small sigh just as the sexy lifeguard from the summer came striding up. Chizuru didn't even start, although she did blink with surprise. Did everybody know everybody? Who would've thought that the lifeguard would be involved in all of this?

Then again...hadn't she talked to the talking dog? Chizuru's mind spun. This was all too much for her to take.

Nemu bit her lip and nodded silently, holding back another wave of grief upon hearing Yumichika actually say Unohana was gone out loud. She took the vial back and slipped it in her purse, looking up to see Kuukaku.

Surprised and unnerved by the woman's sudden appearence, she took a half-step back. The woman had a powerful personality, and the last time she'd seen her had, well, been at that fair, when she was with Hisagi. She smoothed down her skirt apprehensively, but quickly stilled her hands when she caught herself doing it.

Chizuru was looking confused. Perhaps, Nemu abruptly realized, she didn't know anything about the shinigami. For some reason, since the girl was friends with Orihime and had so often been around shinigami, she assumed she knew.

She would probably find out sooner or later, but Nemu didn't feel like the one to explain it. Instead she glanced at Yumichika, frowning slightly in concern.

[Previous Thread]

[Compile & Complete] Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Momo

2007-01-22T18:45:46Z

"Monkey girls?" Orihime immediately forgot about defending Ichigo's honor to Momo (who hadn't been angry at him, after all), her mind drifting to focus on the idea of monkey girls... or monkey boys... or perhaps monkey dogs and monkey cats!

It wasn't really a bad idea, she thought. If that Ulquiorra person had been a monkey boy, he wouldn't have been so scary! And maybe if she just gave him a banana, he would go away!

Ishida, however, would NOT make a good monkey. As adorable as they were, Orihime didn't like kissing something so furry (except her kitten's nose, and that was different).

"I didn't know monkey-girls knew answers like that," she said thoughtfully. "I wonder if other animal people know them too..."

The petite noble was about to join Inoue in teasing Ichigo about his blush which was definitely present, but the wave of reiatsu pulsing across town caught her attention and jerked her head to the side.

Renji...

Hihou Zabimaru.

She swallowed thickly, trying to recompose herself even as her fingers tightened in Ichigo's hair, her knuckles turning white. Ban kai... He'd released ban kai... He was in such a fight that he needed to rise to that level, and she sat idly by chatting with friends. But if he was in such a fight and had to resort to that full release, what could she do but sit idly by?

The slight pulling of his hair at the same moment a sudden burst of familiar reiatsu flared up was all Ichigo needed to motivate him. If it wasn't for those two slight gestures it was the way Rukia had suddenly seemed to drop a few degrees, stiffen, and pass up a perfect opportunity to mock and tease him told him there was something seriously wrong with this girl. Well not seriously, but that she desperately wanted to be elsewhere.

And with Renji's suddenly bursting reiatsu, Ichigo wanted to be elsewhere as well. This was not the time to be chattering away. No doubt the one responsible for the pain he saw in his friends was engaged in a deadly fight and one Ichigo knew he had to be a part of.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled on his soul glove. Quietly he pressed his hand against his chest and felt his soul detach from his body. Just before his body fell in a heap, he caught Rukia and pulled her to her favorite perch on his back. He stood looking at Orihime and then Momo. "Sorry. We gotta go. Follow us if you want to try to take your home back, or if you want to avenge the woman who just died. I don't care. I'm going cuz I have to fight her. Once and for all I need to know what I'm made of." He tossed a lopsided grin to the girls and was quickly gone heading in the direction of the fight with Adaro.

That the battle raged had not escaped her attention, knowledge that came with it the apprehension of what casualties might be wrought again upon the Gotei-13. Momo bore that to the best of her ability, heavier though it became as others joined the battle and zanpakuto were released. Worry built steadily, held under the soft smile she continued to hold, faded as it was.

Momo jumped when Ichigo dropped to the ground, brown eyes going wide with her startlement before she realised his shinigami form had remained standing. To his words, she listened intently and hesitated a moment before she nodded, indecision settled with the strength of resolve that he offered. "I will catch up," she said with a brighter smile and a nod. "Good luck... Kurosaki-kun!"

The gigai that had helped to hide her in the past few months fell to the ground as she split her spirit from it, shihakushou settling gently around her as Momo turned her gaze to Orihime. There was an instant of sadness that graced her eyes before she offered the teen a quick hug. "Orihime-chan, I will come back to visit if we get Seireitei back," she promised.

Momo rested her hand upon the hilt of Tobiume as she pulled back, feeling the reassurance of the spirit. Fighting was not the option she would like, but she wanted to return home, to help those who had been left behind. She hoped that her captain would approve of this resolve, hoped that she could speak with him about it when they were back home. With a final smile to Orihime, she turned her gaze to where the fighting was, a presence much more pronounced now that she was free of the gigai.

Hard though it would be, she hoped that this might herald the end of the war.

Orihime stood frozen, unable to do anything other than watch as the others responded to the battle that she could sense raging fiercely in the distance.

Was it going to be like this, then? When it came down to it, Inoue Orihime was NOT a fighter. Tsubaki packed none of the power that the shinigami's zanpakuto did, or Chad's arm or Ishida's arrows. Against someone like Adaro...

But then, could she be content with letting them go, staring at their backs?

No.

"If we get Seireitei back," Momo had said. If they all worked together, however, it wouldn't be just an "if". It would be a "when".

"I'm going too," she said softly, giving her friend a warm smile even as her eyes sharpened in determination. "I wasn't given these powers so I could watch everyone else. I have the Shun Shun Rikka so I can protect them... and I will."

She only hoped Ishida wouldn't scold her TOO badly for throwing her own safety aside in order to aid the shinigami.

One step at a time, and she put her foot forward.

"I'm not going to lose any more people that I care about."

[Previous Thread]

[Compile & Complete] Lori, Yammy, Ulquiorra, Il Forte

2007-01-22T18:35:57Z

Lori relaxed as Ulquiorra cut off Yammy. She didn't need to get anymore onto the big Arrancar's bad side....and knowing her, she wouldn't be able to resist. No matter how many times she resolved to think before she spoke, it never worked when she really needed it to.

She bit her tongue after Il Forte spoke, holding back the snarky comment she so desperately wanted to make out of sheer force of will, and instead looked over at Hanatarou. He was offering something to Grimmjow -- good luck with that; Grimmjow was one of the hottest headed of all the Arrancar.

Ulquiorra had again proven why he was considered the first and foremost of the arrancar. While others reeled and seethed under these developments, he had come to the only functional conclusion and saw to it that the others would adhere to the will of their mistress by no uncertain terms.

From that point, it was simple for Yammy to straighten his back and nod, eyes casting over the forms of his kin, narrowed and alert for those that would not comply. Sour as it could have felt, he would not disgrace the wishes of Adaro by despising the one left as her equal.

However, that did not hasten his step to request healing assistance from the former fourth division member. Yammy let his thick arms cross over his chest, feet rooted to the spot out of some lingering and stubborn refusal to admit so quickly to this view. He could bear a few more hours of the pain.

"What role does he intend to play?" he asked, gruff still as comprehension sought to slip some pieces into place. "He does not appear to be a warrior of her magnitude..."

There is not a single one of us who could hope to measure up to Adaro-sama's standards as a warrior, much less a shinigami," Il Forte was quick to reply. "But... regardless of his role, she's made it clear that we are to respect him. And so... that is how it shall be. I will not disobey Adaro-sama's direct orders."

He really didn't like the idea of kowtowing to a measly Fourth Division shrimp, but if that was how things had to be, then so be it.

"I only hope we will not be disappointed once again," he murmured, unusually solemn and pensive. "Because I will not handle it so nicely this time."

