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Kevin jumped slightly bringing his knees right up to his chest avoiding the slash. he brought his blade down on Ogato with a great enough velocity that if it missed it would break the ground causing dust to be kicked up.

[[ gonk I don't even know where to post anymore... gonk gonk ]]

Aiko bared her teeth. Her blade still rested gently on the ground, her hands gripping at the hilt tightly. I'm...not weak, am I? she lowered her eyes to the floor as she thought idly to herself, despite the chaos around her. The strand of hair was still irritating her nose, but she ignored it.

Damn it...I'm not going to let someone treat me like a child.

For a moment, it could of looked as though she was about to cry. But anyone who could see deeper than the surface would know otherwise.

"Kevin...I'm not some child...to be pushed around..." she remained with her head lowered, her eyes now closed. She was talking through bared teeth and was obviously near breaking point, "no one tries to protect me...by calling me weak..." She was past caring if Kevin actually heard her, she had reached a point where she wasn't going to take even a small joking insult from a friend without hitting them.

Aiko opened her eyes slowly, looking down the length of her blade in a brief moment of reflection. "You want proof?" she sighed softly, knowing she wouldn't be ready to fight him, but she wasn't in the mood any more. She'd been pushed to her limit and even a sideways comment from her closest friend would make her snap.

"Then I'll give you proof." a quick flick of her head brought the strand of hair away from her face. 'Think you're ready girl?'

No...I'm not. But I don't care, I'm not about to be pushed around like that.

She twisted her right foot a little before using the surprising strength of her legs to push off towards Kevin. She moved incredibly fast for her small build and apparent lack of muscle. The katana half of her zanpaktou trailed behind her, creating sparks where it scraped the ground.

Her demeanour had changed rapidly, she'd gained something fierce in her eyes, something ferocious. She stopped her sprint, using her momentum to slide a little way, where she instantly swivelled in an three-sixty degree spin counter clockwise. She continued to close the small gap between her and Kevin during her spin and used the momentum from her rotation to tear her zanpaktou through the air in a direct attack targeted at Kevin's chest.

That was all she needed. The proof that she had been thrown in the deep end without first learning to swim. Her expression of aggression quickly turned to horror as Kevin blocked her blade with his hand. Damn...the hell did he do that?

'Forget it girl, he's too strong for you, don't go attacking him again. I doubt your shikai would help you against him.' came the familiar, though now less annoying voice of Ake.
So, what? I'm supposed to just let him attack Ogato and Hitsugaya? I know they're strong, but standing down is an insult, that I'm letting them do the work...

'There's a difference between insulting them and true stupidity. Now common girl, don't prove me right. Show me that you're smart.' the voice wasn't mocking, it was sincere.

Aiko backed off, though she wasn't happy about it. Her blade was still held ready in case of another attack, but she wasn't going to swing at Kevin again. So what now? I just stand here and wait for someone to try and kill me?

'Pretty much, you're not much help until you get stronger.'

Oh shut up Ake...I'm not in the mood for you to be mocking me.

'I wasn't mocking you...I was serious...you need to get stronger, you're out of your league here.

I...guess you're right.

She kept an eye on the area around her, looking out for possible attacks. Though her eyes darted to Ogato and Hitsugaya every now and then to check on them.

Aiko winced a little as Kevin ruffled her hair. What the hell? Does he think I'm some kid? She was tempted to lash out again, though she knew that would achieve next to nothing but provoking him further and possibly pushing him to hit her.
Aiko quickly jerked her head to the side, looked at the floor to one side, bared her teeth and closed her eyes tight. If there was one thing she hated more than being insulted, it was being treated like a child.
Her grip on her zanpaktou had tightened to the point where her knuckles had gone white and her hand was trembling. The only thing that could make her feel any worse right now would be for someone to call her 'kid'.

(( OK. So I got a PM from Lemo, where he pretty much summed up what was happening with the plot.
Like I said, due to RL I was unable to keep track of the plot or post. Lemo told me that a lot of RPers are confused and don't know what to do.
On his behalf, I ask that EVERY SHINIGAMI CURRENTLY IN THE LABYRINTH please organize themselves and form a party with me. We will come up with a decisive course of action.

I don't want to interrupt those that are currently in the middle of a battle. But it would be polite if you guys could at least stop ignoring this fact. We are participants in a plot, and not mindlessly sparring with one another.

I'll post an intro and wait for someone to RP with - I hope!...
Again I apologize for my absence, I'm just trying to work things out for me and the others RPers who're lost and don't know what to do next. xp ))

Mendokusai ne... Mock said out loud to himself, as he scratched the back of his head... How did I got lost back there???... Well, this seems to be it!!!

The Vice-Captain was now walking the intricate corridors of Las Noches... He felt several different reiatsus. Some of them belonged to Shinigami, other to Hueco Mundo Dwellers, others yet to Vizards. A lot of them seemed to be fighting, in distinct places of the "complex". With Mock's level of reiatsu perception, all of this was easy to ascertain, as well as to pinpoint the rough location where they were.

Standing still in the middle of a corridor, having only walked a few meters since entering the Palace, Mockadash closed his eyes and sharpened even more this keen sense of him. Captains... Espada... Vizards... Mock hummed as he scan the area to the best of his abilities... Closest to him, he felt a group of Shinigamis fighting a Vizard, and several strange reiatsu emanations with roughly the same "spirit signature" spread around a wide area - possibly clones of some kind, he thought - and other Shinigamis also scattered, probably lost or dealing with the clones.

He took the shorter route to the center of this battle - breaking down the walls in the labyrinth! MockaDash brandished his nodachi, releasing wave after wave of dark reiatsu in front of him as he ran. The condensed reiatsu discharges, formed a straight path in front of him, breaking down the walls. As MockaDash arrived at the scene, he took some time to analyze what was actually happening...

(( So, since I don't want to interfere into someone else's business, I'm waiting for someone to tell me whose a** should I kick now! An arrancar maybe? ))