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"I'm afraid I can't let you kill me just yet, sir," responded Xeion, watching the movements the man made while still checking for fluctuations in the surrounding dimension to make sure the man in question was not hiding something from Xeion's eyes in order to prepare for some sneak attack a little while later when the man thought that Xeion's guard would be down. It was highly unlikely though, but Xeion wanted to make sure rather than suffer for his mistake a little later on. As mentioned before, this fight was important and held with it the lives of everyone inside the mansion.

When the Arrancar asked him his name and rank, Xeion, out of respect for a fellow fighter, no matter how strange or rude he may be, replied by telling him his name and rank. "I am Xeion Kuchiki, Vice Captain of Squad Nine," said Xeion before asking the man himself of his name and what number he held within the Arrancar hierarchy. "Since I have told you my name, I wish to know yours as well. Equivalent exchange and all that."

Gripping Elena's hilt even tighter than before, Xeion licked his lips, sweating in anticipation for the any aggressive movement the man was supposed to make by reading the man's muscle movements. "Tell me, why did you and your comrades come here? We aren't doing anything wrong, are we?" asked Xeion, his eyes only focused at the man and solely at the man. His muscles tensed and adrenaline flowed throughout his entire body. He was more than ready to handle whatever the man had in his sleeve. "You may think that I am holding back, but I assure you, I only want you and your comrades to leave us alone."

[6/10]

Seeing the destruction that was being caused by even the charging phase of the Gran Ray Cero from the blindfolded man, Xeion grit his teeth. It had come to a point where Xeion's theory that the man would eventually use a Gran Rey Cero, as was his experience with past Arrancar fights. There was no doubt in his mind that by the simple look of the Gran Rey Cero, it was going to cause some major damage to its intended target and possibly take along a few other things in the background -- things which are too precious to lose.

While the Gran Rey Cero was about to reach its maximum power output, Xeion was tempted to use the Dark Mirror to absorb it yet again. Xeion knew that his Dark Mirror had the ability to absorb an almost infinite amount of things, no matter how powerful they were, into itself, thanks to the 'Gluttony' Dark Gift, one of the Seven Dark Gifts. In fact, Xeion already used the Dark Mirror to absorb projectile attack even more formidable than an Arrancar's Gran Rey Cero, one case in point was with his fight with Ky. However, Xeion knew that if he was to absorb the Gran Rey Cero, he had to unleash it some time later, but when he did, it would had become so much more powerful than when it went in, thanks to the 'Wrath' Dark Gift. Xeion didn't want to kill the Arrancar nor did he want to cause further damage to his surroundings if he were to decide to unleash an amplified version of the, already highly destructive, Gran Rey Cero anywhere else, possibly causing damage for the people and the environment in the immediate vicinity. In this case, Xeion opted for something he had tried before, but only on one, special occasion.

Xeion slowly went into a different stance, hunching over slightly and placing his right foot further than it previously was. He placed Elena near his left waist, formed his left hand in such a way that it looked as if he was holding an imaginary sword sheath, and adjusted his footing, finding a much stable base. His position now was like a traditional 'showdown' pose which the samurai of feudal Japan were so keen on using when they were in a duel, and now it was being seen again in Xeion's stance. Reinforcing his sword-hand with a mixture of reiatsu and cosmic energy, the dimensions around his arms slowly began to distort, giving off a mirage-like aura. The duel was set between himself and the Gran Rey Cero. The price at stake was the lives of everyone around him, Yuu-chan most specially. He can't afford to lose; not while there's so much at stake.

As soon as the powerful energy shot out of the man's left hand, Xeion ran head-first toward the center of the Gran Rey Cero. He could feel the gravity of the immense energies that were compressed in that one shot bear down on him as if he were carrying a load of bricks on his back, but regardless, he still had a job to do. A very important job he couldn't afford to fail at.