[Previous Thread]

[Compile & Complete] Hisagi, Rangiku, Nanao, Ishida

2007-01-14T21:23:51Z

The burst of reiatsu, even at this distance, rushed over Ishida, making very single hair stand on end and goose bumps to raise over his flesh. His hand felt hot as the reishi pulsed in the air, only by closing his fist was he able to resist the urge to draw his bow. His clenched his fist and gazed down at it, not even asking just what it was Abarai was doing that was causing this heightened reiatsu. If he could feel such power from such a distance.... radiating, so easily channeled, thick and potent...

What was he doing here?

The boy stood up slowly, his head turned to gaze off in that direction, and dropped his hand. That power... It was not an idle power. It was a fighting power, one of courage and spirit and desperation. Everything the shinigami felt. Everything he too, even a Quincy, felt. Confusion and pride and dedication. Determination to win and sacrifice. Everything he'd felt before donning the glove, an action he'd done even though it broke a promise to his grandfather, he'd done it to fight. To have a chance and more against this threat.

He could tell that it was already four very strong shinigami against Adaro.. But the shinigami were hardly the only ones suffering in this war. It might have been their fault, who knew, that brought about this war in their home. They were hardly the only ones effected.

The Quincy line was sorely misrepresented in this fight.

Even he knew, at his current power, he couldn't stand alone against Adaro. Not without sacrificing all. But he'd be proud to stand beside the shinigami and if he could, fire the killing shot. For revenge, and an end to this all. To give Adaro and whoever she might be, no chance at redemption.

Shinigami zanpakuto cleansed souls... A Quincy's arrow destroyed the soul, not allowing it to pass on to whatever afterlife it might deserve.

"Whatever it is Abarai-kun is doing," Ishida said, glancing over his shoulder at the shinigami and reaching to adjust his glasses, "it is the same logic and instincts compel me to do as well. If you'll excuse me... I do have unfinished business with Adaro. It was I who struck one of the first blows against her. It is only fitting I be there to witness, if not strike, the last."

A cocky smirk touched the boy's face before his foot shifted, utilizing hirenkyaku to gather a bit of the surplus of reishi in the air to him, and take him from the gathering. With any luck, he'd make it across town to the fight before the shinigami could claim all of the glory.

And before he lost the ultimate chance to keep his promise to his grandfather. And show that shinigami and Quincy could fight together. Even if this time it was just because of a common enemy... Fighting back to back was fighting back to back. No matter the cause.

Not a woman to be out done by a man or a boy at that (even if he was a gentleman and rather charming), Rangiku stood and reached into her purse for her soul candy. The moment she was separated from her body, she felt alive with the thrill of battle ahead of her.

Though she hadn't fared very well against the woman's Arrancar, Rangiku wasn't the same woman she was a few weeks ago. There was also the fact that she would not be alone in this fight. She would be fighting along side people she trusted with every fiber of her being.

She turned to face Nanao and Hisagi and flashed the latter a winsome smile. "Are we gonna let him show us up?" She held out her hand to the male hoping he would take it. As she gazed at him, something in the secret depths of her heart she was offering more than a mere escort to battle.

She almost tried to stop him. Almost. But what he had said pushed a foot forward. It was true that she wasn't as strong as most of the others, but if the Quincy was going to head over there to help, then she should as well. Nanao didn't want to be upstaged by someone other than a shinigami. Perhaps this was instinct working in her because the logic of the situation didn't make sense. To be heading into possible death...

A small smile appeared as she turned to Rangiku and shook her head. The smile disappeared as soon as he eyes fell on Hisagi. "No, that would be embarrassing as a shinigami."

With that, Nanao bowed at the pair and took off behind Ishida. She wouldn't just fight to get back home, but she would also fight for herself, to find the woman she lost during her time here. Her captain would see how she changed and maybe he'd be proud of her and their relationship could return to where it was.

Her hand moved to her hip as she left her gigai to run her fingers over her zanpakutou. She was ready for anything from now on.

It felt like an ending. Or perhaps a beginning. These days, it was hard to tell the difference between the two. Hisagi stood for a moment, watching the young man disappear, catching Nanao and Rangiku's eyes and seeing something in himself mirrored in both of them. A need to do something, to stop standing on the sidelines and allowing the world to continually kick them back down to their knees.

No, the world wasn't doing the kicking. Adaro was. And it was high time she felt the full power of the shinigami. It was time they stopped doubting themselves and took action. It was time they retook their home. Hisagi could feel it, that resigned passivity that had overcome him these past months, finally beginning to fall away from himself. As if he were shedding off weights he felt lighter, surer, ready to move with a speed that would leave most breathless.

He took the soul candy out of his pocket and popped the pill into his mouth, reaching out for Rangiku's hand as his soul separated from the artificial body.

"Let's show that Quincy how it's done."

[Previous Thread]

[Administration] Important Announcement & Notice of Arc Wrap

2007-01-08T05:20:08Z

Twenty arcs, more than two thousand pages of content, 2,200 livejournal posts, 11,500 comments, upwards of twenty-five members at our highest point. Deathonly (deathonly) has been one of the most successful games that we, the admins, have had the pleasure of being involved with.

To be cliché, all good things must come to an end.

After discussion and consideration, we've made a decision and wish to announce that Deathonly will be closing after the completion of its 20th arc.

This has been an incredible run and we thank each and every member, past and present. This game would have been nothing without the contributions everyone made, the time everyone put into it, and the fun that everyone had with it.

We have one final request of the membership. We would like to see the completion of arc twenty, so that it can be archived and placed on Deathonly.com with the rest of the arcs. We would like for that, and to give everyone a chance to wrap their character in this RPverse of Bleach.

And so we announce that arc twenty is officially in wraps phase. There is no strict timeframe for this, but we would like to be done with the arc by late January if possible.

Wrap thread listing is available at this latest threads post and, as per usual, each thread will be compiled only as the scenes are noted as completed.

Once all threads are completed, a final closure notice will be posted.

This has been an incredible game, and let's finish it up as an incredible game.

Deathonly Chat

Regarding the chat we have been creating daily on Y!M. If you are interested in being invited to the chat up to and past game closure, please leave a comment here and we will continue to do so. Without Deathonly, it will become more of a friends group chatting, and we would hate to lose track of all the awesome people we've met as a part of Deathonly. ♥

[Threads] As of Actual Bleach Eps Start Next Week!!

2007-01-07T00:25:32Z

New name, same mod, I promise!

Arc 20
Soul Society of Sulk - Hanatarou, Grimmjow, Edorad, Luppi

Soul Society of Emo - Lori, Yammy, Ulquiorra, Il Forte

Glen of Ichigo's Harem - Rukia, Ichigo, Orihime, Momo

Riverbank of Issues - Hisagi, Ishida, Rangiku, Nanao

Crater of Mourning - Hitsugaya, Adaro, Renji, Shunsui, Komamura

Thread of Beating Each Other Up! - Kensei, Shinji, Tousen, Lisa

Street of SHE'S STRAIGHT NOW? - Chizuru, Nemu, Yumichika, Kuukaku

Urahara Shouten of Conflict! (Whot, there could be) - Kisuke, Aizen, Yoruichi, Ururu

Crater of Ow - Tatsuki, Akon, Kenpachi, Jinta, Mayuri

[Compile] Kisuke, Aizen, Yoruichi, Ururu

2007-01-07T00:21:17Z

Kisuke's hand fell to rest on the girl's head as she ran up to his side, and he tossed her a smile. The girl's usual enthusiasm to help him in any way she could was endearing, and that reminder of normalcy that he needed on such a day.

"No, I haven't even brewed it yet, we were just going in to have some. If you would, Ururu? And also Tessai-san hid the cookies again..." he hummed softly. He really should just watch the girl and see where she looked to find the cookies, but even if he found Tessai's current hiding place, the man would just find a new one. And process of elimination of hiding spots wasn't all that useful in this case. In Urahara Shouten, there were a number of places to hide things. As Kisuke well knew and took advantage of.

"After you have the tea ready, you're free to join us."

