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Svetlana didn't feel worthy to answer her captain. He'd been in and out of Las Noches, and still maintained his old personality. He hadn't changed: he was still in charge; still the captain. Part of her wanted to dote over him in thanks for being a man in the face of supernatural troubles; in her mind, there was no better gift than that of obedience. Had she not been so... Svetlana, she may, too, have softened her gaze and given off that innate sensation of confidence.

She was very much herself, however, and crossed her arms, listening to Bob's answer to Bullene's unanswerable question. She, too, had been too Ryan's house. She, too, had seen Thanatos... but unlike other squad members, she had not stayed in the vicinity of his property. Squad Seven had lacked definite leadership, despite Thanatos's efforts, and she had sought out her own training. It had been pure luck that she was anywhere close to her captain when he summoned his squad to this place.

It was a good luck, too, as after hearing Bullene's orders, would not have believed it was him unless she saw him with her own eyes. Always the Doubting Thomas, she was satisfied only when she felt the familiar strength of his riatsu.

In fact, the more she stood near her fellow squadmates, the stronger she felt. Strength in numbers may have been an overused adage, but strength amongst comrades was something completely different. It wasn't patriotism or loyalty which pushed her in this thought direction, but rather the familiarity of the spiritual energy which permeated her own presence. It was ironic; she'd come here moments ago, prepared to turn her back on this organization, and now felt herself drawing closer to its fractured factions than ever before.

"Ah!" Bullene called in delight. Viewing the Vizard approaching him, Bull's heart lightened. "Just the kind of man we needed to see!' Bullene smiled as he put his sake back into his robes. "In fact, we are in need of some extra hands." Bull turned to Bob for a moment. "Go retrieve the other Squad Members along with Thanatos." Returning to Jan, Bull began to elaborate. "As far as I can tell from my senses, there are four main areas of importance within the area. Each of those areas is being threatened by Arrancar." Bull began to calculate in his mind the best strategies. "It would be prudent to send teams of two to each area." Bull scratched his head. "Once we know how many of our members are accounted for, I can set up our pairs."

After a moment's pause, Bull stepped closer to Jan and began to whisper to him. "We have one problem in the plan, though..." Bull made his voice low enough that only Jan could hear him. "For now, I cannot handle any Espada above 7..." Bull coughed nervously. "For some reason, I have lost touch with my Zanpakuto Spirit..."

Jan was glad to hear that he would be welcomed in the ranks of the Shinigami, and leaned in when Bullene lowered his voice... Only to pull back suddenly. Stifling his voice, Jan pursed his lips to take in the startling news. Closing his eyes, Jan whispered back. "Oi, that's gonna be a problem... Want me to go with you? I can certainly handle the long-range... Or would you rather go with your subordinates?"

Sighing, Jan tried to figure out how something like this could happen, but nothing came to mind. While he was no Great Old One, Jan figured that he had been around long enough to know about such an anomaly...

Arriving in a quick flash from his shunpo, Tansen nearly collapsed on the ground right there on his own front steps out of sheer exhaustion from the constant shunpo and pillar construction. Still, he knew he had to report in to the other shinigami forces so that they wouldn't panic. After all, the young captain had been missing for over three years.

Heh...I bet they thought I was dead...Actually, with the way I feel right now, they may not be all that far off...

Struggling to maintain his breathing and composure, Tansen walked over to where Bullene, and to his surprise, Jan were conversing with one another. Though he had never met the head vizard in person, Tansen had gathered enough information on the man to know a fair bit about him. Knowing that he wasn't a threat, Tansen gave a small cough to show the two that he was there and extended his hand to Jan.

"Koumei Jan, yes? My name is Tansen Tsurugi, captain of squad eight as well as head of central intelligence of the Gotei Thirteen. I'm glad to see that my messager managed to relay my request for help to you. I thank you for your assistance."

Turning to Bullene, Tansen nodded his head to the fellow captain and gave him a strong look with his piercing emerald eyes as he spoke.

"It's been while. Do you mind telling me our current situation? I sent requests for back up and created the four pillars on the far points of the town to secure the civilians safety. I can sense that the fighting has already began, but what's everyone else doing so far?"

Outclassed and outranked, Svetlana quietly excused herself. She had no wish to barge in on others' conversations: they were none of her business, and her curiosity had never run that deeply. She didn't make an excuse for leaving-- she didn't need one. Captains and important folk were so far out of her league she almost felt like she was going to faint when they convened. She had no reason to stay in their presence.

Instead, she planned on cleaning herself, mind and body. She needed a fresh start; she needed to wash away the dirt, doubt, and other muck which had managed to cling to her body or her mind. Both were slowing her down, and both were making her uncomfortable. With her captain back, she felt a renewed sense of purpose.

Her mind flittered back to her earlier thoughts-- that obedience was the only way to repay his leadership qualities. A chilling thought gripped her: she'd have to openly trust the man's decisions if she was to blindly follow them. Her jaw muscle clenched and she glanced down at her right hand-- it was now sheathed in a spiked glove which existed for two purposes: to increase hitting power and to hide hideous scars she'd accumulated during her absence. Just like she trusted her fist to do what she directed-- just like she trusted her body to push through intense pain-- she was forced to trust her captain.

Why was it so hard? He was a captain, for the love of Kami. He was a trusted member of the Seretei, and she was doing everyone, including herself, a disservice.

She sighed.

Textbook admonishing would get her nowhere. She'd clean first, reboot later.

As the electrical energy surged through his body, Tansen let go of Jan's hand in mild surprise before relaxing his body and regaining his composure.

"Sorry, I wasn't quite expecting that from a mere handshake. I'm the one who constructed the pillars that you see on the far sides of Karakura town. Creating them and activating them was a bit much on my body...I'd be grateful for your help."

Turning again to face Bullene, the young captains eyes narrowed as he learned that the other captain was also unaware of the situation. He neeed to find out what was going on. But first, he closed his eyes and focused on sensing the reiatsu from the battles taking place around Karakura. Tansens greatist talent came in manipulating and sensing reiatsu. It wasn't too difficult to assess the situation.

"...There is a great deal of fighting at the Northern pillar. The reiatsu's are incredibly huge, even for a captain. I don't think that it would be wise to intervine there, unless you want to get caught in the crossfire. There are large battles going on at the West and Eastern pillars, but I don't think our help is necessary just yet...And there is very little activity at the South pillar..."

Opening his eyes, Tansen nearly collapsed again as he struggled to remain consciousness. The amount of strain that he had put on his body was enormous. Coupled with the fact that he had the least stamina out of the captains, it was a miracle that the young shinigami was still standing.

"For now...I think that we should...just maintain our current positions and wait for the other squad captains to join us in order to properly formulate a plan..."

Thanatos walked in. His eyes were wild. He sensed a familiar reiatsu. One that he hadn't been able to sense for 3 years. Thanatos looked around, until he saw a jet of brown hair, standing above everyone else there. Thanatos shunpoed upwards, and landed at Bull's feet, and slid to his knees, touching his head to the ground. "Finally Captain. No, Bull. Finally your back." Thanatos looked up, and suddenly looked a little old. The stress of having to run the squad, was starting to show. Thanatos stood quickly and grabbed Bull by the shoulder. "We must talk." Thanatos wheeled him over to the back of the room where they could speak in private. Thanatos gripped his zanpakuto eagerly. "Which arrancar captured you? When we attack the Sereitei, you and I will hunt him down, before anything else." Thanatos face flashed with rage as he looked around at the rest of the people here. "What would you put our odd's at, for retaking the Sereitei, and surviving, with the people we have here."