Faster than the blink of an eye, Xeion began to repetitively attack the oncoming energy wave with a barrage of powerful sword-slashes that were so fast and so numerous that they were distorting the very fabric of the dimensions each time Xeion performed a slash. In truth, Xeion was already bending the dimensions, but only in his sword-arm, making use of his shikai's second-stage ability -- the Silent Edge. The additional bending from the clash of powers was only an outside effect of what was happening. If one were to look at it from a bystander's point of view, it would seem that Xeion was only stopping the Gran Rey Cero with his slashes, but if one were to look closer, through the eyes of an experience warrior, one could see that Xeion, in actuality, was taking out the Gran Rey Cero, piece by piece, by slicing off the energies that composed its destructive body into smaller chunks of energy that would only dissipate into reishi particles when they have left the main body. This clash lasted an entire minute before the Gran Rey Cero, having lost a bulk of the energies that gave it its form, dissipated into a giant patch of reishi particles in a big flash of light.

When the light faded out, Xeion stood in the middle, sword hand extended out as was the traditional 'showdown' finishing pose. His sword-arm was bleeding slightly and his arm muscles were shaking. Elena, too, had also felt the stress of the clash, the same as her master, with her hilt glowing at white-hot temperatures. The move put a lot of strain on his sword-arm anc caused him a lot of pain, but that pain was so worth as, in the end, Xeion was able to counter the Gran Rey Cero by using non-lethal, non-destructive means. Such was Xeion's nature -- a pacifist through and through, who would do anything and everything he can to prevent innocent blood from being spilled without resorting to taking a life for he believed that a life taken is the same as a life unsaved.

Going out of his end-pose, Xeion stood upright and placed Elena's tip on the ground then cupped his slightly bloody hand onto her finely-decorated pommel and smiled at the man. "So, care to tell me your name now, buddy?" asked Xeion, a cheerful look on his face -- something only he was able to do even in the face of such adversity.

[7/10]

In the course of Xeion's life as a shinigami, how many times has it been since an opponent used the strategy of following an attack wave then got behind to perform a quick stab at Xeion's back? Too many times, that's what. However, it wasn't as if Xeion saw this coming. In fact, he was mildly surprised with the blindfolded man's move, but even so, Xeion felt that the Arrancar would do something exactly like, or somewhat similar, to that tactic that his former teacher, the head of the Kuchiki clan, was so keen on using back when he was still under his tutelage. It was a crude method of playing against an opponent's concern and strike from the back, but a method too overused by some which made it predictable when certain attack patterns were employed.

Soon, Xeion heard the familiar sound of an Arrancar going out of a Sonido behind him, which wasn't difficult with it being so loud. Xeion was familiar to the ways of the Arrancar as some of his close friends were Arrancar themselves, namely Rakey-san, Ishie-chan, and several others, who were all powerful Arrancar in their own right. Not only that, another factor which gave away the blindfolded man's position was when he felt the cosmic energy particles behind him, since the particles he had scattered before were still in effect, move so he knew exactly what was coming and was able to react to it just in the nick of time.

Quickly shifting his body to the right, Xeion barely avoided the thrust which could have impaled him without much effort, the blade's steel making a small flesh wound near his right rib. As soon as the blade passed by his line of sight, Xeion quickly crouched and grabbed Elena, not with his right hand, his sword-hand, but with his left, seeing as it was in far better shape than the right which needed a little rest after it had been used for such a strenuous activity just a little while ago as well as he had planned for another purpose for it in an instance.

After grabbing Elena, Xeion turned his body at a quick 180-degree angle and thrust Elena at the blindfolded man's stomach, stopping only mere millimeters away from actually hitting the man's flesh. As the man spoke, Xeion listened intently for what the man had to say which fairly amused Xeion, seeing as how persistent the man really was. "Hurt? Absolutely. Drained? Not the least," replied Xeion, slightly panting due to fatigue. "With so much at stake, I can't afford to tire myself out. Besides, I know my limits, so I know the things I can and can't do before I become unable to fight. I also want you to know that I've been in more tiring situations, so I advise you not to worry about tiring me out more than your own safety."

As soon as Xeion finished saying those words, the man would soon feel several sharp objects poking at him from behind and to his side as well as feel as if his feet were entrenched in highly adhesive liquid, making it difficult for him to move and make him feel as if he had hardened concrete on his feet. This was due to the fact that four Dark Mirrors, one behind him, two beside him, and one beneath him, were already open and were producing sharp spears, made from cosmic energy, coming from the three Dark Mirrors that surrounded him, and the one beneath the man with the said highly adhesive liquid. This ability was called the 'Lust' Dark Gift, allowing Xeion control over the cosmic energy within the Dark Mirrors and fashion them into whatever he saw fit. Xeion was able to summon them thanks to his right hand, although damaged from the strain of what he did earlier, was still fully capable of performing in battle. Of course, the hand would return back to normal once the strain on it has been alleviated, but considering that the blindfolded man was already in a possible checkmate situation, he probably wouldn't need to wait for it anymore.

