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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx【 SUZUME CHIYOKO 】



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxLoneliness hit me suddenly,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxbut it’s only t h e n that I realized,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxafter all that I have ever DREAMED of,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxI really don’t like F I G H T I N G

✿✿✿

Suzume had been ignoring the new arrivals for the meantime, due to the fact that she was concentrating on keeping her attention on the barrier which was, for now, the only thing that could protect her from being shot with a million different arrows. She had been absorbed in her Kido that she had not registered the appearance of another Shinigami next to her, at least, until he spoke before bending low and kissing her hand. Looking down at him in surprise, she could feel herself starting to turn red again, a sure sign that she was getting embarrassed. She absolutely, absolutely hated those men who thought that they could flirt and get any girl they wanted, only to break the girl’s heart later on. Embarrassed, she muttered angrily under her breath, “What a playboy…he’s not going to get me, that’s for sure.” However, she had to admit that he was pretty good-looking. Some girls really loved those long-haired, pretty boy types and it wasn’t…she cut off herself abruptly, wishing that the earth would simply open up and devour her right now. Why the hell was she thinking like this? No way! She was so not thinking he was hot at the moment. Boys like that only went for those that were easy prey, which was something she most definitely was not.

Tearing her eyes away from him, she was met with the sight of many more arrows than before, basically blocking out a lot more light that she had bargained for. This wasn’t good. With limited light, she wouldn’t be able to see and thus, the enemy might be able to attack without her looking. Damn, she was in a dilemma. All she could do for now would be to keep this barrier up and protect herself. She had been hoping that she would have been able to fight and prove herself, but it seemed as if that would need to wait. Anyway, the longer she stayed here, the longer Cornix was distracted and the easier it would be to take him down. She let out a sigh just as a massive Reiatsu was released upon the area, so heavy that she could barely breathe and she fell to the ground, attempting to cope with the massive level. It was only the fact that she might die, that kept her actual barrier barely intact. This Reiatsu was of no ordinary Shinigami, even Captain-level Reiatsu never affected her this badly. Struggling to stand up, she couldn’t help but let out a gasp in surprise when a familiar figure appeared next to her, before calling her ‘darlin’ and saying that he would save her. No, not him again, please, not that flirt from before. “What? You…what do you th--” she was cut off as he touched her shoulder.

As she was teleported outside of the ‘sphere’, she stumbled a little bit as the bright light hit her again. Why, oh, why had she been rescued yet again? If he was thinking he was some kind of ‘shining knight in armour’, he was dead wrong. However, he had helped her, so it would be ungrateful and acting childish if she didn’t thank him. She’d have to thank him later, one way or another. Somehow, she had a feeling that she was going to regret thanking him. Any male who called her darlin’, was itching to get a good kick to wake him up from whatever sort of dream world he were living in, even if he had saved her.

✿✿✿

The weakening of his Kage Ketsugo was already unavoidable, and for some reason Captain Hibiki hadn't taken advantage of the immobilized Vesper - perhaps he assumed the effect would last longer? Whatever the case, Tadashi's concentration would have been broken by the incredible reiatsu of what he could only assume to be Captain Hei in the hollow form he had only seen once. However, he couldn't be sure without turning away from Vesper, and there was no way in hell he would forfeit life for such a tiny mistake.

But it would be difficult to ignore the crushing reiatsu - it was practically suffocating for a Lieutenant! He didn't have time to worry about that now, though, and Tenma would expect nothing less than for him to grit his teeth and fight. Unbeknownst to even Tadashi, however, was that his will to fight and the banishment of his insecurity was his own, not simply because of the accusing 'eyes' of his blade. Since this was his first life-or-death battle, a bit of his true nature was exposed - this very nature that reflected upon Tenma.

"Bakudō #21: Sekienton," he said just as the no-doubt very powerful sound-based attack came for him. He flash-stepped away to what he assumed to be just outside of Vesper's left eye's peripheral vision and cast a Shakkahō.

'Gotten serious, have you?'observed Tenma. Perhaps he should lighten the claw for Tadashi's convenience...but no, that would take too much energy since it was not yet night.