Taking the suggestion seat, Aizen said nothing more. There wasn't much to say anyway until their host returned. The catty woman didn't seem to be in much of a chatty mood which left the captain, to look about the interior of the Urahara Shouten.

It seemed like any normal abode with a small shop attached to it. Rather familial feel to it. Cozy, quaint, nondescript. The same with the shop area he'd briefly traveled across.

Yet Aizen knew there was more to this place, more to his man. This place was buzzing with secrets and an energy of clandestine activity. It had the same air that the twelfth division had once upon a time before Kurotsuchi made it into his den of scientific terror. It was almost nostalgic, and it made him curious about what Urahara was currently working on.

Yoruichi shifted a bit in her seating position to find comfort and realized that even through all these years, a kneeling position was the one she was used to. She kept a calm expression but scowled internally; the noble house habits were still worn on her body. She refused to sit that way, however, and stayed cross-legged, her hands on her knees.

She respected the silence that followed and wondered why Aizen had decided to come for a visit. Perhaps to say hello? Then again, Urahara was someone who would greet a welcome guest with a welcome he or she deserved. There hadn't been much of a commotion at this man's arrival. She decided that they may be old acquaintances (she knew Aizen's face from back in the day, after all) and that the tea would be, naturally and silently, dedicated to Unohana who served her duty until her death.

Everything made Yoruichi feel slightly guilty, really. Should she have stayed in Soul Soci-- no. She closed her eyes and repeated to herself in her mind, 'no.' She did not regret the path she had taken--not in the least.

Ururu nodded at Urahara's words. "All right!" He hadn't made the tea yet! She could make tea for him and his guests! Almost bouncing with glee, the little girl scampered towards the kitchen, making a beeline for her favorite little teapot -- it was shaped like a kitty cat, and had been a birthday present from the other Urahara Shouten residents. She quickly set the water to boil, and hurried for Urahara's favorite type of tea.

This was much better than before. No wallowing in the park (even if it was nice being pushed on the swing by Kuukaku); just helping Urahara in any way she possibly could.

She dug the cookies out of Tessai's hiding place (she wondered sometimes whether Urahara just pretended not to know where they were -- under the flowerpot really wasn't that hard to find!) and arranged them on a nice plate. The water ready, she put the tea in and pulled out a tray. She arranged the tea, cups, and cookies on it, and then carried it to where the guests sat.

[Previous Thread]

[Compile] Ishida, Rangiku, Nanao, Hisagi

2007-01-07T00:19:12Z

Nanao had to agree with Rangiku even though she wasn't going to voice it. There were many mistakes she had made and many more she was more than likely going to make. Where her mistakes deviated from the other vice captain's was that she knew who and what to believe or at least she was pretty sure. But it was really hard to be one hundred percent sure nowadays.

She was still lost in thought and paying attention to anything but her surroundings when Hisagi stepped into their small circle. To cover the slight surprise, a hand moved up to her glasses and she adjusted their position on her nose as she bowed her greeting.

Intuition and trusting one's judgement. In her mind, Ishida was correct. What could you trust? All of her second guessing and all of the times she pushed herself down wasn't helping her. What she was missing these last couple of weeks, months was the trust in herself.

"Nothing," she answered even if the question didn't need to be. It was a little depressing in light of what was currently happening, but she couldn't help it. Maybe next time she felt like answering a questions she'd pinch herself, but she knew that even that wouldn't stop her.

When Rangiku started talking, there was nothing Nanao could say. It wasn't directed toward her so it didn't feel right jumping into the middle of it, but what she said felt like something she could have said. The only thing she could do was nod her head.

"So I take it you live by your instincts, Ishida-san?" she asked, trying to stay away from whatever the other two needed to talk about.

Knew what she had to do? The felt a bit ominous. Hisagi frowned a bit, but the expression wasn't much different from his usual, so it could easily be overlooked. He didn't know what, exactly, Rangiku was thinking about, or what she was referring to. It could be a great many things, and the truth was, it had been so long since he really tried to connect with Rangiku, that he couldn't even safely hazard a guess.

He felt like running a hand through his hair, but resisted the motion. Knowing that a problem existed and knowing what you had to do, that was more than half the battle. Rangiku had a good head on her shoulders, one of the smartest women he knew, and he didn't doubt that whatever her decision may be regarding whatever she was thinking, it was probably for the best. There had only been one area she'd always been a bit blind about, and that was really more a person than an area. It wasn't his place to say anything about Gin, though; asides from her personal life being exactly that--personal--there was also the fact that Hisagi wasn't exactly objective.

Besides, he certainly was in no position to give advice about love lives. As it was, things with Nemu had never looked so bleak. And that conversation with her father...Hisagi felt cold thinking about what Mayuri might do to his daughter, knowing what he apparently knew.

"Do what you think is best, Rangiku-san." Hisagi finally said, softly as he gazed at her before turning to look off into the distance. "We got your back."

Did he?

Ishida sometimes felt himself torn between logic and instinct. He trusted his own instincts but felt those who acted upon their own too quickly to be rash and impulsive. Kuorsaki was rash and impulsive. He wasn't. And yet... The way he fought was years and years of training and honed skills. Every move of an enemy was carefully watched and measured to be countered with his own.

Logic.

But when he'd found out that Inoue had been kidnapped by a shinigami far too interested in her powers and had no real plan of attack, rescue, or even an idea of where she was, what had he done? Gone after her.

Instinct.

The day at the zoo, coupled with various other incidents over the months, had let him know that he wasn't yet strong enough to really fight Adaro and anything she could throw at them. Logic. But he had a way, a forbidden method, to become stronger. Instinct.

"Where logic fails me, I allow instinct to take over," Ishida said after a moment of silent contemplation, reaching up with his gloved fingers to adjust his glasses on his nose as he glanced over at Ise. "And vice versa. I recognize the value of each but realize the downfalls of each as well."

He had her back? It had been a long time since she heard those words from anyone. Though she was a confident and self-assured woman, Rangiku liked having the support of her friends behind her. Especially when she knew in her heart the things she needed to do and face up to were hardly things that would win her any awards.

She smiled softly, more to herself than at those around her. It was if she felt herself again and no longer haunted by her own insecurities.

She stretched and picked up on the conversation between Ishida and Nanao. Logic versus instinct, hm? She was a creature of instinct and only depended on logic when that fail, but as she had admitted, she had failed to follow both in recent months. She only hoped she wasn't too late with what she knew she had to do.

Staring off in the direction of the fight she felt Hyourinmaru flare up for another attack. She felt another bankai flare up. Surprise registered as she felt just who that sudden raw burst of energy belong to. She shook her head and looked at the other two vice captains. "Either of you two knew Renji could do that? Damn kid. I need to catch up now."

How much instinct did she allow to take over when logic failed her? She used to think that logic would never fail her. There's always an answer to a problem and one could always think about this answer before needing to take action, even in battle. But now, after all this uncertainty she wasn't so sure. So maybe the better question for her was: How much instinct did she really have? She had training. Her body knew what to do, but was that instinct? Was there another instinct that she still had yet to see, experience. It was something she was wondering if she was missing, but it was something she knew she should think about later or maybe not at all since Nanao was fine with believing that she had enough instinct to allow her to stay alive.

"That's something I believe not a lot of people can do. Hopefully you are good at deciding which one should take over at the right time," she said, steeling herself up again in order to push herself back into the shinigami she was. She was useful when she wasn't giving much thought to emotions. She was Nanao when she relied on logic.

Nanao shook her head at Rangiku's question regarding Renji. "No. It seems as though he has spent a lot of time making sure he can stand his ground alongside the captains." She tried to stay optimistic in her thinking that he would be able to walk away from the fight with the captains and that the captains would be able to walk away as well. It just seemed as though this fight was never going to end.