"Please, I do not wish to hurt you and your friends more than I should. Therefore, I suggest all of you leave before circumstances force me to actually injure you beyond the level that I wish to do," requested Xeion, waiting for the man's reply. His success was almost assured unless the man still had something hidden up his sleeve. With that in mind, Xeion still kept his guard up, ready for anything the man might try to do.

[8/10]

((*dances to Ayu-hime's cheer* <(OwO)> ))

[Fight Pause]

The very moment a familiar presence entered into the immediate area, Xeion couldn't help but become curious as to whom it belonged to. The focus of his eyes shifted from the blindfolded man, who was still in the middle of a 'checkmate' situation, and hadn't moved since, to the person who had the familiar aura. To his surprise, as soon as he turned his head to the side, he was greeted with a very familiar face. It was Rakey-chan, one of his Arrancar friends from Las Noches.

At once, a big smile formed on Xeion's face, pulling away Elena's tip from the man's stomach as he stood up and ran to greet his friend. Although Xeion had a fight, and an important one at that, he still found it important to greet a friend. Besides, it wasn't like the man was still presenting a threat. Now more than ever, the blindfolded man should have realized that Xeion was only trying to get him to retreat from the mansion and nothing else.

"Rakey-chan!" shouted Xeion, full of glee, wrapping his left hand around his friend, since his right hand was still injured, feeling the gentle warmth of her body. Xeion never really got to thank Rakey-chan properly when he was in Las Noches, being the way things were back then. But this time, however, he hoped he can change that and thank Rakey-chan for everything she had done to help out back then. Of course, he had to deal with the other Arrancar first, but this time, greeting Rakey-chan was the most important thing to him right now.

Rakey smiled as she was greeted by her friend, Xeion. But, the hug took her by surprised and her face flushed a deep crimson, and a small 'eep!' could be heard. She returned the hug with a small one of her own. "Ano...Xeion-kun, soko no arrancar to tatakatteru? ((Erm... Xeion-kun, are you fighting with the arrancar over there?))" Rakey asked pointing to the blindfolded man.

"I don't want to interupt, and cause you to get more injured," Rakey was worried, and grew even more worried when she saw her friend's injured hand. A quiet gasp was let out when she saw it, she wanted to heal it, but wasn't sure if it'd be okay to do so. It'd be unfair to the arrancar who stood a fair distance away. Rakey bit her lip and her face looked worried, she then heard a soft breathing, and looked down. Rakey spotted the little girl, she had fallen asleep. "Who's this?" Rakey asked, her reiatsu was similar to Xeion's, like a shinigami's reiatsu, but slightly off, so to say.

"Ah~ Sokka, ((Ahh~ I see))" Rakey giggled lightly, seeing that Yuu was the girl's name, and that she was a Revanant, just like Xeion. "Ah, We need to fix that," Rakey said ripping the chained clover off her zanpakto that hung on her back. She knelt down, and put it in Xeion's injured hand, forgetting about whether it was fair or not. Rakey was worried about the injury, it was bleeding more than it had been earlier. "When you break down the reishi in the clover, since it's made of pure reiatsu, it'll be absorbed, and could heal you," Rakey explained, closing his hand into a fist. The fresh blood stained onto her hands, she didn't mind it, since she was helping him after all. Standing up she smiled at Xeion, hoping he would accept the healing item.

"No, no, it's fine, it won't wilt and die, if that's what you think will happen," Rakey smiled and waved her hands in a gesture, that corresponded to her 'it's fine'. "The clover itself is made mostly of my reiatsu, I figured out it has an element to it, like earth, you know? So if I want, I can make another one, I just need a seed, any seed, isn't it neat?" Rakey said as she pulled a seed from a small back pocket, with her clean hand. She then placed it and closed her blood covered hand in front of Xeion, her lavender reiatsu quickly engulfing her hand and dissapearing just as quickly as it had come. As she opened her hand, her palm was no longer covered with blood, but in place, layed a red four leaf clover. Rakey laughed at her mistake, "Ah~ah, I didn't mean for that to happen, Gomenasai (sorry),". She looked back at his hand and said to Xeion, "This is only but an object, a friend, means more to me, than a silly thing like this,". To show him she was fine with this she gave him a comforting smile.