The hollowfied Hei looked on in a half interest as one of his cero hit it's mark while the other was avoided. Given the way the Shinigami were moving around beneath him, it was evident that they thought that he was coming to save the day, or at the very least make quick work of the two Exaequare. That was in fact his original intentions, because their whole race had killed his host body, thus making him furious at the race itself. However, being full in the head, the hollow did not like to think his actions were being predetermined, and thus quickly changed his attention from them to Aurelius who was still atop the scaffold, if only to spite the Shinigami below him.

Making his way towards the Hill, he naturally feared no recourse, and would not be bothered in the slightest if someone came at him to stop him from carrying out his plans. In fact, most would be hard pressed to not be backhanded across the meadow should they choose to even get within a foot of him. Once he had reached the foot of the hill, there came the sound of a brief static sound as Hei vanished solidly and reappeared at the top of the Hill. It was pretty evident that this particular hollow possession had granted him a handful of new techniques, though whether or not they would be incorporated into his overall mask usage was unclear to even Hei.

He didn't have much to think about after all, given all he could do was struggle with his hollow, a task that proved to be very difficult to achieve when one's mind was still weak from being dead for a whole week. Tilting his head, he surveyed the scaffold upon which Aurelius was sleeping, then extended his hand, causing his black katana to flip upwards into the air from his destroyed coffin, then fly into his open hand where he drew it from it's saya, and then dragged his left ring finger across the blade's Shinogi. "Kage tairageru, yobu jitai nitotte karera soshite meido yobidasu tōhō kaeru. Jūchin gozaru taishite yoru; tōjiru hikage jō taikyo soshite sekai wo eien no yami ni shizumeru, Hyakuman Shōhisa."

As soon as he had released the blade, Hei touched the pole that was closest to him, and forced the Kuromijin to converge upon the scaffold and begun consuming it. After a few seconds had passed, the scaffold began to sway, then crack apart as the single pole could no longer support it's weight. The structure came tumbling to the ground, but only small fragments that had broken off would strike the ground as the Kuromijin had made quick work of the rest and had consumed it before it got the chance to fall to the ground. Given Aurelius had no choice but to literally fall into his lap, Hei began to speak to him. "Where is he? That rat b*****d who killed me? I demand to be taken to him immediately. Do so, or suffer my wrath for a second time. I assure you, I am not as forgiving as Hakase Hei."

"Who's the fool who gave him the chance to do that...?" murmured Tadashi, referring to Aurelius. He flash-stepped to Hibiki's side, already having felt the increased vigor and strength of Vesper. It was pretty obvious what was happening judging by the closing wound.

"Hibiki-taicho," said Tadashi, "make sure he doesn't do the same to the other one." The current situation momentarily made Tadashi forget that he couldn't exactly give orders to his Captain, but what he did know was that it would be difficult for him to stop Aurelius from doing the same whereas Hibiki would have a better chance.

Unfortunately, the words came too late, and Cornix was revitalized. And of course, there was also still the reasonably large issue of the monster reiatsu that was Hollow Hei standing eerily dormant near his grave (which in itself was a horribly frightening and otherwise disturbing sight).

Vesper relaxed his position, for one sole reason. He had heard his friend’s words about the fact that he wanted to go home. “Home…” he slumped his shoulders in defeat. Memories of his home were clear in his head and he left himself drift in them for a short while. His breath was becoming ragged by the moment and he found no point to continue. Cornix, his friend, was almost dead and without him, there was no point to even attempt to continue. The only way they would be able to go home, would be to defeat all these Shinigami. If they didn’t, Caelum wouldn’t allow them to go back without a severe punishment – even death. As he always said, there was no point having fighters that wouldn’t pull their weight. There were too many Shinigami, not to mention the fact that he was alone and he was drained of power. As the shuriken and Shakkahō both approached him at once, he merely shut his eyes, willing the death to come quicker.

However, the pain never came and he opened his eyes a few seconds later, only to see the fact that Aurelius had approached. “Au-sama…” he whispered under his breath in wonder. As his wounds healed and his Spīritus was restored, he could feel his power coming back slowly. Bowing to Aurelius, he guessed that there was still a chance that he would be able to go home and be able to beat his enemies, no matter how many there were. The Hollow/Shinigami person was leaving to see Caelum, so maybe, just maybe they might have a possibility. Looking at Cornix, he quietly said in the softest and gentlest voice he had, acting the complete opposite of himself, “Cornix, we’ll make it…we’ll make it back home.”

