Welcome to Gaia! ::

┏xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx┓
xxxAurelius - Infinitus
┗xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx┛

Aurelius watched in desperation as his last attack was brushed to the side by a cero. "s**t." Was all he could manage as Hei went into Bankai and struck him again. He put up a barrier, but it was just no use, because He's body went right through it. He even took his mantle and moved it with his mind to lessen the blows, but the effect was minimal. He couldn't even respond to Hei, because he was just moving so fast that Aurelius could hardly comprehend. Then came that sound, the cry of a hollow; it was nauseating, gut wrenching even. It sent waves of fear through his tiny body, fear that only hindered him even more. "s**t... what the hell is he..." He used Vox Universum over and over, and he he kept getting the same answer, over and over again. The universe promptly answered him with the same thing, each time he asked how to escape this. He refused to believe it, it wasn't possible, so he asked a final time in a fit of pure stubbornness and desire to live; "How do I beat him? How do I win?" The universe responded:


This answer was made more evident once Hei struck him with all of his power, sending him into the sky, then appearing above him and knocking him to the ground. The star pattern faded from his eyes, as he unsciously lost control over Vox Universum; it was deactivating as a defense mechanism to conserve power, similar to the way a Bankai sealed itself when the owner was close to death. His brooch came undone and it and his mantle flew off his body, landing some feet away revealing his human like clothes and the cross on the chain on his neck that bore a striking resemblance to the Quincy cross. Hit after hit came, landing with devastating force each time: it was only his remaining Spīritus that prevented him from dying right there. He used it as a rudimentary healing technique seeing as it was useless to use barriers. His only hope was to stay alive so that Caelum could save him as it was abundantly clear that he was not to be the victor of this fight. "Dammit... I should have... foreseen this. He is... very thorough." He said, using his mouth for the first time. His voice came raspy and dry, the result of not using it for the longest time. It was timid and afraid, a reflection of how he was really feeling. He watched, unable to make his barriers due to the strange substance floating around him. He simply lay on the ground, chest bleeding, blood flowing from his nose, and crippled, unable to move due to his lack of muscle mass. He turned his head to the side with the last of his power. He could hardly believe he had run out of it. The last thing he saw was the back of Hei as he walked away from him, then everything was cold. His last hope for salvation vanished, his world went black and his heart stopped as the liquid nitrogen froze him on the cellular level.

Hibiki was shocked, to say the least, when he felt his Bankai's winds stop. His eyes widened as he tried to regain control, but Aurelius' power was far too overwhelming for him to match, not after having sustained such violent winds for as long as he did. He watched, a bit dumbstruck as the raw winds from his Bankai's Fujin form was compressed, it took him a significant amount of his stamina to keep them in place, to condense would require an immense amount of sheer power and control. He didn't doubt that Aurelius was capable of such a feat, not after what the damage they sustained because of him, but he wondered if the Exaequere even had power to spare, considering he was being assaulted by Hei at a virtual point blank range. Because the winds were no longer around him, he was able to hear what Aurelius yelled before he threw the massive ball of wind, he was aiming for Tsukiko. Was this an act of revenge? Of desperation? Hibiki didn't care at this moment, he immediately tried to dispel the winds by switching his Bankai to its Tengu form, however before the change could take place the shot was blown away by what looked like a Cero coming from Hei.

Hibiki watched as the rubble was turned to dust, and the winds were blown away. "Tengu." he spoke as the invisible chakrams that fueled the winds became visible, he recalled them back towards him and caught them in his hand, condensing them into one chakram blade before reverting back to Shikai. He watched the one-sided fight between Hei and Aurelius, he wondered why Hei hadn't simply done this before, then again he knew he would never have his answers. Even with his trained eyes he had trouble following Hei's movements, he could tell Hei was in a rage, and it surprised him to see Hei exhibit even some form of emotion. As Hei pressed the button and defeated Aurelius, he sighed as he sealed his zanpakuto and put in back into his scabbard. Just in time for Hei to approach him, Nu and Lee and comment on their... skills. He remained silent as Hei talked to them, then when the 12th Squad Captain turned his back to retrieve his cloak, Hibiki picked up a small pebble and threw at him, hitting him a bit comically in the head-- it would do no amount of damage, purely for fun "That's for not telling me about Aurelius and his race beforehand, p***k." looking around he breathed a sigh of relief that at least it was finished "I should probably be thanking you, then again knowing you probably stopped listening to me hours ago, eh?" he still held the man in utter contempt, but he was not so dense as to not thank him for saving them... he still hated him though.

Tetsunosuke Harasawa

First Division's Lieutenant

◥

Tetsunosuke Harasawa-Fukutaichō stared at Aurelius as he scuffed at the Bakudō spells that bound him. Tetsu knew what was probably coming next... and it seemed he called it right on the button. "Jūnibantai-Taichō..." He murmured as the man appeared out of a Hollow's Garganta. His brows furrowed at the thought of him resorting to a Hollow's technique... though, he had read that a shinigami could also form this through a Kidō like spell -after all, Tetsunosuke had to stay on top of his game-.

