Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kei Aoi
Captain, Fourth Division
Sereitei, Soul Society

Kei Aoi turned to Powchii and then scanned the Bount's intentions. The Bount mentioned that he was a "parasite" that has the ability to collect previously used reiryoku. Then, the captain began to wonder, what could this man aim? If he was here to collect power from his comrades, what would happen if he succeeds collecting them? What was running in Powchii's mind. Turning his against the Bount after he offered a hand, Kei Aoi frowned slightly as he looked at Gaius. "I have reason to associate with my enemies, Hamada-sama. Please do not interfere. You are forgetting that after we deal with Gaius, we will be dealing with you." He said and then giving Powchii a half glance. What was his aim?

"Excuse us, Hamada-sama." Kei Aoi said gently and then made a step towards the hot-headed Raven. With a very fast flicker of his right leg, Kei Aoi made a massive stomp at the ground. There was a very loud explosion as an exploding burst of reiryoku released from the captain's foot that caused the ground the shatter into thousands of pieces. The explosion, however, did not occur around him and Hayashi but the shattered ground snaked towards Gaius like an earthquake running after a certain target. Large chunks of rocks and earth burst from the ground in a steady line as it went towards Gaius. Then, with a strong wave of his Shikai-released blade, Kei Aoi caused nearby pointed-edge rocks to fling themselves in the air as a strong gust of energy swept the area. The banes flung themselves towards Gaius, too, as the ground at the same shattered after him, also.

Kei Aoi needed a full measure of what he could do.

(( ninja ))

((Sorry this took so long, I've been busy with life. Now then...

1.) First off, for Kei: You aren't a human, you're a shinigami. Shinigami react differently to temperature than humans do in the same way that they react differently to physical damage. You won't be affected the same, and you won't feel much. If you insist on reacting in a human fashion... -20 (Fahrenheit) isn't that intensely cold unless you're wet or the wind is bad. Keep moving so you don't stiffen up, you'll start shivering immediately, and your skin will feel like someone is trying to rip it off, but you won't die. For a shinigami, the effect of -20 degrees Fahrenheit will just cause some major shivers and a bit of uncomfortableness (yay for non-words).

2.) And for Mitch: You need to specify the scale you're using on temp. -20F is a BIG difference from -20C (As in, -20C is -4F) and a HUGE difference from -20K (Which is nearly -496F). Degrees aren't universal, so it'll help a lot if you show exactly what you mean (Although I imagine that you mean Fahrenheit).

Now then, I had a big huge thing typed up, and my computer screwed me, so this probably won't be as good, but whatever.))

(( ninja ))

"Bankai." The word came as a bit of a resounding crack to the otherwise still aftermath of the Doll's emergence, especially considering that Kiisho had been standing stoically throughout the entire exchange between Kei and the two Bount.
He didn't care much for trivialities, but had become extremely bored, and didn't feel like putting out the effort to crush the bugs with Shikai. Sure, he could have done so eventually, but that sort of patience escaped him at the moment. Instantaneously, he was engulfed in a pillar of shining white light, preceded by an expanding ring of the same energy, although it moved so quickly few if any would have even been aware of the event. In the moments it took for the energy to settle on his arms and form into the white-bone plated armor, the weight of his Reiatsu, previously held in check by the restrictive nature of his weapon, came thundering out with such force that even the nearby leaves and branches of a frost-bitten tree sagged and swayed under the burst. As abruptly as it started however, the energies receded, sealing themselves around his arms with an audible 'whoosh' that devoured a good portion of the Reishi in the area as well, adding it to the stores in his body, specifically in his right arm.
"I grow weary of this pathetic game..." His voice had a distinct tone of something that could only be described as boredom, and an undertone of resignation to a task that was seen as an annoying chore. "And you really shouldn't spread your bright shiny energies out so far little pup." He pointe his chin at Gaius and the Doll. "It makes it frightfully easy to grasp."
Without moment for thought, his right hand had moved from a resting position at his side to his left shoulder, fingers closed around something, which glowed a faint light icy blue. Steam rose slowly from an area around him, four feet in diameter out in a perfect sphere, indicating air that was apparently unaffected by the change in temperature. It was more to show than anything, as Kiisho didn't really need to change it in any fashion at this particular moment, but the point still stood. Now the Bount would hopefully see the extent to which he could interact with energy, and understand the foolhardy nature of the battle. Such a wasteful technique could never hope to overcome him. As he doubted it would ever be that simple to sink into the thick skulls of his enemies, he snapped his hand to the right again, pulling in a fresh wave of the energy that continued to attempt to alter the air around him. With a rolling crash, a nearby building shattered into flicking blue particles, then rushed to his hand, instantly reforming into a ball-and-chain, with the end of the chain shackled to Kiisho's wrist, and the head-sized ball held in his palm. He appeared a second later ten meters above his previous location, then tossed the ball into the air, extending the arm as he did so that the ball reached maximum height.
"Kagayaku Raisei!" Usually reserved for a punching attack, the energies in his right hand roared down the length of the chain, manifesting at the tip of the still moving ball as small orb, surrounded by a bright ring of spinning energy.
Snapping the weapon like a bull whip, and throwing himself into a blurred spin in the process, Kiisho smashed the ball downwards, gaining as much kinetic energy as he could prior to the actual impact, and drawing in more Reishi as he moved to extend the length of the chain and maximize the distance between himself and the actual event. As it stands, said event reacted as an immediate crash, followed by a blinding explosion and earth-shaking pressure wave of enough force to grind an entire metropolitan block into dust, forming a two meter deep crater and sending out a rolling wave of crushing debris and burning energies with such speed that it kicked up a secondary dust cloud, adding the unexpected benefit of limited visibility. Regardless of whether or not the attack killed anyone, one thing was for certain: When that dust settled, there would be little left of the area of Squad Four where this encounter had begun. Kiisho made a mental note to work with Kei in restoring the area after the battle.