ɪςϦɪЪɑȵȶɑɪ ϨɑȵʂϵӃɪ

βʆɑʗӃ☆Ϩȶɑɽ

『 Black Star was lose in his own thoughts about his stardom, that he fell to his butt when the mother of all Reiatsu's fell on him. "Whoa~!? Someone's tryin' ta take my stardom???" He grunted with some agitation. He shoulders felt heavy as he resisted the urge to lay down fully and submit to this beast of a Reiatsu. After that, he was able to stand on his feet, the Hollow roar sent a woe through his body as he looked around to see what all of this was for and who from. "H-Hei." He cocked an eye brow and looked at him awkwardly. "Hmm.. somethin' is different about 'em." He thought for a second. "Ah! It's his hands." He pounded a fist flat into the other hand. To Black Star, who wasn't the complete idiot like everyone would think he was, it appeared like Hei was looking for the Exaequare who ended his life. He knew now that the hollow side had taken over - well, it was actually Tsubaki explaining it to him three times in a roll that made him understand.

Black Star stood up and released his own Reiatsu, wanting to get everyone's attention back on him. "URAHHAH! Who cares about some dude who's got a superiority complex, and crabs!! I'm the real star here! And I'll prove it by kickin' the guy's arse with the bow and arrow!" He pointed to the crippled man on the ground. "I-I mean... the other one!" He pointed to the guy who was bleeding. "Dang it..." He scoffed under his breath. The other rouge Exaequare soon made his appearance next to Vesper and blocked the attacks aimed at him and drew assistance to him; Cornix had the same done. Cornix hadn't managed to his feet yet, so Black Star took off toward Vesper. Black Star used Speed☆Star to appear in front of them. "ALL RIGHT! Listen up Cap'n Hibiki, and Tada-whatever! Me, Black Star, the greatest Shinigami in Ichibantai, will take care of this emo kid! Ya go after the bow and arrow dude, or just watch me in action. I mean, watching me in action would be best, maybe you two would learn somethin'." He spat at the end with laughter. Black Star took Tsubaki in both hands, the Kusarigama rattled as it shifted. Black Star shot forth with a quick dash, his hands dangling to his sides as he ran forward. He took a leap into the air and shot one of his Kusarigama straight for Vesper's collar bone. While airborne, Black Star used his free hand to form a hand seal that would summon a very large shuriken. He Air Walked and kicked up his leg like a baseball player and threw the Shuriken straight for Vesper's mid section. He landed on the ground with a slight thud and waited for what would come next. Determining how that would play out, Black Star would either follow up with a Kemuridama for protection, or something he would think of randomly. He was pretty close now to Vesper, and he knew that Vesper had some sort of invisible abilities.

』

The gods trembled
The demons flocked

At such a close distance, Vesper had no chance of dodging Hibiki’s Kuchibasi attack, and given that he was already struggling from the previous attacks, Hibiki was confident that his attack, couple with Tadashi’s, would end the battle. However, as Aurelius appeared to the side of Kazeoni’s trajectory pathway, Hibiki’s eyes widened in surprise as the Exaequere slowly broke down the large Shikai shuriken on the atomic level. A bit dumbstruck, Hibiki watched as the Exaequere mended Vesper’s wounds before disappearing and reappearing beside Cornix, doing the same for the half-dead Exaequere. He heard Tadashi’s advice, and would’ve acted upon it, had he known that he would simply be struck aside by Aurelius if he were to attack him with mere Kido spells. A plethora of questions raced through Hibiki’s mind, but he dismissed them, for he had to act quickly if he were to continue their renewed fight with Vesper.

Closing his eyes, he quickly entered his inner world to assess the complete status of his zanpakuto. Upon entering, he immediately saw the image of Kaze, standing in front of him. All around was the picturesque scenery of a run-down village that seemed to stretch out for miles upon miles, wooden houses that were barely standing, and dirt roads as empty as a cemetery, as well as a perpetual sunset painted across the cloudless sky. Hibiki opened his mouth to speak out, but was quickly interrupted by Kaze, who silently showed him his empty scabbard, and waited for Hibiki to notice the absence of Oni ”I don’t have time to give you a riddle, or scold you for your lack of courage. Use Bankai, Oni was broken down into atoms; in Shikai he is useless to you, in Bankai, you’re useless to him.” without warning, the white-haired man quickly threw his scabbard towards Hibiki, hitting him on the head and forcing him to exit his inner world.