[Previous Thread]

[Compile] Rukia, Ichigo, Orihime, Momo

2007-01-07T00:16:52Z

Sighing softly, Rukia shifted on Ichigo's shoulder and dropped her hand on the top of his head to balance more carefully. She glanced down at the arm about her legs, stabilizing her, and smiled faintly, her fingertips rubbing a bit at his scalp. She couldn't believe he wasn't squawking in some amount of outrage at being her chair. Good thing he wasn't though. He made a damn good chair and he was the one that wanted her to sit.

"What, like your reiatsu is contagious?" she said, frowning faintly at Ichigo's comment about Urahara. "Whatever though. If your reiatsu did somehow affect Sado and Inoue, it's not as if it's a bad thing. If more people had powers because of Ichigo, would that be a bad thing? Hardly." She knew she sounded defensive even while she tried to keep her tone mild and casual. It sounded so defensive in her head... and she knew she should never take such a tone with a higher officer.

But she'd already taken a far worse tone with higher officers, almost a month ago, in the park with Kyouraku and Ukitake, where Ichigo was concerned.

Hey, that actually felt pretty good. It almost made him forget that Rukia just implied he was a disease. "Oi. I'm not some freakish shinigami disease. I can't help it if I have too much reiatsu to contain. I've tried, but it don't wanna stay off." The teen harrumphed and rolled his unclaimed shoulder even as he tried to hide the blush that still colored his cheeks from Inoue's words. Him the father of anything belonging to the girl was mind boggling and nasal rupturing experience. Though if Ichigo thought about it, he did bear an stricking resemblance to Tsubaki. Well not in looks cuz he had that little scarf, but in attitude.

His head shook suddenly to clear his crazy thoughts and looked up at Momo with a bit of suspicion, arm tightening slightly around Rukia's legs as if this sudden inquisition was making him nervous. "Why the twenty questions, Hinamori?"

"It's definitely not a bad thing!" Even Orihime was quick to spring to Ichigo's defense (although she wasn't quite sure if Momo didn't like what his reiatsu was doing to the citizens of Karakura or if she was just curious). "If it hadn't been for Kurosaki-kun, I wouldn't have been able to protect Tatsuki-chan and Chizuru-chan! And I wouldn't be able to heal anyone or protect anyone else or fight-- I guess my scalp would hurt less, though, with no Tsubaki-kun to pull my hair... but it's not that bad!"

She paused, lowering her voice to regular levels and glanced at Ichigo with a concerned frown. "Kurosaki-kun, are you okay? You're... a little red... did you get sunburned?"

In her curiosity and uncertainty, Momo had crossed a line, raised suspicion in her friends when only seeking answers that would help to explain the odd prodigy that had grown from an instance of illegal loaning of shinigami powers. As was her unintentional wont, she had not realised how far her questions had strayed until Ichigo prompted her as to why she kept asking them.

Momo shook her head and vigorously waved her hands as though that might dispel what her words had inadvertently stirred. "Beaver-kun is just so unique!" she replied hastily. "I've never heard of anything quite like him. Not even kidou that could awaken powers like that."

There was a hint of awe in her voice, like so many that could not quite grasp what it was that Ichigo could do. Momo tries to shake it off with a slight and shy smile, embarrassed at her verbal faux pas. "I didn't mean to pry, I was just curious..."

She was paranoid. Way too paranoid, and defensive, when it came to Ichigo and any involvement with him from the top officers of the Gotei 13. Defensive of him, and herself, really. But she knew things really weren't squared away with her since she transferred her powers, a crime, it just wasn't an important point at this time. Her committing a minor misdemeanor meant nothing in the grand scheme of things with this war.

But after the war? And Rukia had to think about things -after- the war. Had to reassure herself there would be an after, for the shinigami side at least. She really had no idea what they might decide to do about Ichigo. He had his own powers now, his own zanpakuto. But his being a Vaizored wasn't going to win him any points... So if they decided to go after him and strip him of his powers, they might decide to go after those he'd affected as well.

She sighed softly, tossing a glance to Inoue and then over to Hinamori. She knew the 5th vice captain wouldn't suggest such a thing. But... if her captain went along with such a thing, Hinamori would as well.

"It's just a weird topic, Hinamori-fukutaichou," she said softly, glancing away as her brow furrowed.

"I'm just not used to answering so many questions about myself." Ichigo scratched his cheek sheepishly hoping he hadn't hurt Hinamori's feelings by his own surly question. "It's just frustrating when you don't know the answers and the only people who know are ass holes, monkey-girls and shady shop keepers."

Shrugging slightly, he looked up at Orihime and shook his head, yet the blush didn't fully fade. "Naw. I'm fine."

[Previous Thread]

[Administration] Character Loss

2007-01-04T03:51:13Z

Due to participation issues, babbitblob has been removed from the game. This opens up the role of Hachi for application.

With regards to the thread he is in, please skip the character for the remainder of the arc or until such time as we have a new Hachi, whichever comes sooner.

A general reminder to all that it is essential to pay close attention to your characters' threads and monitor the day count in order to prevent receiving strikes for non-participation. If you feel you are getting too close to day seven, you are welcome to ask for skip permission from the mods.

[Threads] As of January 3rd! (First threads post of the new year!)

2007-01-03T15:26:22Z

So, how long do you have until school starts again? XD

Soul Society of Sulk - Hanatarou, Grimmjow, Edorad, Luppi

Soul Society of Emo - Lori, Yammy, Ulquiorra, Il Forte

Glen of Ichigo's Harem - Rukia, Ichigo, Orihime, Momo

Riverbank of Issues - Hisagi, Ishida, Rangiku, Nanao

Crater of Mourning - Hitsugaya, Adaro, Renji, Shunsui, Komamura

Thread of Beating Each Other Up! - Hachi, Kensei, Shinji, Tousen, Lisa

Street of SHE'S STRAIGHT NOW? - Chizuru, Nemu, Yumichika, Kuukaku

Urahara Shouten of Conflict! (Whot, there could be) - Kisuke, Aizen, Yoruichi, Ururu

Crater of Ow - Tatsuki, Akon, Kenpachi, Jinta, Mayuri

[Compile] Tatsuki, Akon, Kenpachi, Jinta, Mayuri

2007-01-03T15:19:51Z

"Not just bad guys," Tatsuki interjected. "Any smart fighter should know when to retreat. Not everyone is built like a tank like this guy."

Tatsuki took the bandages from Chappy, who was standing and waiting for praise like a retriever with a tennis ball. "Ah, Chappy, these are... ..." band-aids. Not 'bandages'. Chappy looked expectantly at Tatsuki with puppy-dog eyes (which was disconcerting, because it was Tatsuki's own puppy-dog eyes). "... nevermind. Good job, Chappy." Next time she would have to be even more specific.

Besides which, it occurred to her that it might not work to bandage a Shinigami in spirit form with physical bandages... And if it did work, it would be a horrifying sight to bystanders.

Tatsuki stepped into Kenpachi's field of vision and squatted so she could see his face. He looked pretty messed up. "So it was Adaro. I saw her fight Tousen right after I died. She's strong." She paused for a moment in thought. "But if Adaro was fighting you at the time, then who killed..." Tatsuki stopped herself before saying the deceased captain's name. Obviously this captain on the ground had been informed already, but the boy probably not, and the horned guy...? She wasn't sure, but she thought it would be best not to risk speaking too freely.

Looking at the bloody aftermath, Akon privately thought that if anyone should have done any retreating, it should have been the shinigami captain, not the arrancar leader. But he didn't have to wonder why Zaraki-taichou hadn't elected to at least attempt an escape before emptying half of his circulatory system onto the pavement. In certain divisions, self-preservation was considered more cowardly than practical.

"It is unlikely that the identity of Unohana-taichou's killer has been established yet. Many are in shock. Some are probably grieving," he added absently, discarding the train of thought. Irrelevant. He glanced at the girl. "You saw Adaro fight? What was it like?"