Hei's Reiatsu made Tetsunosuke feel heavy, but thanks to his bankai, the suffocating problem didn't faze him. 'Revenge... such a useless motivation to have.' Tetsunosuke thought after Hei had finished his announcement. He hadn't planned on getting in his way, nor desired to. Tetsu's eyes suddenly widened as he witness, for the first time, a hollow mask being formed for a Vizard. "In-incredible." He softly spoke aloud. The jump in his power is what drove him to say this aloud. He felt his legs wobbling underneath of him as he felt like something was bearing down on his shoulders. The Reiatsu that was being released was doing this, which brought Tetsunosuke to take a knee forcibly. He gritted his teeth as he watched, slightly filled with ting of malice due to the knee he took.

'This is ridiculous... thi-this... person.' He thought with emotion filled eyes. A slight envious feeling was plaguing him... he honestly at the moment, wished to pursue a Vizard's path. But he didn't want to have to face what came with it: a constant fight with one's inner hollow...

Aurelius seemed to have been turned into a rag doll as Hei just played with him, it seemed. Savoring each blow as he struck him with the blunt blade.

Tetsunosuke could only watch on as Aurelius, possibly their greatest enemy up till this moment, was brought to a halt by Hei Hakase... He shook his head as the boy begged for his life. "Just like a Crumb-crusher..." He smirked as he listened. His eyes focused on Aurelius' attempt to attack Tsukiko. Tetsu knew already it would fail; which is what happened.

The Cero blast he used made Tetsu's stomach start turning. He didn't like the sight of it at all. He watched on as Hei entered into Bankai, and the shadow's followed suit after Hei. He listened as Hei spoke to Aurelius; it was true what Hei was saying. The bestial nature Hei was taking on though made Tetsunosuke go on guard. He raised an eye brow, hoping another fight wouldn't come up after Aurelius was down for the count... if Hei was successful with it. The speed he possessed was amazing, and seemed impossible. Tetsunosuke wasn't too close to where he had buried his containers that he was orders to bury. The wind that was kicked up, made Tetsu's hair fly in the air. He settled down quickly though. Finally, Hei was going to use Tetsunosuke's part of the plain, he actually felt a little proud of himself for being able to pull this easy task off. He heard, for the first time, actual words being breathed out of Aurelius' mouth. He didn't feel pity for him or any remorse.

And so "it ends..." Tetsunosuke said to himself as he watched what the flask did. He felt a little weird about carrying those things around with him this entire time, but... he was sure they wouldn't misfire, or hoped so at least. Tetsunosuke suddenly felt stupid, the Reiatsu had disappeared but he was still taking a knee. He quickly stood to his feet and called off his Bankai. The scabbard and sword appeared in his left and right hands, which he sheathed immediately then held his Zanpakuto in his left hand.

The smirk attitude Hei held, made Tetsunosuke not like him more... but it was thanks to him that all of this was pulled off flawlessly. Tetsunosuke could only fall onto his bum and site Indian style, with his Zanpakuto being held upwards, on it's end, between his legs. Everything that just happened; he was replaying it all in his head, to be sure it actually happened as he saw it... Aurelius crying for pity, and Hei showing not a bit of it. He looked up and over to where the cylinders had went off, and where the frozen Aurelius laid. His eyes had a cold and hard stare to them; Tetsunosuke seemed to be in his own world. "Shoulda been able ta do somethin'... yer thinkin', huh? Don't fret over it... at least ya tried. Ya didn't die, this time. Hahaha." Sakuzen Kosshi snarled in his mind. Tetsunosuke didn't bother replying to it.

◤

"Freedom comes at the cost of your fearful ways. Pay it."

Tadashi let out a sigh, wondering if he should rejoin his Captain. He was actually feeling quite alone, what with everybody else going to rejoin a friend or their superior officers after the battle. Unfortunately, he really didn't feel like standing next to Captain Hibiki at the moment, since the man had disrespected the man Tadashi suddenly found himself idolizing and also he was apparently in an arguement with the very dangerous Vizard.

He looked over to Eriko and wondered dully if she understood that he'd been training on his own and had already unlocked all of Tenma's current abilities, as well as established a mutual understanding with the sword.

'Maybe she's just trying to goad me...or she's trying to get me angry or something. Meh.'

Tadashi sighed and glanced back at Elisia.

'You don't like false smiles, do you?' asked Tenma quietly.

'I find them insufferable, actually. I'm not even sure that's the case...no, that's a lie. I'm almost certain that there's a sad story behind her somewhere. I mean...why would a Captain step down and become a Lieutenant with no combat duties? If i'm not wrong in my assumptions...she's a fake.'