”Tch.” Hibiki spat out as he stretched out his hand towards the area where his Shikai had been ‘destroyed’ ”Tsume. Bankai, Tenrai Kazeoni.” the combination of commands caused the atoms of the Shikai to speed towards Hibiki’s hand, upon reaching the general area they exploded in a burst of wind, immediately entering their Fukuro mode. With his zanpakuto taken care of, Hibiki spared a quick glance towards the top of Soukyoko Hill where he had felt the sudden outpour of reiatsu that belong to Tsukiko. Hibiki had no idea what was transpiring on top of the Hill, but he knew better to butt in on family affairs, especially when both of them could very well kill him should the thought enter their minds. Focusing his mind back on the fight, Hibiki planned their next assault as he reined in the violent winds of his zanpakuto into his hands, switching them to their Tengu mode ”Tadashi, let’s finish this quickly. Aurelius might heal them aga--“

But the sudden and rather loud interruption of Black Star interrupted Hibiki, something that irritated him quite profoundly. He watched as the Shinigami began his own assault on Vesper, and although he was very much irritating, Hibiki agreed to a switch of targets ”Alright then, you’ll substitute for me. Tadashi, you work with him on bringing down Vesper, good luck.” he then Shunpo’d away from the area and reappeared a few yards or so from Cornix waiting for the other to make their move.

xxxxxxx❝ CORNIX the EXAEQUARE ❞
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Cornix stayed flat on his back, not moving an inch. He looked up staring at the Seireitei sky. It was peaceful... a peaceful death, which he was welcoming. The pain he ignored due to his want to ignore it. The puttering of his heart had slowed to a slow stride as his eyes seemed to dull some. His breathing was like that of a vent that was half open; just barely audible. Nothing else around him mattered, besides him wanting to be with his bow when he died. He looked left and then right for it, but alas, it was out of his reach to the right. His head slowly hung there lifeless as his breathing was slowing some more. He could feel his insides had be contorted to impossible imagination, and the thought of it made him hurt more. As he felt his life slowly slip away, a small fire seem to had been thrown on his dead carcass. Like wood that's been drenched with lighter fuel, his heart thumped hard in his chest, and his breathing regularized. A deep inhale followed him opening his eyes to see Aurelius, his superior, informatively. "Do not expect me to return any sort of favor." Cornix spoke normally and casually about it as his head was patted. He did not do anything special but just sat himself up and brought his legs under him in an upright stance. He slowly walked over to his bow and picked up 4 arrows that had been strung out around it, due to his quiver submitting and breaking to his fall and the Cero.

"Pay back is a b***h." His glare hardened as he looked at Daisuke, then to Suzume, Nanashi, BlackStar, and then to Hei. His powers had been restored thanks to the grown up Aurelius, and he even felt slightly stronger then before. Cornix deduced that dealing with Hei would be suicidal; which was not one to have such tendencies. So he took two arrows into his left hand, and drew the other two arrows back. He charged a large amount of reishi into them, a task them seemed like child's play. As he heard Vesper's words, a smirk forced its way onto his lips. "Do not fail me now then, Vesper." He said with tinge of hope. The captain who was attacking Vesper had just appeared next to Cornix. He fired the two arrows at Hibiki, if he evaded, he would change the directory of those two arrows and have them come about in a different angle. He would not let them become ash or broken in two. The speed of the arrows were quick, like that haste of a Kido spell they traveled. Cornix took and tucked one arrow into his belt so that he wouldn't be with out one. He took his last arrow that was in his hand and fired it toward the other shinigami, he fired it horizontally at them, without even a millimeter off his bow, the arrowed seemed to quadruple and then again as it it moved just another millimeter. Now at thirty-six fold of the original one, and each arrow having a arrow multiply from it, there was about two hundred for each Shinigami as the arrows enter into the gap between him and them. But he was not done with them, he caused the arrowed to split, and change directions as well, but they were without uniform and flew which ever way like birds pecking at a future meal. Cornix dashed to some more arrows that were vertically behind him, he scooped them up and skidded back around to face his targets; with everything be restore and then some, he felt prime.