From what Kenpachi had heard so far, the boy was definitely the smartest one there. Didn't ask stupid questions, got to the point, knew what was going on. His comment about bad guys always running away like pansies was fine in Kenpachi's book. He'd just let the kid keep dealing with the girl.

The twelfth division asshole, however, didn't look like he was about to leave any of them alone, especially if he didn't get any answers. Lord knows what he'd do with those answers, but Kenpachi wasn't really in enough of a state of mind to try and puzzle it out. Speaking of puzzling things out, the talk of Unohana being dead spurned the memory of the announcement delivered to him via kidou just before he had lost consciousness. No matter how annoying that woman had been, it was still a goddamn waste and a pity. Losing a captain with no replacement was never good, especially not in wartime.

Kenpachi really wanted to win this war and go the fuck home, if only because the mortal world was so shitty.

Jinta snorted so hard it almost made him topple over backwards. What was this girl thinking? Granted, she had that "I-can-kick-your-ass-with-my-little-toe" look about her, which Jinta could respect (mostly as a self-preservation thing), but what was she babbling about, running away?

"You off your rocker?" He said, giving Tatsuki the kind of look you gave someone that'd just said that storing live fish in your pockets was a good idea. "You never just run from a fight. Presentin' your back to the person you're fightin' is just askin' for it." He paused, thoughtful, before finally saying, "Of course, if you got someone there coverin' your back, retreatin' to form a new game plan ain't a bad idea."

With a huff at the sight of the band-aids Jinta stood and moved around to the shinigami's other side. He didn't know much first aide, but he knew enough that open wounds were bad. He knew you had to wrap them and apply pressure so that you could move someone enough to get them all patched up. And the best way, Jinta figured, to do this was to take the guy's uniform, already pretty tattered, and put it to good use.

"Oi." Jinta tugged on the dark sleeve of this shinigami's shihakushou top until it gave way, ripping at the cloth until it became strips. "You wanna get back on your feet and fight Adaro again? Cause Manager, he can make that happen a bit faster." Not that Jinta really expected the shinigami to take the offer, of course, and it was no skin off his nose if he didn't, but Jinta thought he'd offer anyway. In the meantime he concentrated on using one of those strips to bind up the wound on his arm. The shinigami had already lost one captain today. No sense in making it two.

That twit of a vice captain. He and Nemu had that in common at least. Hisagi had disappeared from Mayuri's grasp long before he could further interrogate him as to just exactly how the pictures of his daughter's genitals were obtained and passed around more quickly than some more important information amongst the shinigami did.

However, if Hisagi had gone to find Adaro, then it would be easiest to find her and go from there. Her reiatsu was strong enough to pinpoint an exact location, as well as the collective reiatsu of quite a few of Mayuri's fellow captains.

That was well enough. Mayuri could take his time and collect her body after the others were finished with it. It would feel almost therapeutic to slice open her skin and see what happened.

So, Kurotsuchi Mayuri dallied, taking his time in walking towards the battle he felt more clearly now or, at least, had felt until another reiatsu arose. Zaraki was around. Mayuri might normally have avoided the other, but the idea of seeing him at his weakest (and the reiatsu did feel weaker than usually. Zaraki had gotten himself into a fight as well, it appeared) was strangely appealing.

"So, you're still alive, Zaraki?" he questioned, stepping up from behind Urahara's child. The others were noted and dismissed, although Akon's presence was curious enough with all things considered.

[Previous Thread]

[Compile] Chizuru, Nemu, Yumichika, Kuukaku

2007-01-03T15:01:29Z

Chizuru gave a start when Nemu suddenly interrupted her conversation with Yumichika. For a moment she felt a profound sense of irritation -- how was she supposed to interrogate him if someone else came along? Couldn't this person respect a couple's privacy?!

But then she saw the boobs -- and recognized the young woman. That sad-faced friend of Orihime's, who acted like a kicked puppy... Chizuru couldn't stay mad at her (or those breasts).

"He got into a fight," she answered for her friend. "But I'm bandaging him up. He should be fine."

Nemu glanced at the other shinigami, nodding. "I doubt there's few of us who haven't gotten into a fight today, by the feel of it," she murmured absently.

Her sad eyes darkened even further. "And..." She bit her lip, remembering that it would be much harder for them to heal from fights from now on. Without Unohana.

She ducked her head, using the excuse of riffling through the small human purse she'd taken to carrying around, until she managed to get herself under control again. Her fingers touched cool glass, and she pulled out a little vial of her healing concoction. She always carried a few with her: it was all too common for the shinigami to require them.

She offered it to Chizuru. "Use a few drops of this, it'll help. Just a few though." She looked at Yumichika, almost apologetically. "We might have further need of it..."

It seemed the vice captain always had a tendancy to show up at these odd points, like at the last time the city had been stormed. It seemed to long ago as he shifted against the soft ache of pain.

He waved Nemu's attentions away, "Don't worry about it, Kurotsuchi-fukutaichou. There's a few more injured to deal with than just myself, right?" His look sobered a bit, "And, with Unohana-taichou gone, we really can't waste our supplies."

Yumichika welcomed the excuse to move away from Chizuru's question. He might be okay with calling himself a fighter, but, with Kurotsuchi-fukutaichou around, it was best not to explain about the shinigami and their job.

What was WITH everyone running away from her today? First it had been her drinking buddies, and now even Ururu was mumbling excuses and fleeing. Was she honestly that scary?

Well, if she was, Kuukaku might have been a bit more thrilled about it... but she didn't like thinking that she had scared Ururu off. And both Shunsui and Rangiku knew her well enough to be properly terrified of her.

Back to wandering again, this time the woman noticed quite an unusual gathering. One of Kenpachi's men, if she remembered correctly... that girl from the beach and Mayuri's daughter.

Well, well, well.

"What's with the somebody-pissed-in-my-booze looks?" She asked, striding over to join the little group. "And..." Now her keen blue gaze rested on Yumichika. "What happened to your arm?"

[Previous Thread]

[Compile] Hitsugaya, Adaro, Renji, Shunsui, Komamura

2007-01-03T14:58:36Z

Fast. Adaro was too fast.

Komamura realized that as she attacked Kyouraku-taichou in a blur before jumping over him to dodge both Hitsugaya-taichou and Abarai-fukutaichou’s attacks. He watched in amazement as she paused for an instant, noting the lack of any serious wounds on her as she took a moment to mock them.

‘There are three Captains and a Vice Captain present, yet all we could do was this to her?’ he thought in dismay. They weren’t giving her their best moves yet, but the thought was still chilling. Adaro seemed to be the epitome of a monster: ruthless, powerful, and unstoppable.

‘I need to slow her down somehow.’

His mind ran through dozens of spells before settling upon one. As she raced towards Abarai-fukutaichou, Komamura began to chant quickly but correctly.

“Path of light, trail of dark, entwine elements of old. Ancient forces of Earth divine, hear my call. Root my enemy with your Natural Ties. Bakudou #41: Gaia’s Vines!”

Hitsugaya cursed under his breath as Adaro miraculously slipped away from any serious harm. She was just too damn fast- faster than him, and he'd always been one of the fastest captains.

Three captains and a vice captain against her. Hitsugaya set his jaw firmly. They would hurt her- they had to.

If they didn't, he wasn't sure they stood a chance at all against her.

He hung back for the moment, not wanting to interfere with Renji's attack. Instead, he sent the ice circling around behind Adaro, sending it higher and higher. If they could hem her in, it would hopefully be easier to land a hit.

The vice captain skewered on Osovenenoso would be a wonderful sight, blood would be sprayed across the ground, the deadly paint she loved to see on all things. Then, when the blade was pulled from his body, he would be fortunate to have any mobility left. Adaro let the chilled smile grow at the thought of how he would watch, helpless, while she destroyed the three captains in front of him.