Powchii's body language became rather agressive as Kei refused his offer, "Suit yourself," he said flicking his hand at the wrist, the luminescent energy faded, "Just try not to die... Or do. I benefit from it either way." he said the last part with a bit of a laugh. Powchii then turned his attention to the dropping tmeperatures, to which he was impartial to seeing as though he was partly human it began to bother him, "This doll of his," he said, his teeth chattered, "Is proving to be quite the nuisance." he added as he felt the veins of a tree pass underneathe him. He placed an open palm on his triangular green plate which dispersed and reformed back into his mark, which was followed by another flash of red energy. This time a triangular red plate of reishi formed which began to burn at the ends putting out an intense amount of heat, "I'll have to keep warm if I'm to survive here, I'm sure even my doll's joints would freeze in this kind of cold." he said a bit irked as he let out an annoyed sigh scooting closer to the red plate of burning reishi, hiding behind it. He turned to Gaius whose power continued to manifest itself in the constantly dropping temperatures, "What an interesting play thing you have there... Brutus is it?" he asked a bit passively hinting at the fact that it really didn't interest him at all, "Well, it's beginning to annoy me so it would be nice if you could hurry up and die." he added leaping back a few feet to a place where he deemed safe.

Powchii had leapt back just in time it seemed as Hayashi had released a powerhouse of a bankai, "What tremendous reishi~" Powchii said a bit manically, "Maybe I'll luck out and they'll both die... I'd love to have that amount of energy for my Shinyogo." he added with a familiar smile. Powchii held his shield close as his Hayashi began to pull from the air what appeared to be Brutu's own reishi, "Intruiging!" he said examining him through the clear plate of energy, "His ability to manipulate energy is far more complex then anything I've ever seen before... Hm. If only~" he added a bit sadly knowing that Hayashi had powers which far exceeded the Bounts abilities. Powchii turned his attention to Kei as Hayashi had lready ravage the battlefield with a ball and chain sort of weapon, "It seems all you're acapable of is standing by... Hahaha! I feel like you'd only be getting in the way of your companion captain." he said as he rubbed the back of his neck, "There's certainly a visible gap between the two of you, one that couldn't be bridged together in a million years." he said with a sigh.

While his power to manipulate and perceive energies wasn't nearly as advanced as the Captain's he could still quite easily tell that the attack approaching would "be a doozy" as they say. Durable and large as he was Brutus would likely have been able to weather the blast, albeit damaged a fair amount. Gaius had cut the bud off at the source. In the moment of Kiisho's spin, the beginning of the release of the attack he had already begun ressumoning his ARMS. The Shield had snapped into place just in time, as he had focused on forming The Wings first. The enormous boost to his speed they had provided had been the backbone of his plan. He had quickly blitzed through the air, the ARMS allowing him to more more quickly than a Shunpo. And there had come into play the Shield. Bracing himself with all the air and reishi lore he possessed he raised it as he had been taught centuries ago to stop arrows, only now it would be more like a boulder...the size of kansas...on fire...moving at Mach 3. Although quite capable of blocking physical strikes Gaius had designed this ARM with one true goal in mind, blocking, nullifying, and possibly absorbing energy based attacks.

The flash cleared, the heat and maleavolent energies passed by, ceased trying to put an end to Gaius and his Doll. He lowered the smoking and battered buffer to his side and gazed up at Kiisho. Already the fine mesh covering his limbs was dissipating into reishi and dust, the brightly glowing energy rushing to The Shield, already quickening its repair. He nodded slightly in respect towards the Shinigami, "Undoubtedly you are powerful, undoubtedly facing you directly wouldn't be very intelligent. I'd suggest you look to your friends, can they defend themselves as well as you?" He looked around at the widespread decimation the Captain had caused, "For your sake I hope your comrades were away and safe." His eyes flashed with building energy as he tapped the alchemic reserves within him, renewed vigor washed through his limbs, chasing any sense of soreness or weariness away. His mark glowed slightly

Soon?