'Do you often analyze the behavioral patterns and social lives of your allies, or is it just the odd woman here and there?' commented the sword.

'Wonderful, my zanpakuto is getting smart with me.'

xxxxxxxxClimb the mountains and get their good tidings.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxNature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.





Yuki remained motionless as the other Shinigami went about carrying out their various task, pleased that they at least had enough sense to follow orders even though they were gven by someone who was not their leader and created by someone whom most despised. When Hei arrived and whipped out his mask, bringing along his overbearing Reiatsu, she was the only one among her ranks that wasn't the least bit affected by it. It was due to her power over flow that allowed her to manipulate Reiatsu and divert it away from her body, it simply slid off her like water on an umbrella. She did, however, express concern at the fact that Tsukiko seemed to be having her fair share of trouble with it. She prepared herself to move, but realized there was nothing she could do and continued to chide herself into remembering that she was not normal and such a thing would not kill her. She watched Hei disappear, undeterred by his Shundo as she had heard many during the times they practiced together. It had gotten to the point that Yuki could tell when Hei was going to do it, simply by the way he held his body. She could somewhat follow his movements, but not by much when he used anything outside of Shunpo.

Yuki was silent as Aurelius tried to use words to reason with Hei; it was a totally useless tact against him since he could turn words back at anyone and he could do it well to boot. Aurelius' choice of words were horrid as well. Very hypocritical in the sense that he was going after a child, yet Aurelius was doing the same. She silently agreed with Hei, though it was to be expected since he was always right. Almost always.

Uncharacteristic of Yuki during this one-sided fight was the fact that she found joy in watching Hei beat the living hell out of the boy. Not one to revel in pain but rather fix it, it was very strange for her to feel this way. However, because the boy had tried to kill her while she was defenseless, she found it harder to hold any pity for him. Yuki was far from a saint, she dealt with a lot of things most of all Hei who had been evilly unbalanced for a greater part of his Seireitei life. She had dealt with that wonderfully, loving him no matter what, but Aurelius, she couldn't simply forgive him after going after Hei as well. These thoughts of hers were later confirmed by Aurelius' attempt at Tsukiko's life. Yuki's right hand was up her left sleeve in a matter of a second, fingers gripping her tanto and pulling it from the sheath. She had moved too slow, however, as Hei already blasted the falling rubble and air clear out of the sky. She did, however, use a bit of wind to blow the ashes away, this act probably going largely unnoticed by those around her. The strange thing about her reaction to the Cero was that it was more than likely widely different from the thoughts of the others. Yuki was not at all bothered by the Cero itself, in fact she had expected it. It was the color that bothered her. It was jet black, meaning that he had embraced his dark side more so than his light while using the mask. It was unnerving to say the least, but in the back of her mind, she wondered if the color could change if he had been using Ryūzan.

Finding herself troubled by the fact that Hei was clearly losing himself to the hollow, she spared her daughter a glance which made it clear that she was suffering her fair share of mental breakdown from hearing the signature hollow cry emitted from the man they both cared for deeply. Earlier she had assured herself that possession scare was done and over with, and that she no longer had to fear him losing to the hollow, because he never got angry. It appeared this single time was to be the exception and that the hollow would stay suppressed so long as he remained calm. She would just have to make sure she didn't get hurt any more, if only for his sake. Making a note to the other Captains to not excessively annoy him would likely be wise as well. Hei already viewed most of them as trash, the last thing that needed to happen was for one of them to piss him off enough that he went on a hollowfied killing spree.

Once all was said and done, Yuki cast a sideways glance at Tsukiko as she tried to lessen the tension. When it didn't work, she offered a wholehearted compliment to distract the girl from her failed attempt. "You should wear your hair up more often dear, it makes you look more distinguished." Yuki smiled and then turned to follow Hei, listening to the banter he and the other captains traded. Lee mentioned that Hei should try something new in the insult department, but she knew why he didn't. At the moment, she was sure that Hei viewed all of those who had not been able to kill the boy, despite their part in his plan, as lesser than dirt, and that was just a feeling that would have to pass. He more than likely only went with the most basic of insults since those aspects were the most apparent at the moment, thus implying that Hei thought it a waste of his time and effort to dig deeper intellectually to find something else to insult Lee, Nu, and Hibiki for. Catching up to Hei, she matched his stride and childishly wrapped her arms around his right, silently giggling to herself at his current height. She had noticed it before in the bedroom, but it was much more apparent when they were walking side-by-side. Yuki went completely serious once they were out of earshot; she lowered her voice just in case. "Thank you... for saving me. Well, thank you for everything for that matter. Though I cannot fully approve of it, thank you for killing him, and thank you for last night which was wonderful by the way, sorry I didn't get to tell you earlier. But most importantly for making me feel important to someone. Just hearing that you care so much, especially saying it aloud in front of others, makes me very happy."