That would be a beautiful sight, indeed.

...but one that would have to wait.

Adaro felt the ground shift beneath her, vines erupting from below the cement at the biding of the captain-class kidou casting. Unstable in that instant, she twisted, pivoting on her heel in favour of countering these before she gutted the vice captain. The vines were faster than her, snapping around her arms, but she pulled back with the unnatural strength that was her trademarks, straining them until they broke, but more came to replace.

The smile she wore faltered, almost a grimace before she regained the confidence, cleaving down with Osovenenoso to separate them, snapping them between her strength and the sharp edge of her blade. Red eyes looked over to Komamura, the one to cast, and she shook her head.

Take out the caster and it would take out the vines.

"Not a bright idea, taichou," she commented, forcing her hand up, palm held out towards him. Unlike the arrancar, her ability to cast the abilities of her Hollow was not so refined, a failing that marred and otherwise perfect, in appearance, cross of shinigami and Hollow, but she had the raw power to fuel it. Cero was all that she summoned, bright energy gathering in her palm, firing towards Komamura, unrefined but potent.

No this wasn't going to do at all. Not one bit.

That had been a captain-level kidou that the witch was now hacking away like weeds. She was fast. Extremely so. They needed to be faster.

It was no longer a matter of defeating her as their attacks had been for that intent. They all needed something much more intense than that behind their attacks. They needed that death intent.

Furrowing his brow as he came to quickly realize that had it not been for Komamura's kidou he would now be dead, Renji concentrated on his reiatsu and felt it flow into him rapidly and powerfully. The heat and rage bubbled beneath his skin as he touched down, and cried, "Bankai! Hihiou Zabimaru!"

The surrounding area exploded in ruptured foliage, dirt and rubble as the monstrous figure of Zabimaru took shape and surrounded the cloaked figure Renji, both read to defend its master and destroy its enemy.

Shunsui watched the scene, eyes narrowed in concentration. He had escaped injury in his first encounter with her despite her final rush toward him, but they were clearly still struggling here. Komamura's kidou was powerful and well-cast, but she seemed determined to escape it. The cero aimed at the seventh division captain was powerful and raw, and it was clear to Shunsui that something needed to be done to divert the attack. It wasn't worth it to chance a serious injury.

Two ban kai were released now, from the two more inexperienced members of the party. That was probably good, they would need that extra power to stay in the game. He wondered how long it would be before another second release would surface.

Darting in front of Komamura, Shunsui concentrated his reiatsu into his swords and around his body, bringing Katen Kyoukotsu up against the cero with as much raw power thrown into the strike as he could manage. Hopefully it would be enough to match and therefore negate the blast, or at least most of it.

There was no time to thank Kyouraku-taichou as he stepped into the path of the cero, taking the blunt of the blast for Komamura’s sake. He could only shoot the man a grateful look as chips of concrete and litter flew away at the power of Adaro’s attack.

Things were steadily getting messier as Abarai-fukutaichou released his bankai as well, a move that left Komamura surprised but somewhat proud. It was gratifying to see that the shinigami officers were still striving to perfect their powers, even in the wake of the Hollow takeover of Seireitei.

But now was not the time to congratulate Renji for achieving a momentous step in his life. With Histugaya-taichou and Abarai-fukutaichou standing so close to the red-haired witch, there was no way he could use his giant blade without accidentally hurting them. Overhead strikes seemed ineffectual, especially with her fiendish strength. For now he’d see if he could further impede her movements, an unsatisfying tactic, but the only thing he could safely do while still being of use in battle.

Moving away from Kyouraku-taichou’s protection (he didn’t want the other man to be hurt for his sake, and also he had his own warrior’s pride), Komamura cast again.

“Lift away from the ground, press the body into their shallow grave. Shed the skin of Gaia, cast your pain onto this sacrifice! Hadou #77: Erinyes Retribution.”

He watched as five pillars of stone shot up from the ground, each spike soon curving downwards to impale Adaro in their midst.

[Previous Thread]

[Compile] Lori, Yammy, Ulquiorra, Il Forte

2007-01-03T14:54:42Z

Yammy stood and Lori was reminded just how big her Arrancar brother was. Despite her cocky demeanor, she felt a shiver of fear. She had seen Yammy crush the weaker Arrancar just to test his strength -- she had no doubt he could do the same to her.

But she'd be damned if she let that show. Too much deference got nobody anywhere; even if she wasn't strong enough to take him on, she couldn't let that hold her back. Bravado carried almost as much weight as strength.

"Adaro-sama's orders were to treat Hanatarou-sama as we would treat her," she retorted smartly. "I was simply reminding Ulquiorra that we have no say in the matter."

Brains had the advantage over brawn, of that there was no doubt, but Yammy would not relent. That was to his advantage at times, when logic failed to penetrate his conviction. It kept his confidence from faltering, his decisions holding steady when a hesitation would cause them to crumple.

To his perception, this was one of the times where it was an advantage, where Lori's sharp retorts would not dissuade him, nor lead him to back down from the hulking position he held over her slighter form, eyes and expression hard, stuck firm to his defense of Ulquiorra.

"What makes you think he would have forgotten that?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. Ulquiorra did not forget important details, nor did he misplace them for his own means, and that left Lori's excuse for her behaviour some steps short of acceptable.

"I didn't," Ulquiorra clarified, cutting Yammy off from any further admonishment of their sister. Lori, like the rest of them, felt the same resentment to the shinigami who had joined their rank, but it wasn't excusable with Adaro's most recent orders.

"However, the resentment you're showing Hanatarou-sama is different than how you'd treat Adaro-sama, correct?" Ulquiorra pressed, "Our orders were clear. We are to treat him with the same treatment we give our mutual creator. You would not speak this way of her. Speaking this way of him is just as unacceptable."

Ulquiorra turned to watch Hanatarou once more, even in the face of someone like Grimmjow. The shinigami was handling himself well. If he was not killed by his former comrades, Hanatarou might actually survive amongst the hollows and their evolved counterparts.

Il Forte held his tongue upon hearing Ulquiorra's words. He knew his brother was right, which only made things more vexing. There wasn't a single arrancar who would have treated Hanatarou with the same respect as they would give their beloved leader... at least, not without Adaro's orders.

But to think that they would have to grovel to a SHINIGAMI... and a weakling of the 4th Division, at that!

"So if we insult him, we insult Adaro-sama," he clarified, sighing exasperatedly. "Then I suppose we have no choice. We must obey orders."

[Previous Post]

[Compile] Hachi, Kensei, Shinji, Tousen, Lisa

2007-01-03T14:51:25Z

Shinji let himself relax a bit now that the tense little debate was over and the fighting had begun. Watching the others fight was calming somehow in its familiarity, particularly with Kensei since he seemed so very in his element in a good brawl. It had been a while since Shinji had really worked himself out, but he wasn't too concerned. He did his best to stay out of the hearts of fights anyway.

He could guess that the other man saw his point of view as something like the sissy's way out, a path too cautious, and of course it was frustrating that they couldn't just get all of these nuisances out of their hair with immediate force. Shinji still didn't believe that entering the war in the same manner the other factions had would be to their advantage, partly because of their small size and partly because of their desire to be as uninvolved as possible.

Complete uninvolvement at this point was a pipe dream.

"No releases at all? Interesting," was all the blonde had to say in reply to Kensei's bragging. Kaname wasn't used to the way the Vaizored fought, more hesitant to release their zanpakuto than shinigami in general, and he wondered if the man would mimic Kensei's restraint. He had been a captain after all; his hand-to-hand combat level shouldn't be too shabby.

He stumbled back slightly from the other's light counter but righted himself quickly. One couldn't maneuver long if they weren't able to rectify any loss in balance when they had a lack of eyesight. Tousen moved to left and waited for Kensei to retaliate. The blind Vaizored sighed as he heard Kensei say how he wouldn't need to even use first release.