((Yuan-san...Rakey-chan and Xeion are friends...)) sweatdrop

[Fight Continuation]

Xeion returned her smile, nodding at her words. "Rakey-chan, you really are a kind person," he said, now moving his bloody right hand and placed it in front of Rakey-chan so she can see what he was going to do this time around. "You're right -- there's nothing more important or valuable than a cherished friend, Rakey-chan. If you lose something, you can always buy something new. But when you lose a friend, that's something that can never ever come back."

Soon, blue energy seeped out of Xeion's fist and was slowly being absorbed by his right arm, healing the damaged muscle tendons as rapidly as he had expected if he had used his own post-Squad Four healing abilities on it. The power the clover had was certainly pure and manageable. It's signature gave off a calming vibe and the feeling of it going into Xeion's body was like water from a clean spring. However, Xeion stopped absorbing the reishi particles from the clover and the reason which is going to be revealed in the next moment of time. Putting his hand one her head, Xeion smiled at her. "Which is the reason why I'm going to protect you, Rakey-chan."

Turning around, he extended his right hand and then, using the remaining reiatsu from the clover, made a lavender-colored barrier, matching Rakey-san's reiatsu, which easily absorbed the cero into it, similar to what a Dark Mirror does, since Yuan-san's reiatsu and Rakey-chan's reiatsu, both being Arrancar reiatsu, matched the same wavelength, only at different energy intervals, which was why it got absorbed. The principle can be described like adding a new pitcher of orange juice to a half-empty one, filling the new pitcher with orange juice once again.

After the Cero was fully absorbed into Rakey-chan's clover, Xeion turned to face Rakey-chan and smiled at her, handing the clover to Rakey-chan. The only difference was the clover was now a piece of lavender-colored crystal as such was the effect of synchronizing an energy of another signature with a different signature. The process was called sync-energy crystallization phenomenon and it was a process Xeion knew well as he facilitated over the formation of void crystals which are used to upgrade the engine and performance of his Rider. Aside from that, sync-energy crystallization phenomenon also had other uses, like using it to make beautiful crystalline objects for your friends or loved ones. It was just lucky for Xeion that he was able to receive the two things needed to create a sync-energy crystallization phenomenon. "Thank you for your kindness, Rakey-chan," said Xeion, closing Rakey-chan's hand into a fist in the same manner as she did to him before.

Turning around, Xeion faced the man, who had just introduced himself as Yuan Shinso, and smiled. "Yuan-san, is it? It's a nice name," complimented Xeion, throwing Elena back into his sword-arm. Since his sword-arm had received the required amount of rest it needed to recover, as well as having absorb, even just a little amount, of the energy from Rakey-chan's clover, Xeion's sword arm was now back at full capacity, although it still hurt somewhat when he moved it around. Once Yuan-san revealed his eyes, Xeion smiled. "An eye that can see four seconds into the future -- that's something you don't see everyday. But you know, as they say, it's not what you know in the future, but what you can do in the present that counts. Just ask the lady behind me -- she knows what I'm talking about."

At once, the cosmic energy particles that were released into the atmosphere from before converged to Xeion's position as the dimensions around him started to distort, producing a mirage-like effect. By bending the dimensional thread in which he moves in, Xeion could alter the very flow of time around his person, allowing him to increase his speed, or he could use his control over the dimensions to slow everything down to a crawl. However, this is but the tip of the iceberg since Xeion had complete control over his powers through intense training in the past. Xeion could do more, but thought it would be appropriate if he were to simply match the level his opponent showed in combat as Xeion wanted a fair fight more than anything else.

"Your eye is very interesting, Yuan-san. It can see the flow of time, unlike normal eyes can. The problem with that though is not whether you can see when and where your opponent attacks, but whether you can keep up with your opponent can dish out," said Xeion, waiting for Yuan-san to make the first move just to see what he was in for. "I may not see the future, like you, but I sure as heck can do something you can't. If you're curious to see what it is, feel free to attack me," taunted Xeion, showing to Yuan-san a smile of utmost confidence.

[9/10]