"No Zund, this man would destroy you, my goal here is almost complete, it'll be time to move from here soon. This man has done our job for us."

The Geist raged in, well, rage. Soon, soon, soon! He needed to be out there! To kill! Destroy!

With a sigh he ceased drawing on the energy, it opened to much of an opening for the Geist to get out. Slowly the inner voice faded away.


Another blast of cold shot out from all of Brutus' limbs, dropping the temperature in the area even further. The dust and debris from Kiisho's attack finally settled. And there, in the wake of the blast towered Brutus. His limbs thrashing and writhing across the ground, digging ever deeper, the more distant tendrils and thorns damaged heavily by the blast, even all the while the cold began to rejuvenate them. He roared out his protest at the assault. Three massive vines separated themselves from the main body and shot through the air towards Kei. Part way there two separated off, one streaking towards Hikaru and the other targeting Tomoya. Covered in razor sharp thorns, some an inch, some a foot long, other writhing tendrils covering their surface, these three giant tendrils could cause almost instant death were they allowed to make any kind of lasting contact with a person.



(-25 degrees Fehrenheit)

((Mainly for Kiisho))

Vast amounts of steam billowed out from the explosion as all the violent energies from Kiisho's attack sublimated a good deal of the frozen armor covering the Doll. Several great portions cracked and grated against one another. The great rolling clouds of blistering steam swiftly blanketed the entire squad, the edges of it spreading among the other streets and by-ways of the Seireitei. The cloud, or fog bank, whichever you prefer, reached almost a mile into the sky, slowly tapering down at the edges, a veritable mountain of water vapor. Brutus slowly ground out his anger and frustration at his injury, the ice already beginning to repair itself from the damage it took. Scar tissue forming over the few rents in the fleshy plant material that couldn't be repaired, the rest rejuvenating quickly as with the result of every other attack the Doll had ever suffered.

"Clever, I'll admit, but was it so wise?" Gaius' voice carried over the battlefield, the vapor in the air distorting and changing the sound slightly, giving it an oddly flat and echoing sound, seeming to come from score upon score of diriections at once. "Brutus normally isn't too dangerous unless he gets his hands on you." Though he couldn't be seen he rubbed the pads of his fingers together, the droplets of water quickly gathering and falling off as the steam cooled.

An enormous flash of bright blue energy gathered at the bounds of the squad and drew inward, pulling almost all of the heat with it from the air and surroundings as it passed. When it touched a portion of the Doll, be it vine, thorn, or root it was quickly absorbed, the piece glowing momentarily and the healing and repair quickened. As that wave of energy passed all of that heated water condensed together as the temperature dropped, dropping an enormous deluge of thousands of gallons of water onto the squad, the vast majority of it falling as sheets of water above the combatants. Another flash of energy drew in, Brutus growled out his pleasure, the sound crashing about, like earth breaking, being torn apart. And all that water, turned to ice and frost. Soaked as they would be all of the Shinigami would be covered in quickly thickening layers of ice. The temperature beginning to drop far below what it had reached before.

Already from the cold the Shinigami would be finding themselves shivering, lips and fingertips beginning to turn blue, the normal quickness of thought the possessed slowing, coordination worsening, the extremities going numb.

Gaius looked across the sparkling broken landscape at the Captain, "Sadly I may not tarry here and play with you much longer, I'm needed elsewhere." He turned around and began walking away from his opponent.

((Mainly for the others))

The two blasts of energy bashed at the two large vines, halting them in their advance slightly, smallchips of ice roughly the size of a thumbnail flying off. Brutus chuckled for a moment in amusement, this odd sound was cut off a moment later as the tail end of Kiisho's aggressive assault hit the vines, cracking off a few larger portions about the size of a man's leg. Not damaged as badly, far away as they were from the target area, they needn't pause to repair the armor they lost. Twisting about they reared up, almost like snakes, the hundreds upon hundreds of smaller vines untwisting from the larger, some scorched and damaged, all radiating a dangerous cold and carrying venemous thorns. Those thorny vines all dove in on Kei and Tomoya. Everything from tendrils the thickness of a thread to large roots with over a five foot diameter crashed down upon the two Shinigami, meanwhile exactly the same thing had happened, and was happening to the third root as it attacked Hikaru.

As Gaius continued walking away he drew near these two, he glanced at Tomoya, "I'd run boy, there is little you'll be able to do, all you have is that puny little Shikai." With that he turned his back on them and continued walking.

In the background of all this commotion, the earth seemed to shake and move, oh so very slightly, small cracks appearing in the ice and frozen dirt.