"So you won't use your release until I send you flailing about into a set of crates?" Asked Tousen in a dry tone.

"Tough talk for someone who uses such a cheap zanpakutou," Lisa turned her attention to the new vaizored. As much as she might like to think she wasn't still a bit bitter about what had happened during his trial run, she was.

She crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back against the wall. At least watching Kensei fight was never really a bad thing. In motion, especially when he wasn't using his mouth, he could actually give a pretty decent show, all fists and form. Among the vaizoreds, he was definitely one of their better fighters technically, although he could do little to match Hiyori's berserker furry or Mashiro's genius-level excellence.

They all had their places in the Vaizored infrastructure, no matter how small it seemed compared to others. Kensei fell into his niche nicely, muscles loosening from the aggravated tension, body slipping into the more familiar and natural stances that were likened to the advent of a solid ass-kicking.

"Nah, I ain't going to need no release," he replied. "Can't go relying on zanpakuto and masks all the time, buddy." Kensei shook out his shoulders, shifting his weight from foot to foot, impatient for the fight the more than he stood idle. "Ain't always gonna have time to use the crutch and all that shit, y'know."

To illustrate the point, Kensei jabbed his first towards Tousen, a sharp shot of reiatsu thrown in with the motion, aimed for his face. Without the power or the time to make it a fully explosive version of his favorite base kidou move, any connection of the attack would feel like a slap to the face. A wake up call.

The fight had begun, and Shinji settled back and got comfortable to watch. The two men were indeed trying to be very manly, taunting each other and making claims and tossing insults around already, and none of it was too surprising. A routine spar, bodies and personalities clashing. It would help all of them get to know their new comrade's fighting style better, even though they were only watching, and knowing how they all fought was important when they were trying to synchronize on the battlefield.

Kensei threw the first punch, which was, again, unsurprising. Shinji rolled his metal tongue gauge across his teeth, eyeing the pair from beneath lazy lids, leaning rather close to Lisa but unconcerned about whether this would bother her or not. Shinji was used to irritating people, and personal space wasn't something he tended to care about much.

His head snapped back as the attack slipped through his slacked gaurd. The man bit the inside of his cheek as he regained his lost balance. Tousen rubbed his cheek which had felt like he had been slapped with a brick that bled iodine.

Tousen lashed out with a sharp inside kick towards the other's left knee. He was intent on causing his opponent to fall to the ground for a follow-up attack or just have his knee hurt very, very badly.

Shinji's presence was felt, but generally ignored as Lisa finally decided neither the new guy or Kensei were going to do anything particularly interesting in this match. Her unsettled feelings from the shinigami's death were gone in the face of her companions and what little discussion they could have about it was finished.

So, she slid down the wall, primly smoothing her skirt over her thighs as she pulled out a fresh hentai manga from her bag. There were some things you could enjoy just about anywhere and this was one of them, issues of propriety aside.

Besides, Lisa figured, this way if something did happen, she'd still be here to see it.

[Previous Thread]

[Compile] Hanatarou, Grimmjow, Edorad, Luppi

2007-01-03T10:23:49Z

Luppi sniffed at the shinigami's response; typical. But he supposed, for the briefest of moments, that the runt was right.. Didn't matter though, he still wasn't going to trust the scum, only tolerate him..

Looking over to Grimmjow, Luppi gave a cackle. "Hah! Come, come," he egged slyly, "you should do as you're told, like a good little arrancar~ You don't want to end up in the corner, do you?~"

He licked his bottom lip, smirking; it only grew at Edorad's words.

While Luppi joined Edorad in teasing Grimmjow for not wanting to accept healing aid, Hanatarou did not. He was hardly in the position to tease any of them. And it really wasn't his style to tease. Usually he was the one being teased.

He stayed standing near the arrancar even as Grimmjow backed away (a fact that Hanatarou would find amusing, under different circumstances), and didn't comment to the jibes. He was sure that Edorad and Luppi's teases weren't going to make Grimmjow any more inclined to be healed. Joining them in teases not his to make sure as anything wouldn't.

"I'm not asking you to kiss my feet. Nor am I going to kiss yours. I'm just asking to heal you. Edorad-san first, now you, then whoever else needs it."

The first note of teasing hit his ears and he finally realized he did something stupid even though a minute ago it didn't seem like it was all that stupid. Doing things on impulse meant that his appearance was always an afterthought and usually gave his brothers entertainment. It was something he hated, but something he didn't care to change. He liked being in the middle of the action instead of on the sidelines thinking about what he could do; it was what he was known for.

"No," he said, looking around at everyone else to see if they were going to jump on the bandwagon. "I ain't scared of this joke."

Grimmjow finally stopped moving away from Hanatarou and toward Luppi even when the other guy started talking. Of course it wasn't just Luppi, but he was the one with the pretty face that seemed to always hold one of those playful smirks. It was at that time, when the smirk was the largest, that he wanted to reach out and rip it off.

And this time he was going to follow through with it.

"Do someone else. I'm busy," he barked back to the shinigami, determined that nothing was going to get in his way.

“Not scared, huh?” Edorad muttered to himself as Grimmjow abruptly changed directions and started heading for Luppi. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he wanted to do to him.

Now that people’s attention were directed elsewhere, he felt a lot more comfortable, even when he was bandaged. And with the promise of a brotherly brawl (that didn’t include him) in the air, things were definitely looking up.

But he still noticed how Grimmjow hadn't directed his aggression at Hanatarou. He supposed that despite all of the Sixth’s tough talk and bravado, he didn’t want to risk incurring Adaro’s wrath by mistreating the shinigami.

‘So it seems he’s not completely fatalistic,’ Edorad thought as he watched the show about to begin. Maybe afterwards Luppi would need some medical attention too. Now that would be the real treat, having the snide arrancar suffer Hanatarou’s ministrations as well.

Shifting against the wall, Luppi kept the smirk in place knowing full well how much it irritated the other, eyes fixed on his approaching brother. So it seemed that there would be some fun in this little game after all. Perfect. Luppi licked his bottom lip, pose relaxed despite the eager itch to finally play scratching along his nerves like nails to a chalkboard; come on, come on~~

He liked a good game, oh yes. And the best were when Grimmjow of all things was involved and revving to play as well.

Slowly his arms unfolded; he wasn’t the only one, Trepadora was keen to play, too, and Luppi’s fingers twitched hidden in drooping sleeves, tingling with the urge to rip her from her sheathe and let her in on the amusement. His smirk melted, transformed into a smooth sneer although not as wide as the previous expression but quite so.

“A little game, then, yes?~” was all he said in that little tone of his, before he winked out of sight using Sonido and reappeared just as quick a few feet away behind Grimmjow.

[Previous Thread]

[Compile] Rukia, Ichigo, Orihime, Momo

2006-12-31T11:21:59Z

Rukia glanced down at the teenage boy as he tugged at her skirt, quirking a brow. Huh. His cheeks were kinda red. Strange. It wasn't that cold out here. Maybe it was that though. Whatever. She didn't miss the meaning in the skirt tug and his own flomped out position. He wanted her to sit so sit she would.

Right on his shoulder.

Perching herself comfortably on Ichigo's broad shoulder, her slight figure easily using his form as her own personal chair, Rukia smirked and dropped her bend arm onto his head. Nice arm rest too. "Menos, Ichigo. The worse is Menos. Not menthol. I liked Grande Manure more than menthol, for the record."

At Hinamori's comment she glanced over and her eyes darkened before she looked away. That comment reminded her of something someone had told her of a zanpakuto skill that shouldn't even be *possible*...

So now he was a chair, huh? Whatever. He'd been worse. His favorite being her personal pony as they sprinted across Karakura in the hunt for hollows. It didn't matter; she really didn't weigh much. Rather than buck her off and embarrass her in front of a superior, the teen just wrapped an arm about her shins to secure her seat.

Ichigo thought it was more weird than special, probably because he believed he was partially responsible for their unique abilities. It had been implied, by who he'd forgotten, that Inoue's and Chad's powers were directly related to being exposed to his own overwhelming reiatsu.

Every time he thought about how associating with him, put his friends in danger, it worried him. Then again it also frightened the bejeezzus out of him. Considering his close association with Keigo and Mizuio, the idea that he might have actually given them powers...

Ichigo shuddered at the thought. He glanced over at Momo and shrugged. "Word on the street, is that I had something to do with their powers. I'm not sure if it was Ishida or Urahara said it, but if it wasn't for me, they'd be completely normal human beings."

"Oh!" Orihime nodded, jumping back into the conversation (she'd been trying to imagine the Shun Shun Rikka as a zanpakuto, and it wasn't working; besides, she liked her hairpins). "That's right; Urahara-san told Sado-kun and me that our powers came about because of Kurosaki-kun. So I guess..." She tapped a hairpin thoughtfully. "He's almost like their father..."

That was a frightening thought, but then came another mental image: that of six little faeries with Ichigo's hair and his scowl, still in their original outfits. It was no wonder that the girl started giggling.

Powers that came about as a result of exposure to a strong reiatsu? That was another thing that Momo had not heard of, but could not discount as impossible. Not after Urahara, the wise merchant who had helped her out so much when she and the others had been unceremoniously dropped in Karakura, had suggested it. That gave the idea further merit, odd as it felt to consider such unique powers being brought about by exposure.

....maybe Aizen would be able to explain it to her. Or would have insight. Momo nodded and set the point in her mind, one more to pass onto her captain.

That Ichigo had such an influence with his reiatsu worried Momo. Such a strong presence had to have attracted Hollows by the handful, but she could not recall abnormal records in the Karakura area. "Beaver-kun, have you ever noticed anything else that might be linked to your reiatsu?" she asked curiously.

Momo blinked at the soft giggling from Orihime, but it was not worry with which her eyes fell upon the girl. She was relieved to hear that sound, and it seemed to shatter some of the tension in the air, enough that the smile she offered as more genuine and less strained than those before it.

[Previous Thread]

[Compile] Hisagi, Ishida, Rangiku (Nanao)

2006-12-31T07:17:19Z

"Mistakes..." Rangiku turned to look off in the direction Gin had gone. She sighed softly. "So many mistakes these past few months. Some of them could prove to be disastrous later on." She took a seat next to the Quincy on the park bench. Extending her feet outward, she studied them. They'd gotten so scuffed in her efforts to find any bit of information regarding Unohana's death. They'd be impossible to repair.

She leaned forward allowing the thoughts about her ruined shoes to fill up less favorable thoughts. It was easier to fill her head with mundane trivialities than to try to sort through the jumbled mess in her mind. The mess which had been bothering her for weeks and weeks, but felt too close to the situation to touch it. Now with the death of Unohana, she was just plain and simply confused. Sighing again, she tapped the toes of her boots together and peered at them. Her voice was soft and far away when she finally mumbled quiet distractedly, "These boots are ruined."

She was thinking about her shoes?

Ishida supposed he couldn't say anything. The mind when grieving focused on odd things to keep itself together. Here he was, focusing on a glove. Granted, the Sanre glove held a bit more importance to him than her stylish shoes did to her, but just for comparison sake.

Sighing softly, he tossed a glance over to both women and then more directly to the woman who sat beside him. "And what mistakes would you feel those are? Or are you still too embroiled in the situation for them to be clear?"

She'd been speaking outloud? Funny. She almost never let her inner thoughts and worries slip out like that. It was usless to state she meant nothing by her words. Her brief stint as Karakura High's nurse had taught her that the Quincy was one smart student which meant it was pointless to try to deny any worries she had.

Sighing, she turned and shrugged. "Who to trust, what to believe. Hell, I've had a nagging feeling in my gut that things weren't right for a while, but I've been dismissing it." She shook her head angrily. Anger at herself and the situation than at anyone else. "What kind of woman can't trust her own intuition?"

So, he hadn't exactly run. Running would probably have earned him a zanpakutou in the back. And he really wasn't stupid enough to turn his back on the man who was father to the girl whose skirt he'd been manhandling. In truth, Hisagi really wouldn't have blamed Mayuri if he HAD killed him. Or tried to. Because he wasn't sure how he'd feel if some guy with a 69 on his cheek put his hands on HIS daughter's skirt. He supposed first he'd have to know what it felt like to have a daughter.

Which is about three million steps ahead of himself.

So, no, he hadn't run. He'd left with a very good excuse: namely, that he could sense Adaro's cold reiatsu and he had a favor to return to her. He just hadn't given Mayuri time to object to his plan for abandoning their conversation in favor of someone that would be willing to kill him a bit more quickly. And humanely, Hisagi figured.

Except he hadn't joined Hitsugaya, Shunsui, Komamura, and Renji. Rather, he'd detoured. It wasn't that he didn't want to fight: rather, three captains and a vice captain against one evil bitch seemed, in Hisagi's eyes, like overkill on the shinigami's part. If he joined them he'd either get in the way or just stand on the sidelines. At least here, if he was going to stand on the sidelines, he'd have some nice scenery.

"Intuition can be wrong." He commented, voice sober as he looked at Ishida and bowed slightly. "Ishida-san." Turning his gaze to Ise he bowed deeper, actually removing his hands from his pockets. "Ise-san." His eyes moved to Rangiku, and he wondered when that look had taken up residence in her gaze. When had he stopped paying attention? There had been a time when he knew every nuisance of her behavior, every expression that passed over her face one he knew. Now he wondered exactly when he'd stopped really looking at her. "Rangiku-san."

The approach of the fourth shinigami to cross his path that day (Kurosaki not counting, he was simply Kurosaki. Hirako and Sarugaki not counting either as they were a bit different from most shinigami even if Ishida knew they would have red reiraku, even without needing to materialize them) didn't even make the Quincy's head turn. It was disarming how accustomed to having his path crossed by shinigami he'd grown over the past few months.

Ironic, really. All of his years of searching for a shinigami to prove himself to, and deep down, try to do his sensei right by finding a way to fight beside them, and he only found Kurosaki.

Now...

His bare fingers passed over the back of his hand again, tracing the pattern of blue lines idly before he lifted his hand to adjust his glasses. A short sigh fell from his lips but he kept his thoughts quiet and looked over at the male shinigami. "Hisagi-kun... And you are right. Intuition can be wrong. But I find that the feeling you get when you don't follow your instinct is even more offsetting. If you can't trust your own judgment, really, what can you trust?"

Perhaps she was just imagining it. Of course she was imagining it. Her grief stricken, confused mind was playing tricks on her and making her hear things she wanted. There was no way there was that tenderness in Hisagi's voice when he'd said her name. It wasn't possible. She was just sad and vulnerable and doubting herself. This was just another way of confirming that.

There was absolutely that soft call of her name held any of the former affection it once held.

But she found herself hoping it did.

Her gaze went from Hisagi and then off into the direction Gin had disappeared. She felt the uneasy emotional vertigo of being held at a crossroads. However she knew there were all these intangibles to consider and no matter which road she followed it would be difficult and there would be people hurt by it.

However as she looked back once more toward where her childhood love had gone, she asked herself, which would hurt her more?

Turning her gaze away, she took a mental step in the other direction. "Shuuhei, I've been ignoring my own instinct for so long, and perhaps I've hurt more people than I meant to for doing such. No more. I know what needs to be done." she smiled softly and with relief to find him there. Someone dependable who she could trust to lean on. Not that Ishida couldn't be trusted, she trusted him completely as someone who could truly offer an unbiased opinion should she ever need one, but Hisagi could be the one to chase away the chill that had settled over her heart with Unohana's death and Gin's trademark departure, possibly, this time, for good.

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